111-450: The Mariazell Railway ( German : Mariazellerbahn ) is an electrically operated narrow-gauge railway (with a track gauge of 760 mm ( 2 ft 5 + 15 ⁄ 16 in )) which connects the Lower Austrian capital of Sankt Pölten with the Styrian pilgrimage centre of Mariazell . The line was opened in stages between 1898 and 1907, and had a, now closed, branch to Wieselburg an der Erlauf . The railway
222-508: A Francis turbine . An old, smaller inverter set in Erlaufboden and two old 25 Hz machines in Wienerbruck power station serve as reserves for the railway. Two further generators in Wienerbruck and three in Erlaufboden with all together 11.5 MVA generate 50 Hz multiphase current. The railway network's backbone nowadays is formed by the 27-kV loop between the two power stations and
333-460: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it
444-402: A second language , and 75–100 million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90 million people, or 16% of
555-587: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become
666-500: A fleet of four. The three-car articulated EMUs are designed to operate up to 80 km/h, and are prominently branded Himmelstreppe ("Stairway to Heaven"), a name chosen to reflect the line's terminus in the pilgrimage centre of Mariazell. A number of the line's older electric locomotives (the 100-year-old class 1099), diesel locomotives (class 2095), diesel railcars (class 5090) and passenger coaches have been retained for special services. Additionally, one class 1099 has been donated to
777-556: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from
888-479: A look into the Zinken ("tines"), as the craggy Erlauf gorge is called here. The halt at Erlaufklause is the last stop in the province of Lower Austria . The next stop, at Mitterbach am Erlaufsee , is in the province of Styria . This is followed by Mariazell station , the terminus of the line. Whilst this station serves the pilgrimage center of Mariazell , it is actually located some 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north in
999-564: A narrow gauge. The gauge of 760 mm ( 2 ft 5 + 15 ⁄ 16 in ), as with all narrow-gauge railway undertakings in the Danube Monarchy , was made necessary by the military administration. Rolling stock used in military service on railways in Bosnia and Hercegovina was 760 mm gauge and would need to be brought in. The railway's alignment would be built to a minimum curve radius of 80 m. In 1896, building work by
1110-453: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained
1221-401: A new depot, €20m on infrastructure, €7.5m on the overhead electrical supply and €4.5m on signalling. In December 2010, an order was placed for nine low-floor Himmelstreppe EMUs to be built by Stadler Rail . In order accommodate the new trains and provide a new operating centre for NÖVOG, a new station with depot and workshop was built at Laubenbachmühle between 2011 and 2013. In December 2012
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#17328630685951332-679: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In
1443-475: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it
1554-580: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as
1665-596: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German
1776-546: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic
1887-472: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German
1998-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25 million speak it as
2109-520: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in
2220-595: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as
2331-559: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are
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#17328630685952442-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and
2553-587: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as
2664-493: Is operated by NÖVOG , which is owned by the provincial government, and is a part of the Verkehrsverbund Niederösterreich-Burgenland (Lower Austria and Burgenland Transport Association). The pilgrimage center of Mariazell was one of Austria-Hungary 's most visited places by foreigners in the 19th century. Much thought was already being given to building a railway from St. Pölten to Mariazell even at
2775-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German
2886-518: Is planning to take over a short part of the right-of-way for a project to build a tram line from the railway station into town. The now largely closed branch line was known to locals as the Krumpe (Lower Austrian dialect form of the word krumm , meaning "crooked" in German ), as a reflection of its indirect nature. It left the main line at Ober-Grafendorf and was an unelectrified branch that lead through
2997-510: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c. 1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period
3108-566: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish
3219-433: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers
3330-673: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to
3441-627: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as
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3552-557: The Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German
3663-522: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share
3774-473: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language
3885-652: The European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as a recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ),
3996-514: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout
4107-724: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in
4218-644: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c. 765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in
4329-640: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung
