A new cable car will go into operation at Ochsenkopf in the Fichtelgebirge on Friday, December 22nd. With the new cable car, visitors can reach the 1,024-meter-high mountain more comfortably, quickly and barrier-free, said a spokesman for the Bayreuth district office.
The facility on the north side of the Ochsenkopf near the community of Bischofsgrün (Bayreuth district) includes 40 ten-person gondolas. This means that around 2,000 people per hour can reach the Ochsenkopf, as the Fichtelgebirge holiday region announced. The gondolas also transport families with strollers and people in wheelchairs.
Construction work on the new cable car began in March 2023. Its predecessor, a double chairlift, was 32 years old and, according to the Fichtelgebirge holiday region, could only transport a quarter of the future capacity to the Ochsenkopf with up to 500 people per hour. The cable car was renewed “in order to strengthen tourism in the Fichtelgebirge and to play the topic of year-round tourism even more,” said the spokesman for the district office.
The Fichtelgebirge is a skiing, hiking and recreational area in the northeast of Upper Franconia and the northwest of the Czech Republic. At 1024 meters, the Ochsenkopf is the second highest mountain in the region after the Schneeberg (1051 meters) and is a popular excursion destination. The ox head owes its name to its characteristic shape.
According to the Bayreuth district office, the construction of the cable car on the north side of the Ochsenkopf cost around 25.6 million euros. The Free State of Bavaria contributed almost 7.7 million euros. In spring 2024, a new cable car will also be built on the south side of the mountain and will replace the current cable car from 1997. The new building on the south side of the Ochsenkopf is expected to cost 15.6 million euros. According to the Bayreuth district office, the Free State is funding the construction of the southern railway with 4.67 million euros.
The State Association for Bird and Nature Conservation (LBV) appreciates the new cable car. “We have always been committed to using the Ochsenkopf for tourism,” says Oliver Thaßler, head of the LBV’s Upper Franconia district office. As long as the hiking area is well signposted and enough rangers direct the flow of visitors, there is nothing wrong with the modernized facility from a nature and species protection perspective.
However, a point of contention between the association and the district offices is the Kornberg in the northeast of the Fichtelgebirge. “We are very upset that a bike park is going to be built there,” said Thaßler. The LBV is suing the Bayreuth Administrative Court against the construction of the park. The agreement between conservationists and authorities has always been that the Ochsenkopf would be used for hiking and winter sports – while Schneeberg and Kornberg would be spared from crowds of tourists. The Kornberg is a habitat for rare animal species, including wolves, lynxes and wild cats.