Close your eyes and picture Bern in 1885. The city buzzed with excitement as the famous Swiss marksmen’s festival was about to begin. Seven entrepreneurial Bernese had an idea: a shortcut from Marzili to the Bundeshaus above. Their funicular license was hot off the presses and construction was a whirlwind; if there’d been a Bernese Olympics for fastest railway building, they would have taken the gold. When the first passengers loaded in, the ride was powered not by electricity, but by water-imagine the upper car’s tank filling with up to 3.5 tonnes of water from the city stream, making it heavy enough to glide down and pull the second car up.
Operators, standing at the ready, communicated by bell signals. Efficient, but also a great way to practice for the next round of Swiss bell ringers. In those early days, ticket prices were fixed at 10 rappen-but the Federal Council had to stop them from charging non-locals double. Even back then, everyone wanted a shortcut, but nobody wanted to pay extra!
Through the years, this line’s had garden scenery tended by its conductors beneath the raised steel tracks and swapped out cars more times than some of us change socks. Its upgrade to electric power in 1974 was so modern, some people joked you could charge your fondue pot on the ride!
Standing here, outside this “tiny titan” of Bern, you’re next to a funicular that’s made everything from Swiss exhibitions to government business that much smoother and snappier-proving, once and for all, that shortcuts really do make life more fun!
