Görlitzer Bahnhof
Encyclopedia
Görlitzer Bahnhof was the name of the Berlin
railway terminus for the mainline link between the capital, Cottbus
in Brandenburg
and Görlitz
in Lower Silesia
(since 1945 Saxony
). It stood overlooking Spreewaldplatz in the eastern part of Kreuzberg
but wartime bombing and Cold War
tensions led to its closure and eventual demolition.
The Görlitzer Bahnhof (Berlin U-Bahn)
station was named after this historic station and is located on a different site nearby.
, an architect later responsible for the Emmauskirche in nearby Lausitzer Platz, and built between 1865 and 1867 in the Palazzo
style of the Italian Renaissance. It formed part of a railway expansion project that would link Berlin with Cottbus and Görlitz, and then ultimately with cities such as Sagan (Żagań)
and Breslau (Wrocław) (both in Poland
since 1945) and Vienna
in Austria
.
On 13 June 1866 a military train bound for the Austro-Prussian war became the first train to leave the as yet incomplete station site. The connection was one of convenience because the military had built their barracks in neighbouring Wrangelstrasse.
Shortly afterwards, on 13 September, a regular passenger service began between Berlin and Cottbus. By late 1867 the Berlin-Görlitz line was complete and the route, which passed through the countryside of the Spreewald
and the Niederlausitz and the towns of Königs Wusterhausen
, Lübben and Lübbenau
, was officially opened on 31 December 1867. Although originally founded by a private company, owned by industrialist and rail king Bethel Henry Strousberg
, the service was nationalised on 28 March 1882.
The new line proved an immediate success with passengers. After only a few months, the line was accommodating 70,000 travellers a day and during the whole of 1880, approximately 1,5 million people used Görlitzer Bahnhof. Its popularity had a stimulating effect on the surrounding area, with shops and cafés springing up in the neighbouring streets, helping to establish it as one of the liveliest in the city.
Aside from the transport of people, the line also served as a vital trade route connecting the capital with the cloth factories, brick and glass works of industrial Görlitz. Lausitz proved to be not only a rich source of Spreewald gherkins but also, more importantly, of coal.
, the Allied aerial bombardments of 3 February 1945, that left 3,255 dead or missing and over 119,000 homeless in the surrounding Kreuzberg district, meted out severe damage to the station. Nevertheless by June, a mere month after the surrender of Berlin, a makeshift Görlitzer Bahnhof was back in service.
The revival proved temporary however. From 25 September 1946 all its long distance trains were redirected to Schlesischer Bahnhof (renamed Ostbahnhof in 1950) on the central Stadtbahn. Furthermore over the next few years the ongoing expansion of the electric S-Bahn
system would supersede its role in the local network too. Ultimately though, it was the deepening crisis in political relations between East and West that sealed the station’s fate, and made its position as a Western station operating an Eastern line untenable. It therefore came as no surprise when the GDR decided to close Görlitzer Bahnhof to passenger trains on 29 April 1951.
Although the complete absence of the railway on the 1954 Berlin city map suggests the station was subsequently demolished and cleared, it actually remained relatively undisturbed in its bombed-out state for ten years after the closure. The arrival of the Wall in 1961, however, quashed any hopes of a reconstruction.
Over the following decade or so all the remaining station buildings were demolished, beginning with the large platform hall in 1962 and the main reception area in 1967.
The remaining public buildings – which were substantial enough to include two towers, various waiting rooms and a restaurant – were levelled in 1975 during a wave of city clear up during the 70s that claimed many historic victims across the city. At the time the reasons for demolition was given that the buildings served no practical purpose in standing empty and as a result were being occupied by an “anti-social” element. The removal of these “ruins” would therefore be better for the image of West Berlin. By 1976 the site lay mostly empty.
.
Furthermore the northern goods part of the station site remained in active use by the Deutsche Reichsbahn
for transporting freight between West and East Berlin, and for this reason a border crossing point stood on the bridge over the Landwehrkanal. This passage of freight was permanently discontinued on June 30, 1985.
