In 1890 Dr. Fritz Michel gained a concession to build an "electrical cable railway" on the Harder, to the north of the city of Interlaken, however financial backing for such a project was difficult to obtain and it was not until November 1905 that construction started and was to last for three years.
In order not to disfigure the landscape the track was laid in a quadrant rather than a straight line, the usual format for such railways
With the aid of Lausanne banker Ernest Chavannes and engineers Gaston Boiceau and Henri Muret the funicular opened on 15 May 1908.
It has a length of 1,435 metres (4,708 ft) and climbs 734 metres (2,408 ft) from the lower station (Interlaken Harderbahn), situated near to Interlaken Ost train station (a five-minute walk), to the upper station (Harder Kulm) near the viewpoint.
The journey takes ten minutes.
A tourist attraction, an alpine wildlife park was opened in 1913 above the base station.

Modernisation of the funicular took place during the 1960s with new carriages coming to the line to commence operation on 14 May 1966.
Until 1990 this had always been a summer only operation, but instead of closing at the end of September, the funicular continued through the winter.
Since that time it has reverted to a summer timetable.

In 1997 the wire rope was replaced.

In 2008 the two passenger carriages were replaced.
In 1890 Dr. Fritz Michel gained a concession to build an "electrical cable railway" on the Harder, to the north of the city of Interlaken, however financial backing for such a project was difficult to obtain and it was not until November 1905 that construction started and was to last for three years. In order not to disfigure the landscape the track was laid in a quadrant rather than a straight line, the usual format for such railways
With the aid of Lausanne banker Ernest Chavannes and engineers Gaston Boiceau and Henri Muret the funicular opened on 15 May 1908. It has a length of 1,435 metres (4,708 ft) and climbs 734 metres (2,408 ft) from the lower station (Interlaken Harderbahn), situated near to Interlaken Ost train station (a five-minute walk), to the upper station (Harder Kulm) near the viewpoint. The journey takes ten minutes. A tourist attraction, an alpine wildlife park was opened in 1913 above the base station.
Modernisation of the funicular took place during the 1960s with new carriages coming to the line to commence operation on 14 May 1966. Until 1990 this had always been a summer only operation, but instead of closing at the end of September, the funicular continued through the winter. Since that time it has reverted to a summer timetable.
In 1997 the wire rope was replaced.
In 2008 the two passenger carriages were replaced.
Harderbahn