A spectacular new gondola lift being built at Obergurgl over the summer will feature an interesting attraction in its base buildings when it opens for next winter – a motorbike museum.
The new lift is located at the Top Mountain Crosspoint, is located on the Timmelsjoch High Alpine Pass Road over to Italy, 2175 metres above sea level, and a major attraction for motorcyclists – hence the idea for the museum.
Along with museum, and the new Kirchenkar mountain gondola base station, the €15m lift's base building will house an up-market table-service restaurant and the toll station for the road.
The official ground-breaking ceremony for the project took place in the presence of Italian motorbike legend Giacomo Agostini, the most successful motorbike racer of all time.
"As one of the Alps' top ski areas we always continue developing new attractions. This project is another great chance to draw even more attention to Hochgurgl," said Alban Scheiber, managing director of Hochgurgl's Lift Company, who is also a motorcycling fan who has been collecting bikes with his brother Attila for some years.
"Our future guests can take full advantage of an additional highlight as a single building represents four different purposes. The museum is dedicated to all biking aficionados. It is open all year and also makes a great bad weather alternative," he added.
The new gondola lift will feature 10-person cabins and gives quick and easy access to the Kirchenkar ski slopes and have a capacity of 2,400 mountain lovers per hour. The restaurant and first stage is scheduled to open this winter, the motorbike museum next spring.