4440-536: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit. ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this
4551-503: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German
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4662-577: The Vienna Technical Museum and another may be rebuilt to return it to its original, pre-1959, state. The two class 4090 EMUs, built in 1994, are stored out of doors at St. Pölten Alpenbahnhof and face an uncertain future. The remaining stock has all been stored, sold on or scrapped. For nostalgic runs, the Mh.6 steam engine stationed in Ober-Grafendorf is brought in. This was a private initiative in
4773-661: The jargon and subtexts used. Its use is known to put off members of the general public and reduce their interest in the material presented. Officialese has been criticized as making one's speech or prose "stilted, convoluted, and sometimes even indecipherable"; or simply as the "cancer of language". It is thus more pejoratively classified as one of the types of gobbledygook . Its use can also result in unintended humorous incidents, and has been often satirized . Several similar concepts to officialese exist, including genteelism , commercialese , academese , and journalese . The existence of officialese has been recognized by
4884-462: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from
4995-522: The "v" for "Verbundantrieb" (compound working). Since the latter locomotives did not prove their worth, the next order was for two further locomotives of the Mh series. Since many passengers were expected, a great number of four-axled passenger coaches were bought, which were comparable in comfort and accoutrements with contemporary standard-gauge coaches. Also in 1906, three bigger and stronger steam railcars were delivered. The "Lower Austrian-Styrian Alp Railway" ( Niederösterreichisch-Steirische Alpenbahn ) as
5106-600: The 1990s by several Mariazell Railway employees who managed to fetch back the Mountain Line's original locomotive. Due to its history and early provenance, the Mariazell Railway is run on the unusual voltage of 6.5 kV and frequency of 25 Hz, provided by its own supply from the EVN power company . For the power supply of the whole Mariazell Railway and the region along the line, three 25 Hz multi-phase generators at
5217-552: The EVN system operator in the company headquarters at Maria Enzersdorf . The following facilities are, or have been, operated. German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It is the most spoken native language within
5328-714: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In
5439-486: The Erlauf Valley line. The line from Ober-Grafendorf to Wieselburg an der Erlauf still exists but is not in use. The section from Ober-Grafendorf to Mank was the last part of the line to see narrow gauge trains, but has not been used since 2010. There are plans to convert this latter section into a heritage railway . On weekdays, Himmelstreppe trains operate every hour between St. Pölten and Laubenbachmühle. Depending on
5550-558: The First World War, quite a number of steam locomotives and a great number of wagons were temporarily confiscated for wartime duty, among them the locomotives Mh.1 to Mh.5. The last one was returned from Sarajevo in 1920. The branch line from Ober-Grafendorf to Ruprechtshofen, after building had been interrupted by the war, was extended to Gresten in 1927 but not electrified. All other expansion projects, even though some were still being discussed even after 1945, were never realized. With
5661-718: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of
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#17328630685955772-524: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of
5883-447: The German states; the invention of the printing press c. 1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of
5994-675: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by
6105-646: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are
6216-633: The Lower Austrian State Railway Office began with acting director Engineer Josef Fogowitz in charge. The mainline from St. Pölten to Kirchberg and the branch to Mank were opened on 4 July 1898; the operators were the state's own Lower Austrian State Railways. For the opening of these lines, the Lower Austrian State Railways bought four U Series steam locomotives, already proven on the Murtalbahn . The locomotives along with
6327-507: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c. thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c. 1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy
6438-476: The Mariazellerbahn on transporter wagons, insofar as the railway's narrow loading gauge would allow it. It quickly became apparent that the series Mh and Mv locomotives were not adequate for the traffic on offer. Several scenarios for raising the railway's performance were considered, among them double-tracking and the acquisition of an even stronger type of steam locomotive. At this time, the acting director of
6549-488: The State Railway Office, Engineer Eduard Engelmann jr. , brought forth the suggestion that the Mariazell Railway be electrified using single-phase alternating current . This suggestion was said to be revolutionary. There had never been a railway line of such length meant to handle mainline traffic that had been electrically operated. The only electric traction at this time was to be found on tramways and light, local railways, which used only direct current (DC) throughout. Only
6660-406: The Wienerbruck power station , lies Wienerbruck-Josefsberg station, a favorite starting point for hikes into the Ötschergräben , steep-sided, wooded gorges . After a loop around the lake, the line meets the Erlauf River. This stretch of the line is said to be the railway's greatest highlight for those with great romanticism for the wild: In between, along a row of short tunnels, the traveller gets
