Bolzano-Kohlern, 29 June 1908: The Kohlern railway goes into operation!
This is the world's first passenger cable car. It overcomes a height difference of about 800 meters in 15 minutes (nowadays, it takes just about 5 minutes). It was a small world sensation, a bold idea by innkeeper Josef Staffler to bring guests comfortably from the hot Bolzano basin to the summer retreat on the local mountain, Kohlern, to the inn of the same name.
From the initial idea of a cable car from Haslach to Bauernkohlern, to the second idea of a funicular railway over Kampenn to Ochsenbichl, and finally to the third idea of an "electrically operated cable lift," the first passenger cable car was realized in 1908. "Der Tiroler" wrote on July 2, 1908: "...from a primitive freight lift ... a novel, one might say ideally designed mountain railway has evolved over the years due to great entrepreneurial spirit..."
Even today, the people of Bolzano prefer to take the cable car to Kohlern, and guests at the Kohlern inn enjoy taking the cable car to Bolzano.