Giessbachbahn, Funicular railway at Lake Brienz, Switzerland.

Giessbachbahn is a funicular in the Swiss canton of Bern, running from a boat landing on Lake Brienz to the Grand Hotel Giessbach. Its 345-metre track climbs 98 metres at gradients of 240 to 320 per mille. The upper section crosses five consecutive filigree lattice arch bridges totalling 174 metres, built in Niklaus Riggenbach's Aarau workshop. The two original three-axle red cars have wooden benches and coloured curtains.

The railway opened in 1879 and initially ran on a water ballast system. It was converted to hydraulic power in 1912 and then switched to electric drive in 1948.

The funicular connects the boat landing on Lake Brienz directly to the Grand Hotel Giessbach, which sits above the water. Many visitors ride it not only for the hotel but to reach the nearby Giessbach waterfalls, which drop in several stages down the hillside.

The funicular is easiest to reach by boat from Brienz, which docks right at the lower station. On a clear day, the ride offers open views over the lake and the surrounding hillsides.

The passing loop uses two Abt switches with no moving points. One car's wheels have inner flanges, the other's outer flanges, so each follows its own rail through the gap. Abt later refined this into the standard Abt switch, first fitted at Lugano in 1886 and here in 1891.