Hamburg Central Station - History

History

Before today's central station was opened, Hamburg had several smaller stations located around the city centre. The first railway line (between Hamburg and Bergedorf) was opened on 5 May 1842, coincidentally the same day the "great fire" (in German Der große Brand) ruined most of the historic city centre. The stations were (each of them only a few hundred metres away from the others):

  • Berliner Bahnhof (1846), located at the place where the Deichtorhallen can be found today, on the right bank of the Elbe river; terminus of the line to Berlin
  • Lübecker Bahnhof (1865), terminus of the line to Lübeck
  • Klosterthor Bahnhof (1866), eastern terminus of the Hamburg-Altona link line
  • Venloer Bahnhof (1872), since 1892 named "Hannoverscher Bahnhof", on the line across river Elbe, in Harburg split in the lines to Venlo and to Hanover

The communication lines between the stations partly were built in squares and streets, provisionally. After the decision to create a common station for all lines, a competition was arranged in 1900. Built from 1902 to 1906, the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof was designed by the architects Heinrich Reinhardt and Georg Süßenguth, modeled after the Galerie des machines by Louis Béroud of the World's Fair of 1889 in Paris. The German emperor William II declared the first draft as "simply horrible", but the second draft was eventually constructed. The emperor personally changed the Art Nouveau style elements into Neo-Renaissance, giving the station a fortification like character. The station was opened for visiting on 4 December 1906, the first train arrived the next day, and scheduled trains started on 6 December 1906.

During the Second World War on 9 November 1941, the station was hit seriously by Allied bombing. Several areas needed to be rebuilt completely, like the baggage check and the eastern ticket counters. One of the clock towers was destroyed in 1943.

From 1985 to 1991 the station was renovated.

Hauptbahnhof Nord
Station statistics
Address Hamburg, Germany
Lines
Platforms 2 island platforms
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened 1968
Services

Preceding station Hamburg U-Bahn Following station
Jungfernstieg toward Niendorf Nord U2 Berliner Tor toward Mümmelmannsberg
Jungfernstieg toward HafenCity Universität U4 Berliner Tor toward Billstedt
Hauptbahnhof Süd
Station statistics
Address Hamburg, Germany
Lines
Platforms 2 island platforms
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened 1912
Services

Preceding station Hamburg U-Bahn Following station
Steinstraße toward Norderstedt Mitte U1 Lohmühlenstraße toward Großhandorf or Ohlstedt
Mönckebergstraße toward Barmbek U3 Berliner Tor toward Wandsbek-Gartenstadt

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