Niesen Travel Poster: Niesen-Bahn by Anton Reckziegel, 1910

Niesen-Bahn by Anton Reckziegel (1910) is a quintessential Swiss travel poster from the golden age of Alpine tourism. Reckziegel presents the Niesen—famed for its striking, pyramid-like silhouette—rising above a tranquil lake, with the newly opened Niesenbahn funicular beckoning travelers to panoramic heights in the Bernese Oberland. Infused with Art Nouveau sensibilities, the composition uses flowing contours and nature-forward design to celebrate both the grandeur of the Alps and the modern ease of reaching them.

This fine art reproduction is offered by The Unique Maps Co. as a premium giclée print on acid-free archival paper or on artist’s cotton canvas. Choose from a range of sizes to suit a studio apartment, alpine chalet, or spacious office. Optional framing is available, and we’re delighted to personalize your piece—add a date, dedication, or custom caption—or adjust sizing to fit your preferred frame proportions.

Anton Reckziegel was an Austrian landscape painter trained at the Academy of Graz. Early work as a cartographer in Vienna honed his eye for topography and clarity of form—skills that seamlessly translated to his celebrated poster art. By the late 19th and early 20th century he was working in Switzerland, producing bold, elegant advertisements for tourism that came to define the period’s visual language. Around 1912 he returned to Austria to pursue landscape painting, but his Swiss posters remained icons of European travel design.

The poster’s subject is instantly recognizable: the Niesen, sometimes called the “Swiss Pyramid,” overlooking the shores of Lake Thun in the canton of Bern. In 1910, the Niesenbahn funicular made the mountain’s sweeping vistas accessible to day-trippers and grand-tour travelers alike. This image captures that moment when engineering and leisure converged—an invitation to ascend from lakeside serenity to the airy panorama of Niesen Kulm.

Reckziegel’s palette—soft blues, crisp whites, and grounded greens—creates a luminous, high-altitude calm. Gentle gradients model the mountain’s planes and the lake’s reflective sheen, while simplified silhouettes and minimal typography signal the era’s move toward clarity and function in commercial art. The balanced geometry of the peak, offset by the lake’s supple curve, gives the print a timeless compositional strength that works beautifully in contemporary interiors. If you love classic Alpine vistas, early 20th-century design, or the romance of European rail and funicular travel, this is a striking piece to own.

A thoughtful gift for travelers, skiers, hikers, rail enthusiasts, or anyone with fond memories of Switzerland—perfect for Christmas, a housewarming, Mother’s or Father’s Day, or to surprise someone who has recently returned from the Bernese Oberland.

If you're not sure what size to order, or you're looking for a custom order of some kind – a different size, a different colour, a special frame – then please contact me. I usually respond within a few minutes.

You can see an example of my fine art personalisation service in the fifth image. Zoom in and take a look. My personalised artwork is always very well received. Take a look at more examples of personalisation.

You can also choose to age your art print to make it look older. This is popular amongst my customers who want their artwork to look like an older, antique print. You can see an example of ageing in the sixth product image, or go ahead and check out lots of examples of other aged artwork.

The model in the listing images is holding the 24x36in (60x90cm) version of this art print.

I can print and frame this beautiful piece of art at sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). If you are looking for a size or framing option that isn't available online, please get in touch.

This artwork is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. My standard frames come in six colours (black, dark brown, dark grey, antique gold, oak and white), and custom framing is available for an additional charge. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.