photo : Paul Simpson
You don’t have to be an anorak toting, book touting train enthusiast to appreciate the innovation, skill and foresight of Industrialists in Steiermark, the Green Heart of Austria. When they see an opportunity they seize it.
Thus it was in the mid-19th century when some 20,000 people pulled together to build Europe’s first ever Mountain Railway.
Semmering Railway
Built between 1848 and 1854, Semmering Railway has:
- 14 tunnels
- 16 viaducts (several of these being two stories high)
- over 100 curved stone bridges
- and 11 iron bridges.
But its main claim to fame, was that it was the first full size railway to be built through mountainous terrain. Until this time, mountain railways had always been of narrow-gauge design.
None but the Austrians had thought it possible to undertake such a challenge – and fewer still would have thought that this would be a fully operational railway well over 150 years later!
But as it passed through the varied landscapes of the green heart of Austria and down through the changing fads and fancies of the 20th century, the Semmering Railway was headed for even greater world acclaim.
UNESCO World Heritage Site
In 1998, Semmering Railway was formally recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site – an accolade to the outstanding universal value that this innovation of the 19th century has achieved, as it passes along the natural border of the Semmering Pass between Lower Austria and Styria.
During its build the Semmering Railway was perceived as an experiment in landscape gardening on a previously undreamt of scale, bringing together in a harmonious relationship the wonders of modern technology and the breath-taking beauty of Nature.
Steiermark – the green heart of Austria – is truly a place where dreams become an enduring reality.
