Zug
and the Lauerzersee, the Rigi stands like a bastion on the approaches to
the Gotthard. The first records date from 1353, but it was not until the
seventeenth century that the Rigi became well known, when pilgrims came
to the Kalt-Bad to cure their ills. This led to an embryonic development
of tourism, for in 1756 the cantonal government in Lucerne authorized the
opening of the first hostelry at Rigi-Kaltbad. The building contained a
priest's apartment, four guest rooms and a saloon. In the following century,
in 1868, the new Kurhaus was built. Full board then cost 11 francs
per day. In 1816, long before the first mountain train ascended the Rigi,
J.M. Bürgli built the earliest guest house at Rigi-Kulm.
Visitors who found the climb up the Rigi too strenuous could always resort to bearers or hire a horse. Bearers were stationed at Arth, Küssnacht, Greppen, Weggis and Vitznau. Hire charges for itineraries from Weggis were as follows:
Route Bearer Horse
Weggis-Rigi-Kaltbad Sfr 3.50 Sfr. 6.00
Weggis-Rigi-Kulm Sfr.5.00 Sfr.10.00
In order to regulate movement up and down the mountain, "traffic officers"
were employed by the council at Weggis and stationed at strategic points
in the more difficult sectors.
Constructing the Vitznau - Rigi Railway
When the engineer Niklaus Riggenbach planned Europe's first mountain railway from Vitznau to Rigi-Kulm, his project was greeted with ridicule. Even technical experts doubted that the plan could ever be realized and many regarded Riggenbach as a mere eccentric. Born in Alsace in 1817, Niklaus Riggenbach studied at the Basel grammar school. Being told that he lacked aptitude for a business career, he worked for a while in a factory where he became fascinated with mechanical processes and precision engineering in particular. In Paris he attended lectures at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers. While in Paris, the St. Germain railway was opened and Riggenbach found his true vocation: building locomotives. In 1847 he drove the Swiss Railway's first steam locomotive from Karlsruhe [Germany] to Zurich. Four years later, after a stay of several months in England, Riggenbach was employed by the Swiss Central Railway Board to manage the main railway works at Olten. It was there that he conceived the idea of overcoming steep gradients by means of a rack-and-pinion mechanism.
Appreciating the Rigi's unique position, Riggenbach decided to construct
the Vitznau - Rigi mountain railway. «My aim is to enable people
to view the beauty of our glorious land from up on high», he declared
when, in 1863, he took out French patents for his revolutionary invention
- the track-and-pinion funicular. Locomotive No. 1, the «Stadt Luzern»,
successfully made its maiden run on a 300 meter stretch on Riggenbach's
birthday, May 21, 1870, and exactly one year later, Europe's first mountain
railway was inaugurated.
The Rigi Today
Today the Rigi remains essentially what it was a century ago. Of all the mountains in Central Switzerland it is the one which most appeals to ramblers and holidaymakers in general. But it has not been spoiled by tourism. Everything has been done to maintain it in its original beauty while at the same time catering for the needs of visitors. Two modern electric cogwheel railways and an aerial cable car fitted with every safety device convey tourists from three points in the valley to the heights of the Rigi, where many miles of footpaths and an incomparable panorama await the visitor. Two exciting luge runs (one is 3.1km in length, one of the longest in Central Switzerland) present an attractive family pass-time. Mount the luge and off you are on crunchy snow to an exhilarating descent from Rigi Kulm to Rigi Klösterli.