Between the years 1984-87 a local swimming baths, the Spreewald Bad, an innovative structure designed by Christoph Langhof architects, was built on the site of the former station.
Before the remaining area from Skalitzer Strasse up to the Görlitzer Ufer was developed into Görlitzer Park in the early 1990s, it was a waste ground partly accessible by the public. This vacancy led to the site being occupied during the summer of 1989 by the Mutoid Waste Company
, an anarchist art commune from London. The location was chosen in part because of its proximity to the Wall. On one memorable occasion the scrap metal artists created a "Peace Bird" contraption with a bird suspended high in the air which was able to roll along the railway tracks to the border point on the bridge and, in a gesture of peace towards the GDR, exhibit the bird to those in the east.
Although the Görlitzer Tunnel remained in use until the beginning of the 90s, the public access to the site prompted by the new park left it redundant. In the creation of a ‘natural’ arena in the centre of the park the tunnel was destroyed, although not completely with its remains incorporated into the design.
The only obvious physical remains of the station site are the two goods sheds, an old office building, the railway bridge and the remnants of the underpass visible in a crater in the centre of the park. Nevertheless it is possible to follow part of the old railway route on foot, as it leads out of the park, over the Landwehrkanal and then comes to an end over Elsenstrasse in Treptow
, just before the original line would have met the ring of the S-bahn.
The historic building itself lives on in existing local names. In 1926 the local U-bahn
station Oranienstrasse was renamed Görlitzer Bahnhof to indicate the neighbouring mainline terminus but despite the latter’s demise the U-bahn stop maintains the historical name, much like with the similarly doomed Anhalter Bahnhof
. In addition to this, the road that runs alongside the western side of Görlitzer Park, was renamed Wiener Straße in 1873 because the first trains connecting Berlin and the Austrian capital Wien
(Vienna
) left from Görlitzer Bahnhof. Likewise, the neighbouring squares Spreewaldplatz and Lausitzerplatz were named after the areas of countryside once accessible from its platforms.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
railway terminus for the mainline link between the capital, Cottbus
Cottbus
Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :...
in Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
and Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
in Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia
Lower Silesia ; is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia; Upper Silesia is to the southeast.Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of the medieval Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy from 1526...
(since 1945 Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
). It stood overlooking Spreewaldplatz in the eastern part of Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg
Kreuzberg, a part of the combined Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte since 2001, is one of the best-known areas of Berlin...
but wartime bombing and Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
tensions led to its closure and eventual demolition.
The Görlitzer Bahnhof (Berlin U-Bahn)
Görlitzer Bahnhof (Berlin U-Bahn)
Görlitzer Bahnhof is a Berlin U-Bahn station on the viaduct of the .It is located in Kreuzberg, in an area that offers a wide range of nightlife but is also notorious for its riots on May 1.-History:...
station was named after this historic station and is located on a different site nearby.
The rise
The station was designed by August OrthAugust Orth
August Friedrich Wilhelm Orth was a German architect. He was employed by the Strousberg family to provide architectural service for their private accommodation and business ventures...
, an architect later responsible for the Emmauskirche in nearby Lausitzer Platz, and built between 1865 and 1867 in the Palazzo
Palazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
style of the Italian Renaissance. It formed part of a railway expansion project that would link Berlin with Cottbus and Görlitz, and then ultimately with cities such as Sagan (Żagań)
Zagan
Zagan may refer to:*Zagan - a demon in the Ars Goetia*Żagań - a town in west Poland...
and Breslau (Wrocław) (both in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
since 1945) and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
On 13 June 1866 a military train bound for the Austro-Prussian war became the first train to leave the as yet incomplete station site. The connection was one of convenience because the military had built their barracks in neighbouring Wrangelstrasse.
