The Masada cableway is an aerial tramway

Aerial tramway

An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...

 at the ancient fortress of Masada

Masada

Masada is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel, on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada is best known for the violence that occurred there in the first century CE...

, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Its bottom station is 257 m below and its summit station is 33 metres above sea level, thereby making it the lowest aerial tramway in the world.

The cableway was built in 1971 by the Karl Brändle company of Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 to carry people to the ruins at the top of the plateau

Plateau

In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...

. It had one aerial tramway support pillar and two cabins with a length of 900 metres and an elevation change of 290 metres. It was replaced in 1998 by an aerial tramway built by Von Roll without any support pillar, thus allowing the cabin's hanger to completely enclose the two track ropes and the haul rope.

External links

• Report with pictures (French)