Kaprun

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Kaprun
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of Kaprun
Kaprun (Austria)
Kaprun
Administration
Country Flag of Austria Austria
State Salzburg
District Zell am See
Mayor Norbert Karlsböck (SPÖ)
Basic statistics
Area 100.41 km² (38.8 sq mi)
Elevation 786 m  (2579 ft)
Population 2,947  (31/12/2005)
 - Density 29 /km² (76 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate ZE
Postal code 5710
Area code 06547
Website www.kaprun.at

Coordinates: 47°16′21″N 12°45′34″E / 47.2725, 12.75944

Mooserboden.
Mooserboden.
One of the reservoirs of the Kaprun Kraftwerk (power project).
One of the reservoirs of the Kaprun Kraftwerk (power project).

Kaprun is a small alpine town in the district of Zell am See in the state of Salzburg in Austria. At the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, it is a all year round - 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).
Overall view of Kaprun.
Overall view of Kaprun.

In 2000, it was the site of the Kaprun disaster, in which 155 skiers lost their lives in a tunnel fire.

Contents

[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 2,028 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.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links