Mountain railway Ellmau - Hartkaiserbahn

The modern 10-seater cable car Hartkaiser transports guests in 9 minutes from the valley station in Ellmau (820m) directly to the hiking & skiing paradise of the Hartkaiser (at 1550m). With an incomparable view of the Wilder Kaiser, even the ride on the modern gondola lift is a special experience already. In summer, the mountain station is an ideal starting point for numerous hiking and walking trails. In addition, rustic alpine pastures and huts provide culinary delights on the mountain and invite you to rest and enjoy. Directly at the mountain station of the Hartkaiserbahn is the adventure world Ellmi's Zauberwelt. The 4,000-square-meter children's play park with a carving hut, petting zoo, climbing castle and many other adventure stations delights visitors young and old throughout the summer.

Middle station Rübezahlalm (approx. 15 minutes walk to the hut):
Summer: mountain-side access & exit possible from 10:00 to 16:45 o'clock from Mid May - Mid October!
Winter: no access & exit for hikers possible!

Once upon a time...
from the Ellmauer local chronicler Christian Kuen
44 years Hartkaiser funicular railway
The 20th of January 1973 represents a significant and trend-setting date for the upswing of tourism in Ellmau. On this day, the completed funicular railroad was ceremoniously inaugurated on the Hartkaiser mountain in the presence of numerous local representatives from politics and business, thus laying the foundation for a successful future. Men with vision succeeded at that time through a lot of courage and commitment to create a successful basis from which Ellmau still benefits today. In January 1972, the complex bridge construction by the Voest company began. After only a few months, the construction of the bottom station was completely finished, the construction of the top station including the integrated restaurant followed in summer and fall. The Hartkaiserbahn was modernized again and again in the following years and is today one of the most important components of the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser - Brixental.

In the summer of 2015, the funicular was replaced by a hypermodern 10-seater XLarge gondola lift that plays all the pieces of current ropeway technology. The new Hartkaiser cable car is one of the most modern cable cars in the world. All cabins are equipped with seat heating and WLAN, handicapped accessible & a particularly long boarding area ensures comfortable and relaxed boarding. The valley station has also been completely renovated: SkiWelt Ellmau now offers a sports store with ski & bike rental, a heated ski depot on 1500 m², a restaurant and apres ski bar. In winter 2018/2019, the Hotel Tirol Lodge opened directly next to the valley station of the Hartkaiser gondola.