Raxseilbahn, Cable car station in Reichenau an der Rax, Austria.
The Raxseilbahn is a two-track aerial tramway running 2,160 metres from Hirschwang at 528 metres above sea level to a mountain station at 1,546 metres, a trip of seven to ten minutes. Its green and white cabins with large tinted windows carry passengers over a maximum span of 800 metres, with up to 60 metres between cabin and ground. The mountain station is a multi-storey building of grey stone and white stucco with green shutters, arched openings and a grey-green hipped roof with dormers.
The cable car opened in 1926 as Austria's first aerial tramway system, bringing modern transportation to remote alpine areas. This project demonstrated how technology could quickly open up mountain regions for visitors.
The station serves as a gateway to traditional alpine pursuits, where visitors find mountain huts offering local food and drinks in their simplest form. These huts shape the character of the place and show how communities have long inhabited these slopes.
Visitors can rent snowshoes at the station during winter months and immediately access routes from the mountain top. Starting early in the day helps avoid crowds and often provides clearer weather in the high altitude zone.
The summer cabins of the early years had no outer walls, only a railing, and the open roof could be closed with a canvas tarpaulin. During the Second World War the line stayed in service and carried up to 240,000 passengers a year. Until 1990 the plateau had no public grid, so diesel generators consuming 19,000 litres a year powered the lift and nearby huts.
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