History

History

How it all began ...

Ever since it went into operation in 1951, the Wallberg cable car has taken well over 13 million guests up and down Wallberg mountain. Take a look at the history of the Wallberg cable car:

  • First advertising poster 1951 First advertising poster 1951
  • Work in progress at the bottom station (1950) Work in progress at the bottom station (1950)
  • Installing the supporting cable (1951) Installing the supporting cable (1951)
  • Inauguration of the Wallberg cable car (20 April 1951) Inauguration of the Wallberg cable car (20 April 1951)
  • Terrace of the Wallberg hotel in the 1950s Terrace of the Wallberg hotel in the 1950s
  • Dining room in the Wallberg hotel in the 1950s Dining room in the Wallberg hotel in the 1950s

"a wonderful feeling of floating in perfect safety"

It gives you a wonderful feeling of floating in perfect safety - floating with spectacular views of the Tegernsee Valley, the surrounding ring of mountains and the peaks of the high mountain ranges that appear before your eyes. All conversation comes to a stop, the voice goes silent, the eyes and heart open.
Quirin Hagn

 

Initial plans drawn up in the 1920s

The history of the Wallenberg cable car does not begin with its construction in the years 1950 and 1951. As early as in the 1920s, a group centered around the innkeeper Max Bachmair tried to interest investors in the construction of a cable car for transporting passengers up Wallberg mountain. Despite an expected return of almost eight percent, they failed to come up with the capital needed for construction, and the project failed.

 

Founding of Wallberg AG on 10 June 1950 

Thus it was a group of forward-thinking men, centered around the engineer Kurt Becker, the local treasurer Sebastian Daimer and the attorney Dr. Karl Schnell, who revisited the idea of building a cable car on Wallberg mountain. On 10 June 1950, the Wallbergbahn Aktiengesellschaft was established under the leadership of the Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechselbank, and the company launched construction of the cable car just days later . 

 

Completion of construction in nine months

Construction followed the route that had been planned 20 years earlier. The route covered a distance of 2,130 meters, leading along the western side of the Brunntalgraben up to the plateau situated at an elevation of 1,624 meters, between the "Wallbergkircherl" chapel and the actual ascent up to the mountain peak. The construction work itself was carried as a joint venture between the two Munich companies Held & Francke and Josef Riepl. A great effort was made to involve as many local building companies and craftsmen as possible. As far as the actual cable car itself was concerned, a decision was made in favor of a dual-cable, continuously circulating aerial tramway, with 42 individual four-seater gondolas, manufactured by the Cologne-based company J. Pohlig AG.

Although winter began early in 1950 - bringing heavy snowfalls - construction of the cable car, the bottom and top stations, and the outbuildings was completed on schedule after only nine months. On 20 April 1951, celebrations marked the inauguration of the Wallberg cable car.

 

Hotels and restaurants on Wallenberg mountain

Just a few weeks later,  Wallbergbahn AG built a restaurant next to the top station, which offered seating for 200 people inside and on the terrace. Construction of an adjoining hotel was completed in 1953, providing 11 rooms with 23 beds. A number of prominent figures from the world of movies, music, sports and politics have come here to rest and relax.

Between 1952 and 1963, Wallbergbahn AG leased the Wallberghaus, with its eight double rooms and a dormitory that can accomodate up to 46 people, from the Almgenossenschaft (alpine farmer's cooperative).   

At the beginning of the 1960s, Café Alpenwildpark, situated near the bottom station, was added to the list of attractions. 

 

 


  • Ski race on Wallberg mountain (1953) Ski race on Wallberg mountain (1953)
  • The ski arena on Wallberg mountain The ski arena on Wallberg mountain
  • The "Golden Shield of Wallberg Mountain" (1952) The "Golden Shield of Wallberg Mountain" (1952)

Wallenberg mountain as a winter sports area

Once known - and loved - for its fast-paced sledding run, Wallberg mountain gained importance in the 1950s as a winter sports area. In 1951/52, a second ski run was added to the standard ski run, which was created in 1934/35 and provided a fast and challenging run down the Erlenhang and Glaslhang slopes to the formidable "Kanonenrohr" (cannon's muzzle). The new 5.4-km Moosabfahrt ski run gave less experienced skiers the opportunity to enjoy skiing fun on Wallberg mountain.

In the winter of 1952/53, the company installed two lifts, a T-bar on the Kircherlhang slope and a chairlift on the Setzberg slope, which provided much easier access to the two ski runs.

 

The "Golden Shield of Wallberg Mountain"

The race for the "Golden Schield of Wallberg Mountain", which was organized between 1951 and 1959 by the Rottach-Egern Ski Club, attracted interest that extended far beyond the Tegernsee Valley. From 1954, the race for the trophy donated by Wallbergbahn AG even became one of the official downhill races organized by the International Ski Federation. The first winners were Karl Maure, a multi-time Bavarian and German downhill champion from the Rottach-Egern Ski Club and the Olympic competitor Marianne Seltsam from the Tegernsee Ski Club. Toni Sailer still holds the record today with his phenomenal time of 2.22,7 minutes from 1954. 

A lack of snow and the increasing popularity of nearby Austrian ski resorts led to the decline of Wallberg mountain as a ski area, making it increasingly impossible to operate the lifts cost-effectively.

 

Permission for a sledding run granted

There is, however, solid evidence to suggest that Wallberg mountain may soon be able to return to its roots as a winter sports area. The sledding run that was opened in December 2001 ties in with a tradition that dates back more than one hundred years. Up until the 1930s, Wallbert mountain was known primarily as a sledding mountain, and the Mangfall Chamionships held their each year were renowned far beyond the Tegernsee Valley. However, the sledding run - referred to as "the winter trail" -  had hardly been used since World War II and had fallen into disrepair.

 

  • Panorama restaurant on Wallberg mountain Panorama restaurant on Wallberg mountain
  • The dining room The dining room

 

Wallberg mountain: a superlative recreational experience

Building permission for a sledding run is, for now, the last step that the shareholders, management and workforce of Wallbergbahn AG have taken to ensure a viable future for the cable car on what is known as Munich's "sunshine mountain". This also includes the current investments being made in new technology and maintenance measures, which guarantee the highest possible of standard of safety for the cable car's passengers, and - last but not least - construction of the panorama restaurant in 1998.