Kaprun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kaprun is a small alpine town in the Pinzgau district of Land Salzburg in Austria. At the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, at , it is a winter-sports centre with a population of 2,903 (2001).
The town is also known for its power plant, construction of which began during World War II and was finished after the war was over. One of the dams for the power plant bears an inscription:
- ERP - Erbaut mit Marshallplan hilfe
- (ERP (European Recovery Program) - built with help from the Marshall Plan).
In 2000, it was the site of the Kaprun disaster, in which 155 skiers lost their lives in a tunnel fire.
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[edit] Mooserboden
The Mooserboden hydroelectric plant uses water from two reservoirs held back by some of Austria’s largest dam walls. The reservoir area has become a tourist attraction, giving spectacular views over the towns of Kaprun and Zell am See. The visitors centre offers guided tours of the area.
[edit] Gletscherbahn
The Kitzsteinhorn ski area is accessed by the Gletscherbahn 1 aerial tramway, which has the tallest cable car support tower in the world. Gletscherbahn 2 was a funicular railway with two carriages, which has not reopened since the Kaprun disaster.
[edit] Gletscherbahn 1
Gletscherbahn 1 is an aerial tramway in three sections, opened in 1967. The lowest section, Kapruner Thoerl to the Hut of Salzburg, is 2028 meters long and climbs 970 meters. The second section, to the Hut of Krefeld, climbs 554 meters. The third section, from the Hut of Krefeld, is 2192 meters long and climbs 575 meters. This section uses the tallest support pillar of any aerial tramway, a steel framework construction 113.9 meters (originally 106 meters) high. This pillar was built in 1966 and has of a pipe of 2.2 meters diameter in the center, in which a ladder and a maintenance elevator are installed. For more details, see Glacial Aerial Tramway Kaprun III
[edit] Gletscherbahn 2
Gletscherbahn 2 was a funicular railway from Kaprun to the Kitzsteinhorn, opened in 1974. This railway had the unusual track gauge of 946 millimeters, and a length of 3900 meters, of which 3300 meters was through a tunnel. It has remained closed since the Kaprun disaster on November 11, 2000, in which 155 people were killed.
