Giselabahn celebrates 150 years: A look back at the history of the route!

Giselabahn celebrates 150 years: A look back at the history of the route!

The Giselabahn will celebrate an impressive anniversary in 2023: its 150th birthday. This important railway line, which connects Tyrol with Salzburg, began its journey on August 6, 1875. This made it the first east-west connection of the then monarchy, without any dependencies on Bavaria, and laid the foundation for tourism in the region. The route leads from Salzburg via Bischofshofen, Zell am See and Hochfilzen, on to St. Johann through the picturesque Brixental to Wörgl. This historic connection was considered the backbone of regional transportation for over a century. The total construction time was around five and a half years, although the actual construction time only took two years, as Krone reports.

The engineering challenge associated with the construction of the Giselabahn was particularly impressive. Among other things, the Moosbach Bridge was built, which at 28 meters is the highest valley crossing on the route. The Grießen pass leads to over 1,000 meters above sea level and therefore represents another technical challenge. A total of 6.5 million cubic meters of earth and rock were moved and 566,000 cubic meters of masonry work was carried out to complete this impressive route.

History and development of the Giselabahn

Construction of the Gisela Railway began in the spring of 1873 by the private company “Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Bahn”. Three variants were originally planned for the route, but only the one via Brixental was approved. The travel times according to the timetable on the opening date show the impressive efficiency at the time: the connection from Kitzbühel to St. Johann took 34 minutes, from St. Johann to Fieberbrunn 30 minutes and from Fieberbrunn to Hochfilzen 40 minutes, as the records show.

In 1913, the construction of a second track was initiated to expand the infrastructure for military transport. The electrification of the Giselabahn took place between 1925 and 1928, which represents another milestone in the history of the railway. In the 1980s, however, the Giselabahn began to lose importance due to the expansion of the route over the Deutsches Eck. Since the 1990s, almost all freight trains have been routed along this new route.

Attachment to the region

To mark the anniversary, the Pillersee local history association organized an extensive exhibition on the history of the Giselabahn. This will open on June 26, 2023 in the Kulturhaus Hochfilzen and will run until August 17, 2023. The exhibition will be under the direction of chairman Wolfgang Schwaiger and will show exceptional rarities from archives, including a photo exhibition with various panels, which is planned until the fall [MeinBezirk](https://www.meinbezirk.at/kitzbuehel/c-reisen/giselabahn- Feiert-140-jubilaeum_a1410170) points out.

With its impressive history and the role that the Gisela Railway has played in transport and tourism, it remains an enduring symbol of further development in the region. The train journey along this route is not only a travel experience, but also a journey through the history of Tyrol and Salzburg.