Construction on the tramway system began in April 1880, designed by Raul Mesnier du Ponsard, under the direction of Swiss engineer Nikolaus Riggenbach, and financed by Bracarense businessman Manuel Joaquim Gomes, the principal shareholder of the Companhia de Carris of Braga. Gomes was interested in replacing the role of the horsecar(rail vehicles pulled by horses), which originally stretched to the Bom Jesus sanctuary, but was complemented by oxen up the steep hill on busy days. The trams were constructed by SLM - Oficinas de Olten.
Work began in March 1880, with Portuguese engineer of French descent Raul Mesnier du Ponsard supervising the work. The funicular was inaugurated on 25 March 1882, and cost around 30 contos de réis. Its success was such that in the same year Mesnier was invited to design and install a series of funiculars and cable lifts in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, some of which are still in operation today.
In 1914, the Companhia de Carris was expropriated by the municipal council, resulting in the municipality exploiting the tourist transport. A campaign of restoration was carried out in 1946 using materials derived from the dismantling of a Mount Train, in the city of Funchal, on the island of Madeira.
But, by the 1970s-1980s, the funicular passed to the responsibility of the Confraria do Bom Jesus do Monte.
On 13 March 2003, a dispatch was issued to classify the funicular as national patrimony.
Following three months when the service was stopped for restoration, on 10 July 2006, the funicular returned to service.
On 18 October 2012, the decision to classify the funicular transport as a Monumento de Interesse Público .
