© Copyright 2024 Helmut Giersiefen. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 2024 Helmut Giersiefen. All Rights Reserved.
Platter lift
Hotel Fürigen and Harissen Bay
Historic postcard
Hotel Fürigen and Harissen Bay
Historic postcard
The Hotel Fürigen, perched high above Lake Lucerne, Swizerland, once maintained a lido for its guests in Harrissen Bay, 200 meters below.
Access from the hotel to the lido was via a conventional funicular. However, as the bathing area was located in the shade of steep rock faces, and Swiss railroad law forbade people from traveling on public transport in bathing suits, a sunny sunbathing lawn was built on a terrace forty meters above the lido.
A unique platter lift was built to move bathers between the lido and sunbathing lawn. The lift, designed and patented by the then-owner of the Hotel Fürigen, Paul Odermatt, was a circulating type – similar to a ski lift – with standing gondolas. The lift ran close to the ground for safety, though comfort offered to guests was simply to hold on to a suspension bar.
Vacation habits changed following the Second World War. Guests no longer visited in the same numbers and the facility fell into disrepair. Today, two supporting pillars and a pulley at the level of the sunbathing lawn are the only reminders of this unique machine and the many guests it transported.