Champion gondola and its history

OK WM 2011 am 21.05.2008 - 15:21 Uhr

The history of the gondola began in the year of 1937 in the famous Austrian skiing resort St. Anton. There it was known under the name “Galzigbahn”. The existing cable car which had been built in the 1950s to connect the glacier lake on the "Zugspitzplatt" with the "Schneefernerhaus" was severely damaged by an avalanche on May 16th, 1965.

Safe from avalanches
In order to replace the two damaged cabins after this disaster the “Bayerische Zugspitzbahn” bought these two used cabins from the Austrian “Galzibahn”. In 1966 a new gondola was constructed by the only German cable car company "Pohlig-Heckel-Bleichert“(PHB). The new gondola was to be safe from avalanches. Its base was now situated at a venue of higher altitude, which is not as exposed to avalanches, the "Sonnalpin". Unique was the manually operated (hand- controlled regulation and) non-conductor driven gondola.

Important hub back then
On Germany´s highest mountain, the gondola transported skiers from the Schneefernerhaus down to the “Zugspitz glacier” and back until the 1980s. At this time the Schneefernerhaus was an important hub, connecting the cog railroad, the historical gondola down to the glacier and another one to the summit of the "Zugspitze". One was the rack railway; another was the historical glacier gondola and finally the old funicular, which runs up to the 2962m high summit. Because of the rising numbers of visitors on Germany´s highest mountain, it was necessary to build a new track to the plateau of the Zugspitze to cope with capacity. So in 1987 a new station for the cog railway opened. In 1992 the opening of the new glacier gondola followed. Now there was a direct connection from the summit to the lower section, the new “Gletscherbahn”. After modern facilities had been built and hence a more efficient connection existed, the old glacier gondola was superfluous. As a result the historical gondola was disassembled and delivered to the valley.

After a lively vita the gondola has now been restored by local craftsmen. Now it is a representative of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2011. The gondola is now used as an ambassador for the championships and the city of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Technical data
First service: 1937 in St. Anton, “Galzigbahn”
Measures: 1.3 x 2 m aluminium with wooden floor
System: aerial tramway, 2 catenaries wires, 1 rope, Three-phase drive with eddy current brake
Length: 330m, 65 vertical metres
Capacity: 300 persons/ hour
Cabin volume: 12 persons