6771-444: The Wienerbruck power station were used with an apparent power of 6,600 kVA. This accounts for the single-phase railway supply's apparent power of 4,500 kVA. The equipment is driven by water from the Lassing and the Erlauf. The railway current generated at the Wienerbruck power station at 6.5 kV was partly fed directly into the power lines near the power station, and also partly stepped up to 27 kV to be transmitted to
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#17328630685956882-419: The Wienerbruck power station, the Stierwaschboden Reservoir and the Erlaufboden power station were built with three generators. In the second half of the 1960s, the aging power generation and distribution system was renewed. The railway power is now usually generated by the 2.8-MVA equipment at Erlaufboden power station. It consists of a synchronous machine for 25 Hz single-phase AC, 50 Hz multiphase, and
6993-411: The biggest station on the line at Ober-Grafendorf , which includes the junction with the abandoned branch line. The mainline follows the Pielach valley through Hofstetten-Grünau , Rabenstein an der Pielach , the main center in the valley, Kirchberg an der Pielach , and on to the station at Loich , which was once of special importance to freight operations. The tunnel further along was built with only
7104-433: The branch line. In the wave of secondary-railway abandonments in Lower Austria, even the Mariazell Railway was affected. Freight traffic using narrow-gauge wagons on the Mountain Line was completely given up, and the short stretch of line between Mariazell and Gußwerk was abandoned in 1988. Freight service still continued for a few years as far as Schwarzenbach an der Pielach after it had been discontinued to Mariazell, but it
7215-430: The construction of the new Laubenbachmühle operating centre, the railway's main operational center. The rolling stock sheds, workshops, and extensive freight facilities are now largely used for storing surplus rolling stock. Next, the railway quickly leaves the town and passes through hilly, farmed land for the first few kilometers, south of St. Pölten from the Traisen valley into the Pielach valley. The route quickly reaches
7326-430: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with
7437-404: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in
7548-593: The driver. The locomotive involved (ÖBB 1099.015) was scrapped at the site. In 1984, the last Rollböcke , the more primitive type of transporter wagon using forks to hold the standard-gauge wagon's axles, were replaced with Rollwagen , the more advanced type resembling a wagon with a short stretch of standard-gauge track onto which the standard-gauge wagon is fastened. In 1994, two newly developed electric multiple unit (EMU) trains (ÖBB class 4090) were acquired. In 1995, these were supplemented by some diesel railcars (ÖBB class 5090) for use on lighter loaded services and on
7659-416: The ease of reaching the spot on the newly built railway led to the building of a hotel just across from the station when the railway was first opened. From there, the railway follows a wooded, steep mountain ridge on a slight downhill gradient. It passes over the Saugrabenviadukt , the railway's highest viaduct , and reaches Annaberg station on the saddle . Just beyond the Lassing Reservoir , which feeds
7770-435: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of
7881-562: The extension of the branchline to Gresten came new P and Uh series steam locomotives (ÖBB 199 and 498, respectively). In 1922, the Bundesbahn Österreich ( BBÖ ) took over the Mariazell Railway from the Lower Austrian State Railways, which had fallen into financial difficulties. The first diesel locomotive was tested on the line in the 1930s. This type, later described as ÖBB 2190, was only suited for light passenger trains. The self-powered luggage railcars (series 2041 or ÖBB 2091) were slightly better in performance. After Anschluss in 1938,
7992-568: The final main line extension to Gußwerk was brought into service. For the mountainous extension to Mariazell, an especially high-performance engine was needed. The Krauss locomotive works in Linz proposed to build a locomotive with four powered axles and a tender , four of which were built by 1906 and used superheated steam. They were designated Mh (nowadays ÖBB 399). In 1907, two locomotives with compound steam workings were acquired and designated Mv . The "h" stood for "Heißdampf" (superheated steam), and
8103-627: The first of the new units was shown to the public at Laubenbachmühle depot. The final unit was delivered in January 2014, allowing the full normal service of the line to be operated with such trains. The Mariazellerbahn begins at the St. Pölten Hauptbahnhof railway station . Right after leaving the station, the line passes through a tunnel under the Leobersdorfer Bahn , another railway serving St. Pölten. The Alpenbahnhof that comes right after that was, until
8214-430: The following years, there were some alignment corrections on the line. That, and the rebuilding of the rolling stock in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the changeover to diesel working on the branch line were the furthest-reaching modernization measures undertaken on the railway. Between 1959 and 1962, the original electric locomotives, now known as ÖBB class 1099, were given new, more modern style, bodies, whilst retaining
8325-541: The foothills of the Alps in a roughly westerly direction by way of Kilb , Mank , Sankt Leonhard am Forst , Ruprechtshofen and Wieselburg an der Erlauf to Gresten . At Wieselburg an der Erlauf, it met and crossed the standard-gauge Erlauf Valley Railway between Pöchlarn and Kienberg-Gaming . The stretch of the line between Wieselburg an der Erlauf and Gresten still exists as a standard gauge line, having been regauged in 1998 in order to better feed freight traffic onto
