History
To enter the sunny side of Engelberg with a cable car had been a long desired wish. Several potential locations were inspected, and on 23 February 1952 the cable car from Engelberg to Ristis was opened. In the early days, twelve-seater cable cars brought passengers up to Ristis and the "Ristis Stübli", a cosy mountain restaurant bathed in sunlight.
Over the last 50 years, a number of reconstructions and enlargements were needed. The twelve-seater cabin was adapted to accommodate 40 persons; the mountain and valley stations were modernised to cope with the extra numbers of visitors; and the Ristis mountain restaurant was built and later extended. Then, with the upcoming renewal of the license for the cable car in 2010, the company started thinking about renovating and extending the cableway network.
A situation analysis followed and the company decided that a new cable car with a new location in Engelberg was the best solution to meet future demands The new cable car for 65 persons with the new routing and new valley and mountain stations opened in December 2008.
1942 | Commissioning of the T-bar lift (Manufacturer: Sigrist) at the Klostermatte with a capacity of 250 p/h | |
1950 | November 9 | Issuing of the licence to operate a cable car to Ristis from Engelberg town (Hinterdorfstrasse 12) |
1951 | April 9 | Registration of the "Luftseilbahn Engelberg-Brunni AG" in the commercial register |
1952 | February 23 | Opening of the cable car with a 12 seat cabin, capacity of 480 p/h |
1957 | Commissioning of the T-bar lift (Manufacturer: Müller) from Ristis to the Brunnihut SAC with a capacity of 900 p/h | |
1960 | Reconstruction of the cable car into a 40 person cabin cable car and the new building of the restaurant Ristis at todays location | |
1960 | Commissioning of the T-bar lift (Manufacturer: Städeli) from Brunnihut SAC to Schonegg with a capacity of 600 p/h (afterwards this lift is rebuilded in another T-bar lift with a capacity of 390 p/h) | |
1963 | Replacement of the ski lift by a T-bar lift with a new routing (Manufacturer: Städeli) with a capacity of 680 p/h | |
1970 | Commissioning of the left platter lift (Manufacturer: Städeli) at the Klostermatte with a capacity of 450 p/h | |
1980 | Enlargement of restaurant Ristis and rebuiling of the cable car mountain station. | |
1988 | Extension of the restaurant with a children play area and a 4 room apartment for the tenants | |
1989/90 | Renovation of the cable car Engelberg - Ristis and replacement of the cabin with a new one for 45 persons | |
1993 | Build of the 3 seater chairlift Ristis - Brunnihut SAC (Manufacturer: Leitner) with a capacity of 1200 p/h, as a replacement for the T-bar lift | |
1993 | Commissioning of the summer toboggan run at Ristis (Manufacturer: Wiegland) | |
1994 | Opening of the Brunni trail - A nature learn path of the alpine region | |
1997/99 | Redesign of the mid section of the Bergrestaurant Ristis and extension of the restaurant with a new part "Wintergarten" | |
2000 | Opening of the "Härzlisee" the heart formed lake and the installation of snowmaking machines in Brunni | |
2004 | "Luftseilbahn Brunni Engelberg AG" takes over "Skilifte Klostermatte AG" | |
2005 | Replacement of the snow cannons at the Klostermatte | |
2008 | December 12 | Opening of the new cable car Engelberg - Ristis with a 65 persons cabin and a capacity of 640 p/h |
2007/09 | Replacement of the ski lift Klostermatte | |
2010 | January 1 | Amalgamation of "Luftseilbahn Brunni Engelberg AG" and "Brunni Sessel-und Skilifte AG" |
2013 | Complete revision of the chairlift with new control and installation of a conveyor belt | |
2013 | Built of Family restaurant OX, integrated skirental, skischool office and a slope groomers garage, new electronics for the Klostermatte | |
2014 | Build of the via ferrata "Rigidalstockwand" | |
2015 | Opening Globis alpine playground at Ristis | |
2015 | June 2 | Renaming the company from "Luftseilbahn Engelberg-Brunni AG" to "Brunni-Bahnen Engelberg AG" |
2015 | New installation of LED-lights on the Klostermatte ski slope for night skiing | |
2016 | August 8 | Opening berglodge Ristis with 7 bedrooms and 41 beds - opening barefoot trail Ristis - Brunnihut and opening forest fireplace Ristis |
2019 | June 29 | Reopening of the reconstructed restaurant Ristis |
2019/20 | new construction of retaining wall and widening of pists | |
2020 | construction of a snowmaking system for the toboggan run | |
2021 | remodeling of office and extension of toilet facilities valley station | |
2021 | Office conversion and extension of toilet facilities at the bottom station of the cable car. Old Brunni cable car returns to the area as a Tiny House. Seasonal overnight accommodation at 1,880 m above sea level. | |
2022/23 | New ticketing system at the summer toboggan run and in the restaurants. Floor renovation of the mountain and valley stations of the gondola. Purchase of new turnstiles at the Klostermatte. | |
2023/24 | Redesign for a accessible and inviting area in front of the valley station in collaboration with the municipality of Engelberg. New, longer ski magic carpet in Ristis. Start of renovation of the economy building in Ristis. | |
2024 | New solar installations at the Engelberg-Ristis cable car valley and mountain stations. | |
2024 | November 1 | Purchase of Brunnihütte from SAC Engelberg. |
2024 | December 7 | Commissioning of a new building for the summer toboggan run and Yeti Park. |