Starting June 1, Rasnov Citadel will greet tourists with a brand new rack rail, an investment of RON 10.71 million from European funds. Officials anticipate the tourism will increase by 20 percent.
Works on finishing the rack were extremely difficult because of the mountainous ground but also due to weather conditions. The pillars’ completion was a spectacular one because a military helicopter had to be used and over 100 rides were made to bring the necessary materials. They used a 220 tones giant crane for the assembly of the rails.
The rack (inclined elevator) will link the city center to the city. In 2014 the city was visited by over 300,000 tourists.
The rack rail’s length is almost 160 meters with 94 meters level difference. The inclination point is up to 37 degrees and the lift will have two departing stations, one from the House of Culture and the second at the Citadel. The elevator will make 12 races per hour, with a speed of 2 meters per second.
This lift will carry 5,000 tourists per day, especially in summer when the citadel opens from 9.00 a.m. to 19.00.
‘Also until summer we want to prepare a forest trail to the citadel, so that tourists can walk and they wouldn’t be forced to use the lift. The entire route will be lit and there will be many benches and lookout areas’, Mayor of Rasnov, Adrian Vestea told Adevarul.
Here you can read more about Rasnov Citadel:
http://www.romaniajournal.ro/rasnov-the-high-pitched-medieval-fortress-winking-on-the-hilltop/