Schauinslandbahn, Freiburg, Germany

In 1893 the Freiburg Town Council declared that the Schauinsland, the city's landmark mountain, "... has to be made accessible to the public." The Schauinslandbahn's website explains that, "On 7 August 1928, after successful project planning, the Planning Committee approved the construction of a cable car on the Schauinsland. As a consequence, the Schauinslandbahn Aktiengesellschaft was founded on 19 December 1928 which, in addition to fundraising, was responsible for the planning and project development. The first stone of the mega-project involving 2.15 million Reichsmark was laid on 8 May 1929." The system opened to the public on July 17, 1930.

By 1986, after 56 years of operating and transporting more than 12 million passengers, "... a new and more economic concept had to be developed due to large deficits and the old cabins that urgently needed renovation. .... The ravages of time – control and safety installations were not up-to-date – and corrosion had taken a lot out of the cabins. The VAG as the operator opted for the reconstruction of the cable car to a more powerful and economic cable car .... The reconstruction costs amounted to DM 9 million. The new cable car was inaugurated by Mayor Dr. Rolf Böhme on 6 December 1988."

The Schauinsland cable car is the longest loop cable car in Germany. Passengers hover at a height of 1,200m ....