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Mendel Strassenbahn at Kaltern am See, Süd Tirol, Italy
The Mendelpass alpine road was built in 1880 to allow travel between Bozen and Mendola. The Kaiserin Elizabeth used this route several times, but the route, as now, was slow and dangerous. Although great attempts were made by the hotel owners in Mendola to promote the area, access was difficult from the summit of the Mendelpass eastwards to Eppan and Kaltern am See. In order to speed up the passage of visitors and goods, a funicular was built in 1902/3, connecting the western edge of Kaltern with the summit of the pass, obviating the need for passengers and valuable goods to make the tortuous journey through numerous hairpin bends on the ascent.
The counter-acting funicular was built from Station St. Anton, at 510 metres above sea level, up to the Bergstation Mendelpass, 855 metres higher at 1365 metres. The line, 2,368 metres long, has an average gradient of 36%, with a maximum of 64%. There are two tunnels and two viaducts on the line, and a halfway crossing loop. The line also features two (no longer working) drawbridges, where minor roads crossed the funicular at ground level. In order to allow passage of the funicular and ropes, wedge-shaped lifting sections, interlocked when level, were installed above the rope and rails. These were operated by winding mechanisms from the talstation at St. Anton. The lower set of drawbridge sections are now locked in the vertical position, whilst the drawbridge sections of the other route have been removed altogether. A pedestrian way across the track here has been diverted through an underpass. The use of the drawbridges ceased in 1977 after one was rammed by a funicular car after it failed to rise properly. Today the lower station is on Göllerstrasse, to the east of the junction with Europastrasse.
The original carriages seated 64 passengers each, in five separate compartments. In 1990 the cabins were replaced by two built by Agudio / Hölzt. The new vehicles have one larger cabin section, and each hold 76 people. The cabins travel at a maximum speed of 4 metres / second and take twelve minutes to cover the line from end to end.
At the end of 1918, much of Süd Tirol was ceded to Italy. Over time, some of the places have been given alternative Italian names. St. Anton became San Antonia, Kaltern am See became Caldaro, and the pass name was changed to Passo Mendola. However, old habits die hard in this area, which is still populated with people speaking only the Germanic language, and road signs are bi-lingual.
Today the mountainsides are covered in vineyards cultivating the vernatsch grape, the oldest of the red grape varieties found in northern Italy.
The nearest station is FS Bozen / Bolzano, from where a bus service operates to Kaltern. The Mendel Strassenbahn (Funiculare Mendola) is open from mid-December to mid-November, and operates from 8am to 7pm, or dusk – but with a break at lunchtime.
Regrettably, the ARG archives do not have pictures of this funicular. The picture over Kaltern has been provided by Kaltern Tourist information, and shows the position of the funicular in relation to the town.
The route map is taken from "History of Kaltern" available from the Tourist office.
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http://www.provinz.bz.it/mobilitaet/3803/seilbahnen : www.funimag.com
http://www.skiresort.de : www.eppan.com : www.kaltern.com