Our 100 Years
The cable car of Kohlern/Colle was the first aerial lift cable car built for transportation of passengers. The first launch was on 29th June 1908. The difference in altitude of 800 meters took the little gondola about 15 minutes: back then a sensation! The “Bahnl”, as its lovingly called by the locals, was the brainchild of the Bolzano hotelier Franz Staffler. He had the visionary and enterprising idea of bringing his guest up into the mountains to escape the hot summer.
The first cable car was built by the Simmeringer Maschinen- und Waggonbau Fabrik and could carry six passengers per gondola. She was in use for 2 years and carried about 100.000 people safely up the mountain. At that point the proper authority closed the plant down over concerns about the wooden supporting stands.
Thereupon Staffler appointed Adolf Bleichert & Co. Seilbahnfabrik from Leipzig with building a safe new cable car. She was launched on 10th May 1913, had to iron supporting stands and could carry 17 passengers per gondola. This second Kohlern/Colle cable car was completely destroyed during an allied bombing of Bolzano in 1943.
The third cable car was only commissioned in 1963/1964. This new plant, built by the Hölzl Seilbahnbau company from Lana, was launched in 1965 and could carry 25 people per gondola.
In 2006 the cable car underwent a complete overhaul and modernization under the watchful eye of the cable car specialists Doppelmayr in view of the upcoming 100 year jubilee. In the meantime owned by the city of Bolzano got new gondolas outfitted for 20 passengers, a fully automated system for the valley station and now traverses the 843 m difference in altitude in just 5 minutes.