Kaprun
Kaprun got its start as a cattle-farming village and mountain-guiding center. They remain important today. Since the early 1900s, the village has also gained renown in Austria for a couple of technological feats: The Glockner-Kaprun hydroelectric plant opened in 1955, integrating a system of reservoirs, rivers, and dams in the manufacture of power; and, a decade, later, the cable car link between the Kaprunertal Valley and the Schmieding Glacier affording Austria its first summer-skiing arena.
Situated seven km south of Zell, the village of Kaprun stretches up the Kaprunertal alongside a stream and the busy valley road. The action here centers on the Salzburg Platz – the post office, the tourist information office, and the sports center are all nearby. Kaprun’s uplift facilities are also based up-valley from the village. The Maiskögelbahn departs from just south of the village and, several km farther on, the Kitzsteinhornbahn gondola climbs to the glacier for all-season skiing on the 3,204-m Kitzsteinhorn. (The funicular track that enters the mountain near the base station closed in November of 2000, when a horrific tunnel fire killed 155 guests. If the funicular reopens, word is that it will be used only for supply transport.)
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