42. Vitznau and Rigi Kulm Railway Station - 16 Sept 1900 | Glass Plates
As the first mountain rack railway in Europe, opening on the 21st of May 1871, the Vitznau-Rigi Railway has been carrying tourists up and down Rigi for over a century and a half.
Robert Allbut, in his The Tourist's Handbook to Switzerland (1884), describes the following phenomenon when descending Rigi towards Vitznau:
“During the descent a curious optical illusion is experienced, which often seems to be incredible. All the trees and houses appear to be bent in a slanting direction. They are all standing awry, so that the chalets or cottages of the peasants seem to be tumbling down. It is the consequence of the steep inclination of the line.” (Allbut, p. 83)
For context, the gradient of the track is around 25% at its steepest.
The town of Vitznau, sitting on the shores of Lake Lucerne and the base of Mount Rigi, was a popular destination for English tourists in the 19th and early 20th century, as evidenced by its inclusion amongst this collection of glass plate photographs.
The railyard pictured is the base of the rail route, and in the background the clocktower of the church dedicated to St. Hieronymus can be seen.
A Familiar Face
Now that we have three distinct photos with a gentleman wearing a flat cap, I feel comfortable saying that this must be one of the party who went on this tour of Europe. These appearances can be seen in glass plate 5, 24, and now 42; the man who appeared in number 4 has yet to make a return. This leads me to speculate that this must either be a companion on the trip – the photographer by necessity being behind the camera? – or, alternatively, the photographer himself who has asked his companion to take over camera duties. Both theories are sound.
Whatever the case, while we do not have a name attached to these photos, there is a least a sense of personal contact through the recognition of this gentleman’s face. We will have to wait and see if he appears again.
Do-Do-Lu Do-Do-Lu Do-Do-Lu-Lu-Lu
Staying in Switzerland, the next two glass plates will be sites familiar to fans of a particular folk hero – a folk hero with a famous overture.
Judging by this section title, I think the mountain air has affected me somewhat, so I will end by thanking those who have stuck with me on this journey thus far.
I hope you will join me next time.
References
Allbut, Robert, The Tourist's Handbook to Switzerland (London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1884)
‘Rigi Railways and Cableways’, Weggis Vitznau <https://www.weggis-vitznau.ch/en/holiday-resorts/rigi/rigi-railways-and-cableways/>
‘The Rigi Kulm Story: Hospitality Since 1816’, Rigi Kulm <https://www.rigikulm.ch/en/panoramic-mountain/journey-through-time/>
1900 Glass Plates: This project explores a series of glass plates from the year 1900 with the eventual goal of travelling the same route as the photographer. It will be a varied journey that will stretch from simple blog posts examining each photo to videos and more. This project is in collaboration with photographer Aleksandar Nenad Zecevic, who’ll be restoring the photographs to bring out details dimmed by time. More to follow.
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