8436-472: The history of officialdom, as far back as the eldest human civilizations and their surviving official writings. Officialese is meant to impress the listener (or reader) and increase the authority (more than the social status ) of the user, making them appear more professional. Ernest Gowers noted that officialese also allows the user to remain vague. It can be used to make oneself understood to insiders while being hard to decipher by those unfamiliar with
8547-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,
8658-474: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of
8769-665: The largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina , and Espírito Santo . Officialese Officialese , bureaucratese , or governmentese is language that sounds official. It is the "language of officialdom ". Officialese is characterized by a preference for wordy, long sentences; complex words, code words , or buzzwords over simple, traditional ones; vagueness over directness; and passive over active voice (some of those elements may, however, vary between different times and languages ). The history of officialese can be traced to
8880-442: The line closed completely. As of about 2000, the ÖBB was considering selling or abandoning the main line between St. Pölten and Mariazell. In the autumn of 2003, a plan was drawn up to convert the line between St. Pölten and Kirchberg an der Pielach to standard gauge, as this stretch was considered important for commuters and school children. However neither plan was carried out, and the ÖBB continued to provide narrow gauge service on
8991-468: The line reaches the longest tunnel, the 2-km-long Gösingtunnel , which with an altitude of 891.6 m above sea level is the line's highest point. The line exits the tunnel into the Erlauf valley, which it then follows until just before the end. After the tunnel comes Gösing station, about 350 m above the settlement of Erlaufboden. The 1893 meter-high Ötscher is visible from here. This panorama and
9102-505: The main line after only five years. All the steam railcars were sold, and most of the steam locomotives remained on the still unelectrified branch line. A few were sent to the Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnen . By implementing their intentions, many unprecedented concepts were realized. The experience garnered from the electrification proved to be the benchmark for later projects of the same kind. Unlike tramway electrification,
9213-400: The main line up to the transfer of the line in 2010. In 2010, the ÖBB transferred responsibility for the railway to the provincial government of Lower Austria . Operation became the responsibility of NÖVOG , which is owned by the provincial government. As part of this transfer, NÖVOG announced plans to modernise the line at a total cost of € 117m, including €65m on new rolling stock, €20m on
9324-402: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted
9435-528: The municipality of Sankt Sebastian . Connection is made here with the Museumstramway Mariazell-Erlaufsee , a standard gauge heritage steam tramway that operates to the nearby Erlaufsee . The Mariazell line formerly continued 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to Gußwerk , which was used mostly for freight traffic to a large sawmill . It has been out of service since 1988, and the tracks were torn up in 2003. Museumstramway Mariazell-Erlaufsee
9546-523: The narrow-gauge railway, like all Austrian railways, became part of the Deutsche Reichsbahn . During the wartime years 1944 and 1945, there was wartime destruction and damage in many places, especially around St. Pölten. After the Second World War , the former State Railway lines became part of the Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB). The rolling stock was given a new number scheme in 1953. In
9657-563: The newly built Gösing substation as well as the transmission lines from there to the newly built Rabenstein substation. After these facilities went into operation, the direct catenary feed at Wienerbruck and the substations at Kirchberg and Ober-Grafendorf were taken out of service. This improved the power supply on the mountainous section of the line considerably. Nowadays, the switch room at Erlaufboden power station controls its own equipment and that at Wienerbruck power station. The substations at Gösing and Rabenstein are run and overseen remotely by
9768-630: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from
9879-475: The opening of this extension, and in anticipation of the further extension (the "mountain line") to Mariazell, a compound steam engine and a superheated steam engine were acquired as further developments of the U series. In 1906, the Mariazell extension was sufficiently complete for freight traffic to be worked through to the terminus. On 2 May 1907, passenger service to Mariazell began running. That same summer,
9990-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation
10101-416: The public supply has been changed to three-phase at 50 Hz – about 21 km of community power lines are still in service. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, a separate 20-kV line was built between Loich and Frankenfels by the power supplier EVN, which is responsible for public power supply in the area, leaving only the 27-kV line for the railway and the catenary itself on the wire gantries. In 1923, below
10212-692: The railway was known in Austro-Hungarian officialese , was thereby complete. Far-reaching plans for an extension over the Styrian Seeberg and a connection with the likewise narrow-gauge Thörlerbahn , and thereby with the Styrian railway network, had no work done on them owing to the outbreak of the First World War . Also, a connection to the Ybbstalbahn was never built. Once open, the rush of passengers
