District heating reaches castle on the rock
BRUGG Pipes AG has laid a district heating pipeline in Vaduz Castle in Liechtenstein. The particular logistical challenge is laying the pipe system on steep slopes.
BRUGG Pipes, based in Kleindöttingen, connected Vaduz Castle in Liechtenstein to a district heating network via its flexible pipe system in spring 2025. According to a press release, the logistical challenge was overcoming the steep slopes from the base station to the castle.
When laying the 300-metre-long pipeline, a height difference of 120 meters had to be overcome to reach the castle, which is located on a rocky terrace. The installation was carried out using helicopters. The FLEXWELL-FHK pipes used were fixed to holding points previously anchored to the rock. “This innovative method made it possible to overcome the challenges of the terrain safely, quickly and efficiently,” said Daniel Schneider, Sales Manager District Heating Switzerland at BRUGG Pipes, in the press release.
The castle grounds and the adjacent buildings will be supplied with district heating from VfA Buchs in future. The district heating will be supplied by the waste incineration plant of the Verein für Abfallentsorgung (VfA) in Buchs SG. in 2023, around 200,000 megawatt hours of district heating energy were generated and supplied here, which corresponds to the amount of energy from burning 12.5 million liters of heating oil, according to the press release.