In 1871, Europe’s first mountain railway was opened, leading from Vitznau, a village on the shores of Lake Lucerne, onto Mt. Rigi. It still operates today and many locomotives and wagons from the early years have been lovingly and professionally restored. "I want to take everyone up into the mountains, so they can all enjoy the beauty of our glorious country" – this is what Swiss engineer Niklaus Riggenbach said when, in France in 1863, he patented his invention of taking railways up steep climbs by means of cogwheels. Together with the engineers Oliver Zschokke and Adolf Naef, he applied to the canton of Lucerne for permission to build the Vitznau-Rigi Railway. Construction began in 1869. On Riggenbach’s birthday, 21 May 1870, the first trial run on the 300-metre track in Vitznau was made with locomotive No. 1, named „Stadt Luzern“. On 21 May 1871, the opening of Europe’s first mountain railway was celebrated and Riggenbach himself led the cogwheeled procession to Rigi Staffelhöhe, which was at the time the last stop. It had been anticipated that 50,000 guests would use the Vitznau-Rigi Railway every year. However, in the first year, over 60,000 passengers came and in 1874 the 100,000 mark was passed for the first time. When the Arth-Rigi Railway on the other side of the mountain was opened, the figures dropped for a few years but increased again to 102,021 by 1886. Today, the cogwheel trains from Arth-Goldau and Vitznau go up to Rigi Kulm all year round.
In 1871, Europe’s first mountain railway was opened, leading from Vitznau, a village on the shores of Lake Lucerne, onto Mt. Rigi. It still operates today and many locomoti ...
ves and wagons from the early years have been lovingly and professionally restored. "I want to take everyone up into the mountains, so they can all enjoy the beauty of our glorious country" – this is what Swiss engineer Niklaus Riggenbach said when, in France in 1863, he patented his invention of taking railways up steep climbs by means of cogwheels. Together with the engineers Oliver Zschokke and Adolf Naef, he applied to the canton of Lucerne for permission to build the Vitznau-Rigi Railway. Construction began in 1869. On Riggenbach’s birthday, 21 May 1870, the first trial run on the 300-metre track in Vitznau was made with locomotive No. 1, named „Stadt Luzern“. On 21 May 1871, the opening of Europe’s first mountain railway was celebrated and Riggenbach himself led the cogwheeled procession to Rigi Staffelhöhe, which was at the time the last stop. It had been anticipated that 50,000 guests would use the Vitznau-Rigi Railway every year. However, in the first year, over 60,000 passengers came and in 1874 the 100,000 mark was passed for the first time. When the Arth-Rigi Railway on the other side of the mountain was opened, the figures dropped for a few years but increased again to 102,021 by 1886. Today, the cogwheel trains from Arth-Goldau and Vitznau go up to Rigi Kulm all year round.
