The –Linz–Budweis-Linz-Gmunden Horse-Drawn Railway (German: Pferdeeisenbahn Budweis–Linz–Gmunden; Czech: Koněspřežná dráha České Budějovice–Linec–Gmunden) was the second public railway line to be opened in mainland Europe (after the Saint-Étienne–Andrézieux railway). It opened in stages between 1827 and 1836, and principally served the transport of salt from the Upper Austrian Salzkammergut to Bohemia.
In 1855 and 1856, the stretch between Linz and Gmunden was changed to a steam service. This switch over was not possible in the mountainous stretch between Linz and Budweis (České Budějovice) due to tight curvature radii and steep climbs. By 1873, a replacement line between Linz and České Budějovice was built, mostly along another route, and allowed for a steam service. The horse-drawn service was closed in December 1872.
Early history
The first plans
The salt trade between the Salzkammergut, or rather Salzburg, and the inhabitants of the Bohemian basin can be traced back to the Bronze Age. The important mineral, which was initially carried on the back, was later towed by horses along narrow mountain paths such as the Goldenen Steig (The Golden Path) or the Linzer Steig (The Linzer Path) on the Vltava River. In the Middle Ages, as the need for salt grew, roads were built. In 1530, the House of Habsburg banned the hitherto dominant salt import from the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg in the Austrian hereditary lands, as they wanted to promote the production from the imperial salt works in the Salzkammergut. Moreover, since the salt trade was brought under state control, the "White Gold" marketed in České Budějovice in the 17th and 18th centuries also came predominantly from the salt works at Hallstatt, Bad Ischl and Ebensee. From there it was transported by water along the Traun and the Danube to Linz and Mauthausen, where it was loaded onto horse-drawn carts of the (mostly Bohemian) Salt Farmers (Salzbauern) and taken via Freistadt to the depot at České Budějovice. With an annual transport volume of 17,000 tonnes, by the end of the 18th century there were around 350 vehicles in operation every day. From České Budějovice, most of the salt reached Prague and sometimes beyond along the cost-effective waterway via the Vltava and the Elbe.
Since transporting the product by horse-drawn wagon made the product much more expensive, there were already plans in the Middle Ages to link the Vltava and Danube with a navigable canal.
The possible solution
The reasons for the failure of the historic canal project were due not least to it being difficult to exactly calculate the costs of such a project in a mountainous region. To correct this shortcoming, the Bohemian Hydrotechnic Society (Bömische Hydrotechnische Gesellschaft) was founded in 1807, and the professor of higher mathematics in Prague, Franz Josef Ritter von Gerstner, was given the task of making more precise level calculations and presenting a solution for the route with cost estimates. After many months, Gerstner came to the conclusion that a canal system would be uneconomical, even along the most reasonable route proposed by Josef Walcher. He suggested instead to make the Vltava navigable from České Budějovice to Joachimsmühle and from there to make a railway leading to Katzbach (near Linz).