10323-587: The railway's own loading gauge in mind, making freight transport by transporter wagons impossible. From here, the valley narrows considerably, and shortly before the next station, Schwarzenbach an der Pielach , the line passes through the Weißenburgtunnel , thereby leaving the Pielach valley and coming out into the Nattersbach valley, which narrows rather like a gorge. The line reaches first Frankenfels , and then
10434-471: The same traction equipment. The passenger coaches were likewise provided with matching steel bodies. In 1962, the steam engines were replaced by new diesel locomotives, of ÖBB class 2095. The series 399 locomotives went to the Waldviertler Schmalspurbahnen , whilst the remaining steam locomotives were withdrawn from service. In 1981, a speeding train derailed on Buchberggraben viaduct, killing
10545-497: The standard-gauge goods wagons were loaded onto transporter wagons in Wieselburg for the trip along this stretch of line. In connection with this gauge conversion, passenger service on the line east of Wieselburg to Ruprechtshofen was discontinued in 2001, followed by the discontinuation of service between Mank and Ruprechtshofen in 2003. Service on the last section of the branch line, between Ober Grafendorf and Mank, ceased in 2010, when
10656-541: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,
10767-505: The station at Laubenbachmühle. The large new station and depot at Laubenbachmühle, designed to blend into the surrounding landscape, is now the line's main operating centre. It also marks a change in the nature of the line, which after this point is known as the "Mountain Line" ( Bergstrecke ). From Laubenbachmühle, an elongated double horseshoe curve climbs out of the Nattersbach valley. After passing by stations at Winterbach and Puchenstuben ,
10878-525: The substations at Kirchberg and Ober-Grafendorf. As a backup against power outages, a power station consisting of two diesel generators, each producing 420 kVA single-phase apparent power, was built at the Alpenbahnhof in St. Pölten. Right from the beginning, the power cables for public supply and those for the railway supply were mounted on crossbars above the catenary on the wire gantries. Even today – although
10989-496: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in
11100-534: The time of year, between 6 and 10 of these trains continue to and from Mariazell. On weekends and public holidays, a slightly reduced service is operated, but this is supplemented in summer by some regular trains hauling panoramic coaches, and by additional trains hauled by electric or steam locomotives. The normal passenger service on the line is now provided by a fleet of nine low-floor EMUs built by Stadler Rail , which entered service between 2012 and 2014. In summer these pull matching panoramic first-class coaches from
11211-644: The time when the Westbahn , from Vienna to Linz via St. Pölten opened in 1858. Many variations on the idea of extending the standard-gauge line through the Lower Austrian foothills of the Alps were considered. Only after the Lower Austrian State Railway Law was passed in 1895 did work begin on the project. Owing to the difficult terrain that the railway would have to cross, it was decided to build it to
11322-520: The tram-like Stubaitalbahn in Tyrol, built in 1904, was using alternating current (AC). Despite great opposition, Engelmann managed to implement his vision. So, the Mariazell Railway was electrified between 1907 and 1911, making use of the mountainous region's vast hydroelectric resources. Once electrification began in 1911, 16 E series locomotives (still used today as ÖBB 1099) were delivered between 1911 and 1914. Thereafter, steam trains disappeared from
11433-421: The two-axle passenger coaches and goods wagons, which were customary at the time, formed the railway network's basic equipment. The fleet was filled out in 1903 by two-axle light steam-powered railcars , which took over less-used trains. As of 1902, building was continued and in 1905, the stretch through the Pielach valley as far as Laubenbachmühle and the branchline extension to Ruprechtshofen were completed. For
11544-449: The wires were hung using massive wire gantries and steel masts. Also, the locomotive design with two separate powered bogies is widespread today. The power stations, necessary for the electrical supply, were built under very difficult conditions in the mountainous landscape. They were also used to supply the region with electricity, thereby laying the groundwork for the Lower Austrian state energy company NEWAG, now known as EVN . During
11655-543: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during
11766-579: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching
11877-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of
11988-530: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially
12099-485: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which
12210-520: Was limited to wood carried in narrow-gauge wagons. On 31 December 1998, ÖBB ended transporter wagon service on the Valley Line and the remaining section of the branchline, thereby ending all freight service on the Mariazell Railway. Passenger traffic on the branch slowly diminished. The line from Wieselburg to Gresten was converted from narrow-gauge to standard gauge in 1998 due to extensive freight operations, discontinuing passenger operations. Before then,
12321-446: Was so great that for a time, the railway did not even bother with advertising . Among the various kinds of freight carried on the railway were agricultural products, ores from local mines , and wood from the heavily forested mountain region. Wood remained the most important kind of goods on the Mariazell Railway right up until freight operations were discontinued. As early as 1909, standard-gauge goods wagons were being transported along
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