1.CURIOSITY - INNSBRUCK'S HIGHEST LETTERBOX
If you walk through the Hafelekar mountain station with your eyes open, you will have noticed that there is a letterbox to the right of the exit. This dates back to a time long before Instagram and WhatsApp, when guests still shared their experiences on the Nordkette with their friends and families by post. There used to be a souvenir store directly in the mountain station, where postcards and stamps could be purchased. The letterbox was emptied by the cable car staff, who then took the post down to the valley and handed it to the letter carrier or posted it themselves at the post office in Innsbruck. Even today, there are still postmarks in the Seegrube and Hafelekar stations with which the letters were stamped. Today, these are used for entries in hikers' summit books, for example. On your next hike, simply ask our staff for a stamp for your tour book :-)
2.CURIOSITY - ALPINE BASE
Until 2006, the Seegrubenbahn could only be controlled from the Seegrube, which is why the stations on the mountain were manned around the clock and also served as alpine bases. The Hafelekar had its own emergency telephone with a connection to the Seegrube in order to initiate the rescue chain in the event of alpine emergencies. The command post was relocated to the Hungerburg when the lifts were rebuilt. The alpine base with its 24-hour staffing was dissolved as a result.
3RD CURIOSITY - ALOIS, THE 4-SEATER CARRIAGE
There are four gondolas up to the Seegrube and the cirque. Huh? Four? Two to the Seegrube and yet only one to the Hafelekar? That's right, no guests can be transported in the fourth carriage, the "4-seater carriage" is Alois, the counterweight to the Hafelekarbahn. Alois weighs the same as the empty gondola, i.e. approx. 8 tons. But how did the name Alois come about?
In the past, the track of the counterweight ran parallel to the track of the actual gondola. It happened once that the counterweight crashed into the empty cabin in strong winds. After this incident, the counterweight track was relocated. The reopening after the conversion was carried out by the then mayor of Innsbruck, Dr. Alois Lugger, which is why the counterweight lift is still referred to internally as "Alois" to this day.
4. CURIOSITY - SHEEP TICKET
How... sheep ticket? That's right, furry guests are sometimes transported on the trains. In summer, many sheep romp around on the Seegrube and Goetheweg. The animals are generally very sure-footed, but it can still happen that a sheep gets injured or lost and "misses" the cattle drive in the fall. In this case, we offer sheep transportation and the fluffy animals can travel down into the valley in a relaxed manner. Of course, they don't have to buy a ticket ;-)
