Born Summit and 1000er Stägli Steps

The Ruppoldingen hydroelectric power station, built in 1896, was expanded in 1920 to include a pumped storage power station, whose water reservoir on the plateau of the Born was fed by a pressure pipe through which the water flowed to the turbine in the power station when there was high demand for electricity in the network. After just a few years, the hydroelectric power station was temporarily unable to meet the electricity demand in the closed regional supply network. A connection with other power stations was not yet possible due to the isolated distribution of the power stations. With a concession from the Canton of Solothurn on June 30, 1903, the Olten-Aarburg power station built a small high-pressure power station with a storage basin on the Born next to the Ruppoldingen headwater canal, 320 meters higher than the water intake point at the canal. Equipped with a high-pressure pump from Sulzer, a turbine from Piccard, Pictet & Co., Geneva, and a generator from BBC, the plant used energy from the low-pressure power plant to pump water from the Aare into the high-altitude basin when demand was low, and thus produced additional energy when demand was at its peak. The early high-pressure power plant attracted attention in specialist circles and received many visits from electrical engineers from several countries. With new machines from 1926, the Ruppoldingen-Born high-pressure plant ran until 1960, when the plant was demolished. The route of the former pressure pipe is now followed by a very long staircase, known as Tusigerstägli, which is also used for sporting events.

The Born is bordered to the south and east by the Aare, to the north by the wide Dünnerntal and to the west by the gravel deposits in the Gäu. To the south, the Born falls relatively steeply towards the Aare, while the slopes to the west and north have less inclines. To the east, the ridge of the Born is separated from the Engelberg hill by the Klus von Aarburg. The ridge is almost entirely covered in forest. People have been mining flint (silex) on the flanks of the Born since the Stone Age. Several settlement sites in the area of the municipalities of Olten, Wangen bei Olten and Boningen have been identified. On a plateau on the western slope of the Born lies the Born Chapel, built by the municipality of Kappel around 1866 and designed by Wilhelm Keller. From the Aare, between Aarburg and Ruppoldingen, the Tuusigerstägli (1000-step staircase) leads up the mountain. The 1,150 steps are also used for fitness programs.