Vipiteno: Rosskopf Builds New Lift With Leitner
A new era is heralded on Sterzing's local mountain, the Rosskopf! The cable car, which is now 35 years old and was built in 1987, will be rebuilt as a gondola in the coming months.
Construction will be completed in time for the 2022 winter season. In addition to a new 10-seater gondola lift from the Sterzing-based company Leitner, the valley station in the north of the city and the mountain station at 1860 m above sea level are also being renewed.
In this context, those responsible speak of a milestone for Sterzing and the surrounding area, the total costs amount to approx. 18 million euros.
The financing was secured through a tour de force by the President of Neue Rosskopf GmbH, the Board of Directors and other stakeholders. In addition to the municipality of Vipiteno, the surrounding municipalities of Wiesen/Pfitsch and Freienfeld also make an annual contribution towards paying the costs.
The Rosskopf Bergbahn is Italy's only cable car that runs over a motorway, and that's probably why it's a special flagship for the entire region. For the Fugger town of Sterzing, the Rosskopf, with its valley station in the immediate vicinity of the center, is an important local recreation area for both locals and guests. The direct proximity between the town and the mountain railway is unique in South Tyrol. Shopping, enjoyment and sporting activities can be optimally combined here.
As part of the new building, the offices of the Sterzing Pfitsch Freienfeld tourist association will be accommodated in the valley station. In this way, the intention is to expand the close ties between the tourism cooperative, which was financially involved in the construction of the new Rosskopf valley run a few years ago, and the mountain railway. Due to the local proximity, one would like to make better use of synergies, such as in administration, marketing or communication. For this purpose, the accessibility for the members is optimized. The information office will remain at its location on the town square of Vipiteno.
With the new summer toboggan run that was built last year, an important step was taken in the direction of expanding summer operations. In addition to skiing, which was strengthened in 2019 by the renovation of the Panoramabahn, the longest illuminated and snow-covered toboggan run in Italy is still being built on the Rosskopf. With the new mountain railway, Sterzing and Rosskopf are consistently moving in the direction of modernization and further development.