1890 - 2015: 125 years of the Heidelberg funicular railway
2015 was a very special year for the funicular railway in Heidelberg: the lower funicular celebrated its 125th anniversary.
The lower funicular commenced operations on 30th March 1890. In 2015, 125 years after its first official journey, it is more of a tourist magnet than ever: over 1.8 million visitors use the Heidelberg funicular railways every year – the lower funicular, where the railcars were replaced with modern ones, and the “old lady” at the top that still features the original railway cars, which are over 100 years old and have been fully restored.
Find out more about the anniversary year here..
125 years of the funicular railway –
the history of a Heidelberg landmark
Then as now: good things are worth waiting for
The background of the funicular started in 1873. That was when Swiss engineer Nikolaus Riggenbach presented the first plans for a rack-and-pinion railway “high on the mountain” to the citizens of Heidelberg. The project was controversial right from the start: which engineering concept would be the most appropriate? Which route would be the best? What detrimental effect might there be to the landscape around the castle? And what was to become of the donkey drivers who had been transporting tourists and locals to Molkenkur up to this point and were anticipating lost income? These discussions lasted for a decade and a half. Finally the Leferenz brothers – who established HSB and planned the railway – were awarded the concession for construction and operation in 1888. From then on things happened fast: the groundbreaking ceremony was held on 13th August the same year.
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- Construction work on the wooded section of the railway
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- Construction of tunnel for the lower section
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- Lower funicular railcar from 1890
Excavation work as far as Molkenkur
Construction lasted a good eighteen months. These works entailed deep cuttings through the mountain and included track construction and masonry works, the construction of eight underpasses, a tunnel 110 metres long and three stations – Kornmarkt, Schloss/Castle and Molkenkur. Timber and other building materials were transported up the mountain by horse and cart, and the same carts were used to transport excavated earth back down; heavy steel tracks and iron sleepers were hauled up using the power of people and horses. Shortly before the route was opened it was possible to put two railcars on the track each carrying 50 people– one travelling up the mountain and one serving as a counterweight for the valley section. The opening ceremony for the lower railway finally took place on 30th March 1890.
1907 – 1907 – The section to Königstuhl is added
Another seventeen years later and the upper funicular section went into service. It still uses the original railcars today. At this point opportunity, the lower section was converted to electric traction instead of water ballast drive. A machine operator in constant contact with the conductors on the funicular used a push-button control to regulate the train speed. Electric bell signals were used for communication.
Modernisation and historic preservation
In the decades that followed, both funicular sections underwent a succession of modernisation work. For instance in 1961/1962 the lower section was closed for several years; during this time the old cars on the lower section were replaced with new ones. Both sections also underwent extensive modernisation first in 1997 and most recently from 2002 to 2005. The last major renovation involved replacement of both cars on the lower section with the modern ones used today. The railcars on the upper section, which are almost a hundred years old, were taken to Switzerland for a full overhaul while these works were being carried out. Incidentally, the “old lady” – which has been recognised as having particular cultural heritage importance since 2004 – makes this journey every ten years for the regular special inspection, which was last carried out in 2014.
Schlossticket Castle Ticket
One milestone in the recent history of the funicular railway was the introduction of the Combi Ticket, now known as the Castle Ticket. The combined ticket price for castle entry and rail travel was introduced in 2010 and has proved a huge success: the number of passengers has been constantly on the rise since then: around 1.8 million people travel on the funicular each year.
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