Kreischberg sells old chairlift seats before replacing lift

Austria’s Kreischberg ski resort is selling seats from its old chairlift as souvenirs before a new lift opens next season, ORF reported. More than 200 people have shown interest, with buyers travelling from as far away as the Netherlands and Bavaria to take seats home.

The seats from the two-person Rosenkranz chairlift cost 150 euros each at the resort’s valley station. The lift, built in 1994, took about 12 minutes to reach the mountain station.

Kreischberg manager Karl Fussi said the old lift will be replaced by a modern eight-person chairlift. The new installation is expected to complete the journey in four minutes, carry eight people per chair and transport 4,000 people per hour. The investment is expected to total between 18 million and 20 million euros, manager Reinhard Kargl said.

A buyer from the Netherlands travelled 1,200 kilometres to purchase six seats. Another buyer from Bavaria drove 660 kilometres and plans to give the seats to his parents-in-law for their golden wedding anniversary.

Many of the 220 seats are expected to be turned into garden furniture. Ski cross racer Katrin Ofner wants to build a swing from one, recalling childhood trips on the Rosenkranz lift.

Dominik Obermaier from St Lambrecht plans to place a seat in his garden with his future wife. Their first date was at Kreischberg, where they travelled on the Rosenkranz lift.