Europe > Germany > Saxony > Fichtelberg Schwebebahn cable car

Fichtelberg Schwebebahn

Kurort Oberwiesenthal, Germany

ABOVE: On the ride up, you can see the Talstation (valley station) and Kurort Oberwiesenthal, the highest-elevation town in Germany. INSET BELOW: A Schwebebahn car awaits passengers.

By Durant Imboden

Fichtelberg Schwebebahn cable car in Talstation Germany's oldest aerial cable car is thoroughly modern: The Fichtelberg Schwebebahn, which entered service in 1924, has been updated repeatedly over the years, and the current cars take just 3½ minutes to whisk tourists or skiers from the valley station in Kurort Oberwiesenthal to the summit of the Fichtelberg. (The difference in elevation is 303 meters, or 994 feet, and total travel distance is 1.175 km or about three-quarters of a mile).

The Fichtelberg Schwebahn is one of several lifts on the Fichtelberg and its neighboring mountain. It provides access to winter ski trails and summer hiking paths, but you can purchase a roundtrip ticket if you simply want to ride the cable car and enjoy the view.

For more information, including a timetable and prices, visit the bilingual Fichtelberg Schwebebahn Web site.

Tip: Combine a ride on the Fichtelberg Schwebebahn with a trip on the Fichtelbergbahn Steam Railway, which connects the resort of Kurort Oberwiesenthal with Cranzahl. (It's worth noting that Oberwiesenthal is the highest town in Germany, with an elevation of 893 meters or 2,930 feet above sea level.)

Saxony transportation articles:

Railroading in Saxony

Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf:

Schauplatz Eisenbahn

Dresden:

Dresden Park Railway

Schwebebahn Dresden Suspension Railway

Erzgebirge - Ore Mountains (near Czech border):

Fichtelbergbahn Steam Railway

Fichtelberg Schwebebahn - Aerial Cable Car

Saxon Narrow-Gauge Museum Rittersgrün

Ore Mountains Model Railway Park

Wolkensteiner Zughotel - Train Hotel and Restaurant

About the author:

Durant Imboden photo. Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation.

After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (now including Germany for Visitors) in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post.

For more information, see About Europe for Visitors, press clippings, and reader testimonials.

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