Berlin Nordbahnhof
| Berlin Nordbahnhof (Berlin Stettiner Bahnhof) | |
|---|---|
 S-Bahnhof Nordbahnhof | |
| Operations | |
| Category | 4 |
| Type | Bf |
| DS100 code | BNB |
| Station code | 0532 |
| Construction and location | |
| Location | Berlin |
| State | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
| Local authority | Mitte |
| List of railway stations in the Berlin area | |
Berlin Nordbahnhof (also known as Stettiner Bahnhof) is a railway station in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It is served by the Berlin S-Bahn and local bus and tram lines.
History
In 1842, the Stettiner Bahnhof opened as terminus of the railway line to then Prussian city of Stettin (Polish: Szczecin, since 1945 a part of Poland), connecting Berlin with the holiday resorts on the Baltic Sea (so-called Pomerania Riviera or more colloquial Berliners' bath tub). As the number of passengers increased rapidly, the station on Invalidenstraße became one of Berlin's busiest railway termini and had to be enlarged several times.
On 28 May 1936, the present-day underground station of the S-Bahn opened as part of the new North-South Tunnel under the Berlin city centre. The new underground station replaced the former suburban railway station, whose railhead building can still be seen west of the Nordbahnhof on Zinnowitzer Straße.
On 25 April 1945 the S-Bahn ceased operation due to the Soviet invasion, which had reached Berlin's suburbia on 21 April. Most likely on 2 May 1945 the SS exploded the tunnel ceiling under Landwehrkanal, which caused the subsequent flooding of the tunnel. After World War II the station itself was within the Soviet sector (East Berlin). After drainage and repair the tunnel and its stations reopened for traffic in November 1947.
On 1 December 1950, the name of the formerly German town of Stettin was deleted by a renaming into Berlin Nordbahnhof. Since the rail lines leading to the station crossed the territories of West Berlin, it was closed by the GDR authorities on 18 May 1952 and finally demolished in 1962. The adjacent S-Bahn station remained under the name of Nordbahnhof. During the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany and East Berlin the S-Bahn, operated by the eastern Deutsche Reichsbahn, interrupted traffic between 17 June until 9 July 1953.
Between 13 August 1961, the day the Berlin Wall went up, and 1 September 1990 trains did not stop at the station, because it was located in East Berlin, the operating line nevertheless connecting northern and southern areas of West Berlin. So the Reichsbahn continued the operation of the line, but trains only stopped in those stations with entrances from West Berlin. Passengers in these trains experienced the empty and barely lit ghost station where time had stood still since 13 August 1961.
All entrances were closed until the station reopened on 1 September 1990. Soon after the station closed again. After a serious refurbish of one and a half years tunnel and station reopened on 1 March 1992. Nordbahnhof entrance hall was restored in 2006 including a new layout of the forecourt with indicated tracks and inset plaques bearing the destinations of the former trains to the Baltic coast.
External links
- Station information (German)
| Preceding station | Berlin S-Bahn | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Oranienburger Straße
toward Wannsee |
S1 | Humboldthain
toward Oranienburg |
||
Oranienburger Straße
toward Blankenfelde |
S2 | Humboldthain
toward Bernau |
||
Oranienburger Straße
toward Teltow Stadt |
S25 | Humboldthain
toward Hennigsdorf |
Coordinates: 52°31′55″N 13°23′16″E / 52.53194°N 13.38778°E
| |||||||||
