The new Mühlenkopfliner in Willingen Is Open

The prominent international winter sports venue at Mühlenkopf has officially entered a new era. Just in time for the launch of the peak summer tourism season, Ski-Club Willingen e.V. celebrated the grand opening of the Mühlenkopfliner, an ultra-modern, fully accessible inclined elevator system that replaces the venue's legacy 2001 funicular.

Mühlenkopfschanze is the largest ski jumping hill in the world located in Willingen (Hessen), Germany with a K-point of 130 metres (430 ft) and Hill size of 147 metres (482 ft).

The hill is located on the north-eastern, forested slope of the Mühlenkopf peak (815 m above sea level) in the Rothaar Mountains, from which the facility takes its name and is a regular venue in the FIS Ski jumping World Cup

The successful launch marks the first official project completion of the year for Melzer & Hopfner, the premier Austrian cable car engineering firm that managed the blueprint from initial structural design through local bureaucratic approvals and final construction.

Next-Generation Transit at the World's Largest Large Hill

Every year, the iconic Mühlenkopfschanze ski jump draws up to 150,000 spectators for the high-octane FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. The newly engineered transit line dramatically scales up the site's capability to move fans, competitors, heavy camera gear, and supply cargo up the steep 33-degree incline.

The modern system brings massive technical upgrades across the board:

The Mühlenkopfliner at a Glance:

• Transport Capacity: Up to 425 passengers per hour (from 100)

• Cabin Volume: 50 passengers max per run (from 20)

• Operating Speed: A reliable 2 meters per second

• System Automation: Fully automatic, completely unattended

Green Technology on the Slopes

Beyond raw capacity, Melzer & Hopfner engineered the Mühlenkopfliner as a model for alpine sustainability. The infrastructure seamlessly weaves together eco-focused innovations to minimize its grid footprint:

Solar-Powered Mountain Base: An integrated 22.5 kWp photovoltaic solar array has been built directly into the mountain station's roof canopy.

Kinetic Energy Recovery: The system features a modern regenerative braking setup. As the heavy 50-passenger cabin descends the tracks, the motor acts as a generator, feeding up to 50 kW of electricity back into the power grid.

Year-Round Multi-Use Functionality

While the elevator layout includes highly specialized intermediate stops engineered for World Cup winter operations—such as quick transit loops directly to the judges' tower and the "Hasenstall" catering hub—it is primarily built to act as a 365-day tourism anchor.

The barrier-free, wheelchair- and stroller-accessible cabins provide a seamless link between the historic Mühlenkopf ski jump, the sprawling hiking trails of the Ettelsberg, and the nearby Willingen Skywalk—one of the longest suspension footbridges in the world.

Behind the Build: Executing a heavy engineering project on an active World Cup site provided a formidable logistical puzzle. Under the guidance of Willingen Ski Club Managing Director Markus Hensel, Melzer & Hopfner coordinated construction workflows alongside active event preparations, leaning on a collaborative network of 41 regional partner companies to bring the project across the finish line on time.