Shortly afterwards, on 13 September, a regular passenger service began between Berlin and Cottbus. By late 1867 the Berlin-Görlitz line was complete and the route, which passed through the countryside of the Spreewald
Spreewald
The Spreewald is situated about 100 km south-east of Berlin. It was designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1991. It is known for its traditional irrigation system which consists of more than 200 small channels within the area. The landscape was shaped during the ice-age...
and the Niederlausitz and the towns of Königs Wusterhausen
Königs Wusterhausen
Königs Wusterhausen is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district of the state of Brandenburg in Germany.-Geographical location:Königs Wusterhausen – or "KW" as it is often called locally – lies on the Notte Canal and the river Dahme southeast of Berlin...
, Lübben and Lübbenau
Lübbenau
Lübbenau is a town of 17,897 in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district of Brandenburg, Germany. It is located in the Spreewald about 82 km southeast of Berlin.-History:...
, was officially opened on 31 December 1867. Although originally founded by a private company, owned by industrialist and rail king Bethel Henry Strousberg
Bethel Henry Strousberg
Bethel Henry Strousberg was a Jewish industrialist and railway entrepreneur in Germany during its rapid industrial expansion in the 19th century...
, the service was nationalised on 28 March 1882.
The new line proved an immediate success with passengers. After only a few months, the line was accommodating 70,000 travellers a day and during the whole of 1880, approximately 1,5 million people used Görlitzer Bahnhof. Its popularity had a stimulating effect on the surrounding area, with shops and cafés springing up in the neighbouring streets, helping to establish it as one of the liveliest in the city.
Aside from the transport of people, the line also served as a vital trade route connecting the capital with the cloth factories, brick and glass works of industrial Görlitz. Lausitz proved to be not only a rich source of Spreewald gherkins but also, more importantly, of coal.
Görlitzer Tunnel
In order to improve access between the neighbourhoods that emerged around Görlitzer Straße (the Wrangelkiez) and Wiener Straße (the Reichenberger Kiez), an underpass was constructed under the railway site. Opened to the public in 1910, this connected Oppelner Straße on the northern side with Liegnitzer Straße to the south. This was known as the ‘Görlitzer Tunnel’, although it would later also acquire the nickname "Harnröhre“ (Urethra).The fall
During the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Allied aerial bombardments of 3 February 1945, that left 3,255 dead or missing and over 119,000 homeless in the surrounding Kreuzberg district, meted out severe damage to the station. Nevertheless by June, a mere month after the surrender of Berlin, a makeshift Görlitzer Bahnhof was back in service.
The revival proved temporary however. From 25 September 1946 all its long distance trains were redirected to Schlesischer Bahnhof (renamed Ostbahnhof in 1950) on the central Stadtbahn. Furthermore over the next few years the ongoing expansion of the electric S-Bahn
Berlin S-Bahn
The Berlin S-Bahn is a rapid transit system in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It consists of 15 lines and is integrated with the mostly underground U-Bahn to form the backbone of Berlin's rapid transport system...
system would supersede its role in the local network too. Ultimately though, it was the deepening crisis in political relations between East and West that sealed the station’s fate, and made its position as a Western station operating an Eastern line untenable. It therefore came as no surprise when the GDR decided to close Görlitzer Bahnhof to passenger trains on 29 April 1951.
Although the complete absence of the railway on the 1954 Berlin city map suggests the station was subsequently demolished and cleared, it actually remained relatively undisturbed in its bombed-out state for ten years after the closure. The arrival of the Wall in 1961, however, quashed any hopes of a reconstruction.
Over the following decade or so all the remaining station buildings were demolished, beginning with the large platform hall in 1962 and the main reception area in 1967.
The remaining public buildings – which were substantial enough to include two towers, various waiting rooms and a restaurant – were levelled in 1975 during a wave of city clear up during the 70s that claimed many historic victims across the city. At the time the reasons for demolition was given that the buildings served no practical purpose in standing empty and as a result were being occupied by an “anti-social” element. The removal of these “ruins” would therefore be better for the image of West Berlin. By 1976 the site lay mostly empty.
