Reisszug (cable funicular of Hohensalzburg)
Reisszug (funicular de cable de Hohensalzburg)
- Date
- c. 1460-1515 · confidence medium
- Place
- Hohensalzburg Fortress, Salzburg, Austria
- Credited to
- Archbishopric of Salzburg
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
An inclined plane with a wagon guided by wooden rails and a hemp rope that hauled supplies up to Hohensalzburg Fortress, powered by humans or animals. It is regarded as the oldest funicular in the world still operating, though its materials and drive have been replaced.
It is believed to date back to 1460 (a protective wall was built in 1461), but the first reliable documentary mention is from 1515. The rails were wooden and the rope hemp; today it is electric.
What it led to
- a precedent for passenger funiculars and mining inclined planes
- a test bed for rail transport guided by a rope