Semmering Railway, Austria

A viaduct of the Semmering Railway
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Breitenstein_-_Semmeringbahn_-_Krausel-Klause-Viadukt.jpg
Author: Häferl


The Semmering Railway is a 41-km railway connecting Gloggnitz to Mürzzuschlag, in Simmering, Austria. It goes through the Semmering Mountain Pass, which gives it its name. The pass is at an elevation of 965 meters, and connects the Austrian states of Lower Austria with Styria. Built between 1848 and 1854, it was the first mountain railway in Europe to be built with a standard gauge track. The Semmering Railway was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the twenty-second session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Kyoto, Japan, from 30 November to 5 December 1998.

The World Heritage Committee recognised the Semmering Railway for being one of the greatest feats of civil engineering in the 19th century. It also praises the high standard of the tunnels, viaducts and other structures that allows the railway to be in continuous use to the present day.

Train on the Semmering Railway negotiating the Kalte-Rinne Viaduct
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1142_Kalte_Rinne_Semmering.jpg
Author: Herbert Ortner


The Semmering Railway goes through some spectacular mountain sceneries of Austria, passing through small villages and towns in the Austrian countryside.

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 47 38 55.6 E 15 49 40.7
Inscription Year: 1998
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: II, IV

Getting there

If you take a train from Vienna to Graz, you will pass through the entire stretch of the Semmering Pass, which runs from Mürzzuschlag to Gloggnitz.

List of World Heritage Sites in Austria and World Heritage Sites in the World

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