Stanserhorn

Also called the “five-star mountain”, the Stanserhorn, 1898 metres, is located in Canton Nidwalden, in Central Switzerland. The recently built Rondorama revolving restaurant has certainly earned one of the stars. The combination of funicular and aerial cableway makes the ascent from the small town of Stans to the panorama restaurant in 25 minutes. From here a five-minute walk takes you to the summit, with views of cantons Uri and Unterwalden, the Bernese Alps, Lake Lucerne and as far as Alsace in France and the Black Forest in Germany.

Josef Durrer and Franz Josef Bucher, the two Swiss railway pioneers who built the original funicular to the top of the Stanserhorn, attracted attention to the mountain well into the 1960s by mounting a spotlight that illuminated the surrounding area. The curiosity of people strolling along the shores of Lake Lucerne led to an ever-increasing number of visitors to the mountain. The spotlight, the old hotel and part of the funicular were destroyed in 1970 when lightning caused a devastating fire. The upper two sections of the funicular were replaced with an aerial cableway in 1975. In 1993, the old tradition of the spotlight was revived and the Lucerne area is illuminated once again.


Stanserhorn Funicular
The Stanserhorn funicular was opened on 23 August, 1893, an engineering masterpiece by two Swiss railway pioneers, Josef Durrer and Franz Josef Bucher. The almost four-kilometre-long track was divided into three sections: Stans-Kälti, Kälti-Blumatt and Blumatt-Kulm, covering a total height difference of 1446 metres. Each section had a single-track with crossing points enabling simultaneous operation of two cars. In 1970, lightning struck and the resulting fire destroyed the hotel and upper section of the funicular, bringing an end to the three-section railway. Only the lower section from Stans to Kälti was kept and the two upper sections were replaced by a modern aerial cableway in 1975. The huge driving wheel and power plant can still be viewed. The hotel was never rebuilt but a new restaurant was built on its foundations.