Semmering Railway, Semmering-Kurort, Austria

The Semmering railway, which starts at Gloggnitz and leads over the Semmering to Mürzzuschlag was the first mountain railway in Europe built with a standard gauge track. It is commonly referred to as the world's first true mountain railway, given the very difficult terrain and the considerable altitude difference that was mastered during its construction. It is still fully functional as a part of the Southern Railway which is operated by the Austrian Federal Railways.

The Semmering railway was constructed between 1848 and 1854 by some 20,000 workers under the project's designer and director Carl von Ghega born in Venice as Carlo Ghega in an Albanian family. The construction features 14 tunnels (among them the 1,431 m vertex tunnel), 16 viaducts (several two-story) and over 100 curved stone bridges as well as 11 small iron bridges. The stations and the buildings for the supervisors were often built directly from the waste material produced in the course of tunnel construction.

In 1998 the Semmering railway was added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Sougata Bose (2 years ago)
One of the best hikes I have been to

Poul Gotterup (3 years ago)
Went here during women’s World Cup and it was great fun even though there wasn’t any new fallen snow.

Alex Manias (3 years ago)
Beautiful place, only 50 munutes to 1h away from Vienna center and you can experience the glorius mountains and forests of Austria dressed in white with scenes like from a postcard! I loved the place and i'm certainly going to visit it again.

Bendegúz Dibusz (4 years ago)
The 20 schilling blick offers a scenic view. Only 10 minutes of walk from the Skulpturenpark, where you can leave your car.

A Fo (4 years ago)
It's a beautiful railway, I rode on a stunning autumn day, the view and the colors with the quiet modern train, the viaducts and the tunnels were really relaxing. It's worthy to ride it one time in a life. At Semmering station there is a free little museum.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright murphygb

Historic Site of the week

Clickimin Broch

The Broch of Clickimin is a large and well preserved, though somewhat restored broch near Lerwick. Originally built on an island in Clickimin Loch (now increased in size by silting and drainage), it was approached by a stone causeway. The water-level in the loch was reduced in 1874, leaving the broch high and dry. The broch is situated within a walled enclosure and, unusually for brochs, features a large 'blockhouse' between the opening in the enclosure and the broch itself. Another unusual feature is a stone slab featuring sculptured footprints, located in the causeway which approached the site. Situated across the loch is the Clickimin Leisure Centre.

Semmering Railway

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Clickimin Broch