Tyrolean Zugspitzbahn

The Zugspitze, at 2,962 metres, is the highest mountain in Germany, and the border between Germany and Austria runs across its summit block - so it is also a high Tyrolean summit and can be reached from either side. The Tiroler Zugspitzbahn from Ehrwald opened in 1926, was rebuilt in 1991, and lifts you about seventeen hundred metres in ten minutes to the summit plateau, arriving at the Austrian side of the top. From there the German cable car, the Bavarian rack railway, the glacier and the cross on the summit rock are all reachable, and the view on a clear day runs over several hundred kilometres into four countries. It is markedly quieter on the Austrian approach than on the German one from Garmisch, which is the practical argument for using it.

History

Hermann Stern, deputy mayor of Reutte, saw a cable car to the Zugspitze as a way to bring trade and tourists to the district, and Adolf Bleichert & Co. of Leipzig designed and built it, a record holder for the altitude it reached. It was finished in January 1926 and opened to the public on 5 July 1926, the first cable car to the Zugspitze, running from Ehrwald at 1,225 metres to a top station at 2,950 metres beside the summit (Wikipedia, Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car).

What's there

• A summit on a border - the top block split between Austria and Germany.
• Seventeen hundred metres in ten minutes - the Ehrwald cable car to the plateau.
• A four-country view - on a clear day, over several hundred kilometres.
• The quieter approach - far less busy than the German side from Garmisch.

When to go

All year; clear settled days. Half a day.

Things to know

Cloud closes the view often and wind closes the cable car. It is cold at the top in any season. Queues build on the German side and spill over. Altitude affects some visitors.

Nearby

Ehrwald and the Seebensee are below; Reutte and Highline179 are north.

Key facts