65 years of the ropeway Vöran-Burgstall

Transports on strenuous paths
The village of Vöran, like the other communities on the Tschögglberg, shared the fate of many mountain villages until well into the 20th century: the lack of transport links meant that the movement of people and materials to the rather nearby central centres was arduous and costly. Only 4 km beeline but more than 900 meters of altitude separated Vöran from the towns in the valley. For centuries, farm products were brought to the markets in Lana and Merano with pack animals. Things for everyday use that could not be produced on the farms were carried up the 900 metres of altitude on narrow and steep mountain paths.

The first material cableway
Thanks to the initiative of the Stegerhof farmer from Vöran, the first material cableway was built in 1890, based on the Mölten-Vilpian model. This private cableway did not reach into the village, but up to the level of today's sewage treatment plant, yet the entire village population benefited from this enormous relief. Soon people claimed mountain station in the village, because the transport from the Stegerhof to the village was too cumbersome for many.

An electric goods lift
In 1908 a new cableway project was submitted to the k.u.k. Merano district administration. The new route envisaged a middle station at the Stegerhof, a total of four supports and a mountain station in the immediate vicinity of the village (at today's house "Schmied"). With an electric drive of 15 hp and a hoisting load of 700 to 800 kg with the help of a counterweight, the project could certainly be described as modern. Despite several setbacks, such as missing the route by a few metres during the construction of the trestles and a broken suspension cable, the cableway was put into operation in 1910.

Who bites the bullet?
Although passenger transport was strictly forbidden, it was the order of the day. "If the builder Thomas Alber wanted to drive up, water or wood had to be used to ensure that the railway, which at that time only consisted of a low wooden box, moved. If no suitable counterweight could be found, the children had to climb into the wooden box and descend into the valley so that their father could get home. The children had to make the arduous journey up the mountain on foot," recounted Alois Alber, the elder farmer at the Stegerhof.

Tragic accidents
Last but not least, serious accidents lead to the common opinion that an alternative had to be found. Apart from the demand for a road connection via Hafling to Meran or via Mölten to Terlan, a ropeway was still the preferred solution. Even a connection by narrow-gauge railway was briefly considered by the K.&K. railway ministry. While the engineer Luis Zuegg built the cableway for passenger transport in Hafling already in 1923, in Vöran they still did not get beyond the planning phase.

An unsuccessful cableway company
There were plenty of ideas and idealists: in the 1920s, a cableway company was founded that pushed the project forward. At the beginning of the 1930s, the first supports were built, but that was all: on the one hand, the company ran out of money, on the other hand, every day life and structures in South Tyrol had fallen apart due to fascism.

A new law brings the financial solution
It was not until the 1950s that the idea was taken up again. The local government at the time was able to take advantage of a law that provided for generous financial support from the public if 80% of the municipal area was located above an altitude of 600m above sea level, was used for small-scale agricultural purposes and did not exceed a certain average yield.

Start of construction in 1956
Ing. Hölzl, who had already planned the Mölten-Vilpian cable car, was entrusted with the planning of the project, which was finally approved by the provincial government in 1955. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the then mayor Ignaz Kröss, the cable car could finally be built. However, a number of difficulties - not least financial - had to be overcome before the opening in July 1958.

Opening after two years of construction
The opening and commissioning of the cable car on 6 July 1958 was an event much noted by the local press and celebrated by the people of Vöran with far-reaching consequences for the village: citizens working outside the village could now commute to work every day. Young people could attend secondary schools. Cattle and material transports were also the order of the day. Contemporary witnesses remember the construction of the new school in 1962, when bricks, cement and other building materials were transported uphill without interruption.

Daily use by commuters and hikers
As dramatic as it sounds, the cable car has saved the village from dying. When commuter traffic was at rest at the weekend, guests and locals from the valley sought fresh air and recreation on the Tschögglberg. Already at the first ride at 5:30 a.m. (!) there was a crowd, everyone wanted to get to Vöran and on to the farmed alpine pastures of the high plateau.

Road expansion: the end for the cable car?
With the construction of the road, the cable car gradually lost its importance. When a major and cost-intensive overhaul was due in the 1980s, the municipal administration considered closing down the cable car. Commuters and schoolchildren in particular would have been dependent on inconvenient bus connections, and so strong resistance arose among the population. With the founding of a committee, which initiated a large-scale petition, the financing of the revision was achieved and the cable car was saved.

General renovation and automation at the turn of the millennium
In 2000, the cable car was completely renovated and automated. New cabins were installed and the valley station no longer had to be manned due to the automation. In addition to the daily commuters, there was an increase in the number of athletes who used the old footpaths, such as the Sunnseitn-Steig from Burgstall to Vöran, as a training route for mountain running or Nordic Uphill. After the training they quickly reached their starting point again with the cable car. The Knottnkino, which has become a popular hiking destination on the Rotsteinknott near Vöran since 2001, have also contributed to the good utilisation of the cable car.

From capacity utilisation to overload
The degree of capacity utilisation was high – so high that the cable car reached the limits of capacity. So a new construction was considered, which could actually be started in 2016 and was 90% financed by the province of South Tyrol. The new cable car was put into operation on 7 October 2017. During the entire construction period of the new cable car, the old one remained in operation so that passengers could continue to be transported to their workplace, to school or to the hiking area.

A new cable car since 2017
The new cable car was built by Doppelmayr and has a transport capacity of 360 people per hour, which is an increase of 62% compared to the old cable car. The new double suspension cable system gives the ropeway particular stability and guarantees operation even at high wind speeds. The single support, visible from afar, is 44 metres high.

Sustainable and forward-looking
Thus, 65 years after the first passenger cable car ride, Vöran still has a sustainable and modern means of public transport that is used by locals and guests alike. With the new construction, the municipality of Vöran has taken the right and important step towards the future.

Fun fact:
The Vöran-Burgstall cable car is one of the few - if not the only - cable car in the entire Alpine region that records more valley rides than mountain rides. The reason for this is the popular uphill training route on the Sunnseitn-Steig from Burgstall to Vöran, which athletes use for their training and return to their starting point in just a few minutes by cable car.