Harderbahn, Funicular railway in Interlaken, Switzerland

Harderbahn is a funicular from Interlaken to Harder Kulm, the longer of the town's two. Its single track runs 1,435 metres and climbs 734 metres, laid in a near half-circle rather than a straight line to spare the landscape. Two red carriages with glass roof panels carry 65 passengers each in three sections; the ride takes ten minutes.

The railway opened in 1908 after receiving permission in 1890, though construction didn't start until 1905. Money problems had slowed down the project for many years before actual building work could begin.

The Harder Kulm restaurant is a pagoda-shaped building whose terrace overlooks Interlaken, Unterseen, Lakes Thun and Brienz, and the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. The funicular's two 2008 coaches carry the names Interlaken and Unterseen, and their glass roof panels give passengers an uninterrupted view of the mountains and the valley during the ten-minute ride.

The base station sits a five-minute walk from Interlaken Ost train station, near the Alpine wildlife park. The ride takes eight to ten minutes and passes through a tunnel; the line runs only in summer, usually mid-April to late October. From the top station at 1,305 m, a five-minute walk leads to the Harderkulm viewpoint and Restaurant Harder Kulm.

The tracks follow an unusual quarter-circle path that includes a tunnel along the route. This special layout was chosen to reduce how much the railway changed the natural landscape.