Rigi

Seen the whole of the Rigi massif from the east, right to the antenna Rigi Kulm

View from the northwest

Pd5

The Rigi is a mountain massif between Lake Lucerne, Lake Zug and Lake Lauerzersee in central Switzerland. The highest peak is at a height of 1,797, 5 m above sea level. M. Rigi -Kulm, a popular destination for tourists. A little less high are the other top Rigi Hochflue ( Hochfluh ) Dossen Rotstock and is subsequent to the southeast Rigi- Scheidegg. The mountain is sometimes called the " Queen of Hills ".

Name

In the course of opening up tourism in the Alps, the interpretation was widespread, the name was an abbreviation of the Latin Rigi Regina montium - "Queen of the Mountains". Etymologically, this is not tenable. The oldest known evidence of the name is from 1368 and reads: in pede montis riginam ( " at the foot of the mountain Rigina "). Somewhat later, in 1384, there is talk of Riginen. With Riginen you designate geological strata that are clearly visible on the Rigi north side. Rigi is therefore an ellipse, a shortening of Riginen.

The grammatical gender is wavering. The name of the village Küssnacht at the foot of the mountain shows that the masculine form is in use for a long time. This can be explained as a reference to Rigiberg.

Tourism

Already in the 18th century, the Rigi known thanks to the unique location on Lake Lucerne as excursion and holiday paradise. The visitor a wonderful panorama over the lake and the nearby Alps, and north to the Mittelland. In addition, the mountain offers various leisure activities: hiking, sledding, skiing, paragliding, horse-drawn carriage rides, nostalgia trips with a steam engine from the turn of the century and more.

Public transportation

The Rigi is accessible by two cog railways and two cable car:

• Of Vitznau: Vitznau- Rigi -Bahn The ( train) was taken as the first mountain railway in Europe in operation on May 21, 1871. In 1873 they reached the summit and is electrically operated since 1937. The route from Staffelhöhe to Kulm had the VRB lease until the merger of the ARB, as they possessed no license for this lying in Schwyz branch.
• Of Arth: The Arth -Rigi -Bahn ( train) was put into operation on June 4, 1875. 1907 this railway was converted as a first standard gauge rack railway in the world to electric drive. The original valley section of Arth am See to Goldau no longer exists, the path starts today at Arth -Goldau station.
• Weggis: The panoramic cable car from Weggis to Rigi cold bath was put into operation on 15 July 1968.
• Of Goldau: The cable car Kräbel Rigi-Scheidegg LKR was commissioned in 1953. 1960 and 1985, capacity enhancements have been made to today 15 people per cabin

The first three systems merged in 1992 to the Rigi Railways AG. The rack railways use the same standard gauge track with rack after the Riggenbach system and the same driving voltage of 1500 volts DC, so that an exchange of vehicles is easy.

Rigi Rigi Scheidegg Between cold bath and 1874-1875 the narrow- Rigi-Scheidegg railway was built, but only in a few years in the black and operation interrupted several times. 1931, the company was all set to sell the rolling stock and canceled the route in 1942. On the Trassee this track now leads a comfortable, even in winter like -used trail over bridges and through a tunnel.

There are also some smaller cable cars and a dense network of hiking trails. The part of the municipality Weggis LU, 1'400 m above sea level. M. settlement lying cold bath is the center of activities ( station of the VRB, hotel facilities, post office, village shop, apartments, chapel. ) The village is car-free and also for a long time as " the cold bath " known. A popular, almost level trail leads to the famous lookout point Känzeli overlooking Mount Pilatus, Lucerne and Lake Lucerne.

Gallery

Aerial view of Mount Rigi, looking towards the OSO

Rigi Klösterli

Rigi Kulm panorama below

Geology

Geologically, the Rigi, apart from the limestone pinnacles of Hochflue, and the Vitznauerstocks ( in the canton of Schwyz, one says Gersauerstock ) in the south, not to the Alps, but the Subalpine Molasse and thus to the Swiss Plateau. The compressed from different materials, not very solid rock is referred to as conglomerate rock.

On the western and northern slopes of the Rigi often appear heavy rain. Run locally to severe soil erosion and shallow sites for deposition often more powerful, with humus -mixed loose sediments ( alluvium as colluvium ).

The Rigi in literature and art

The full spectrum of the Rigi was (first? ) Drawn by Samuel Birman 1814/1815. The view over Lake Lucerne held William Turner in 1842 in a world famous watercolor fixed ( " The Blue Rigi - Lake of Lucerne - Sunrise ").

Literary Rigi is known in particular by Mark Twain, who describes his experiences in his travel narratives " A Tramp Abroad " at the ascent of the mountain. Even Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited the Rigi. Tolstoy called his work " From the Diary of Prince Nekhludoff: Lucerne» the view from up there as one of the finest in the world.

Transmitter

On the Rigi Swisscom Broadcast AG operates a transmission system for radio and television. On 6 meters height is a viewing platform.