World Heritage Identification Number: 785
World Heritage since: 1998
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇦🇹 Austria
Continent: Europe
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
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The Pioneering Feat of Engineering: Semmering Railway
The Semmering Railway, a marvel of civil engineering, stretches over a distance of 41 kilometers through the heart of the Alps in Austria. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, this historic railway line stands as a testament to human ingenuity and perseverance.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Semmering Railway, built over 41 km of high mountains between 1848 and 1854, is one of the greatest feats of civil engineering from this pioneering phase of railway building. The high standard of the tunnels, viaducts and other works has ensured the continuous use of the line up to the present day. It runs through a spectacular mountain landscape and there are many fine buildings designed for leisure activities along the way, built when the area was opened up due to the advent of the railway.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (ii): The Semmering Railway represents an outstanding technological solution to a major physical problem in the construction of early railways.
Criterion (iv): With the construction of the Semmering Railway, areas of great natural beauty became more easily accessible and as a result these were developed for residential and recreational use, creating a new form of cultural landscape.
Encyclopedia Record: Semmering railway
The Semmering railway in Austria, which starts at Gloggnitz and leads over the Semmering to Mürzzuschlag, was the first mountain railway in Europe built with a standard gauge track. It is commonly referred to as the world's first true mountain railway, given the very difficult terrain and the considerable altitude difference that was mastered during its construction. It is still fully functional as a part of the Southern Railway which is operated by the Austrian Federal Railways.Additional Site Details
Area: 156.18 hectares
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
Coordinates: 47.64877778 , 15.82797222
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© Haeferl, CC BY-SA 3.0 at Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
