Mitropa
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For the soccer tornament, see Mitropa Cup
For the rally event, see Mitropa Rally Cup
MITROPA is a catering company best known for having managed sleeping and dining cars of different German railroads for most of the 20th century. Since its reorganization in 2002, the company is providing only stationary food services for rail and road customers. The name MITROPA is a derivative of “Mitteleuropa” (German, for Central Europe). The railroad cars displayed a distinct burgundy-red livery with the MITROPA logo.
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[edit] History
The company was founded during World War I on November 24, 1916, as Mitteleuropäische Schlafwagen- und Speisewagen Aktiengesellschaft. Its founders included different railroad companies in Germany and Austria-Hungary who discontinued the service provided by the enemy-owned Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL). After the war, CIWL was able to take over most routes in Central Europe outside of Germany, while MITROPA maintained most of its routes within Germany as well as routes to the Netherlands and Scandinavia. The company prospered in the interbellum and managed about 750 cars by 1940, however never came close to the size of CIWL.
After World War II and the division of Germany, MITROPA AG became the catering company for the Deutsche Reichsbahn, the national railroad of East Germany. MITROPA AG was one of the very few stock companies that remained in existence during the Communist era in East Germany. The Western section of MITROPA split off and named itself Deutsche Schlafwagen- und Speisewagengesellschaft (DSG) to manage the sleeping and dining cars of the Deutsche Bundesbahn in the Federal Republic of Germany.
After the reunification of Germany in October 1990, both MITROPA and DSG continued to operate in their respective areas of Germany until January 1, 1994, when the Reichsbahn and Bundesbahn were merged to form Deutsche Bahn AG. MITROPA and DSG were also merged under the MITROPA logo. This was one of the very few instances, and the most prominent, in which a West German company was "taken over" by an East German one, as MITROPA was the surviving entity after the merger.
The new MITROPA initially catered to travelers on rail, road, and water and provided services at railroad stations. As expenses could not be met, in 1999/2000, catering on ships was sold to Scandlines. On July 1, 2002, the traditional core business of railroad catering was handed over to DB Reise & Touristik AG, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, ending a history of service to railroad passengers lasting over 86 years.
In 2004 the residual MITROPA was sold to the Compass Group and MITROPA AG became MITROPA GmbH. It operates stationary food services at railroad stations and highways. Sleeper-cars of trains by the Deutsche Bahn are managed by CityNightLine.
[edit] Movies
In the movie “Enemy at the Gates” Major König (played by Ed Harris) is shown in a plush MITROPA dining car enroute to Stalingrad when he notices on the opposite track returning MITROPA couchette cars full of injured soldiers.
In the movie Europa by Lars von Trier, a company called Zentropa runs the railway network in which the story unfolds; the company is based on Mitropa, according to the director's commentary on the DVD.
[edit] Other
“Friends of MITROPA” (Freunde der MITROPA) was founded on November 28, 1996.
MITROPA model railway cars have been manufactured by many companies including Märklin, Fleischmann, Trix, and others.
