Žaliakalnis Funicular

Žaliakalnis Funicular connects the centre of Kaunas with the Basilica of the Resurrection. Opened in 1931, it was the first funicular in Lithuania. It was built by the German engineering company Curt Rudolph Transportanlagen. It travels 142 m at a gradient of 14 per cent with an average journey time of one-and-a-half minutes. The railway is single track with a passing loop and is controlled by a guard at the top station, where electric motors drive the counterbalance wheel. The wood-panelled wagons can each carry up to 25 people.

The funicular was built as a means of connecting various parts of the rapidly growing city. Originally, it had only one active car and the other was filled with stones to counterbalance it. Between 1935 and 1937 the railway was improved, the original cars were replaced with larger passenger vehicles and the bottom station building was constructed. The Aleksotas Funicular, built in 1935, also operates in the city.