Continuing use of Görlitzer Bahnhof after closure
Although the station stood abandoned and the site lay undeveloped for over thirty years, the area was never dormant. Since the closure in 1951, the land and buildings were used variously for coal storage, as a scrapyard, an auto garage and for other small enterprises. Also the goods line and sheds were used for transporting freight between West and East Berlin up until 1986, and for this reason a border crossing point stood on the bridge over the LandwehrkanalLandwehrkanal
The Landwehr Canal, or Landwehrkanal in German, is a long canal parallel to the Spree river in Berlin, Germany, built between 1845 and 1850 according to plans by Peter Joseph Lenné...
.
Furthermore the northern goods part of the station site remained in active use by the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...
for transporting freight between West and East Berlin, and for this reason a border crossing point stood on the bridge over the Landwehrkanal. This passage of freight was permanently discontinued on June 30, 1985.
Between the years 1984-87 a local swimming baths, the Spreewald Bad, an innovative structure designed by Christoph Langhof architects, was built on the site of the former station.
Before the remaining area from Skalitzer Strasse up to the Görlitzer Ufer was developed into Görlitzer Park in the early 1990s, it was a waste ground partly accessible by the public. This vacancy led to the site being occupied during the summer of 1989 by the Mutoid Waste Company
Mutoid Waste Company
The Mutoid Waste Company was a performance arts group founded in the United Kingdom by Joe Rush and Robin Cooke in the early 1980s which continued until the 1990s, when it was based in Italy....
, an anarchist art commune from London. The location was chosen in part because of its proximity to the Wall. On one memorable occasion the scrap metal artists created a "Peace Bird" contraption with a bird suspended high in the air which was able to roll along the railway tracks to the border point on the bridge and, in a gesture of peace towards the GDR, exhibit the bird to those in the east.
Although the Görlitzer Tunnel remained in use until the beginning of the 90s, the public access to the site prompted by the new park left it redundant. In the creation of a ‘natural’ arena in the centre of the park the tunnel was destroyed, although not completely with its remains incorporated into the design.
The remains
Treptow
Treptow is a former borough in the southeast of Berlin. It merged with Köpenick to form Treptow-Köpenick in 2001.-Geography:The district was composed by the localities of Alt-Treptow, Plänterwald, Baumschulenweg, Niederschöneweide, Johannisthal, Adlershof, Altglienicke and Bohnsdorf....
, just before the original line would have met the ring of the S-bahn.
The historic building itself lives on in existing local names. In 1926 the local U-bahn
Berlin U-Bahn
The Berlin is a rapid transit railway in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, and is a major part of the public transport system of that city. Opened in 1902, the serves 173 stations spread across ten lines, with a total track length of , about 80% of which is underground...
station Oranienstrasse was renamed Görlitzer Bahnhof to indicate the neighbouring mainline terminus but despite the latter’s demise the U-bahn stop maintains the historical name, much like with the similarly doomed Anhalter Bahnhof
Anhalter Bahnhof
The Anhalter Bahnhof is a former railway terminus in Berlin, Germany, approximately 600 metres southeast of Potsdamer Platz. Although the station was closed in 1952, the name lives on in the Berlin S-Bahn station of the same name.- Early days :...
. In addition to this, the road that runs alongside the western side of Görlitzer Park, was renamed Wiener Straße in 1873 because the first trains connecting Berlin and the Austrian capital Wien
Wien
Wien is the German language name for Vienna, the city and federal state in Austria.* Wien , in Vienna, Austria* Theater an der Wien, a theater in Vienna located at the former river WienWien may also refer to:...
(Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) left from Görlitzer Bahnhof. Likewise, the neighbouring squares Spreewaldplatz and Lausitzerplatz were named after the areas of countryside once accessible from its platforms.