History
The current station replaced three stations in the city centre, which were next to each other near the fairground (Rhein-Main-Hallen) and the Wiesbaden Museum. These were:
- The Taunusbahnhof (Taunus station), built in 1840 for the Taunus Railway (Wiesbaden–Castel–Höchst–Frankfurt (Taunusbahnhof).
- The Rheinbahnhof (Rhine station), built in 1857 for the East Rhine railway (Wiesbaden–Biebrich–Rüdesheim–Niederlahnstein).
- The Ludwigsbahnhof (Ludwig's Railway station), built in 1879 for the Ländches Railway (Wiesbaden-Niedernhausen).
A fourth railway line was added in 1889, connecting to the Rheinbahnhof, with the opening Langenschwalbach Railway (now the Aar Valley Railway—Aartalbahn) from the Rheinbahnhof in Wiesbaden to Bad Schwalbach (then called Langenschwalbach) and later extended to Diez on the Lahn.
The new station building became necessary to handle the growing number of passenger visiting the spa city at that time. It was built from 1904 to 1906 according to the plans of Fritz Klingholz in a flamboyant neo-baroque style that corresponded to an international style of architecture adopted for spa towns. It was also intended to welcome Kaiser Wilhelm II on his visit to the spa every May and a platform was established for him and other aristocrats. The first train ran into the new station on 15 November 1906 around 2:23 a.m. In the station building the relics of the former images of crowned heads, with the faces removed, can still be seen in many places.
The new central station was located outside the town at the time of its building at the south-eastern end of the then newly constructed ring road (the Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring and the Bismarckring), which runs in an arc to the west of the historic pentagon (Historische Fünfeck) at the centre of Wiesbaden. During the period up to the First World War the town developed towards the new station.
On 25 September 1983, the central station was affected by the closure of a line. Passenger services were discontinued between Wiesbaden and Bad Schwalbach on the Aar Valley Railway. One of the long-term consequences was the decommissioning and dismantling of station track 11 so that the station now has only 10 tracks.
Wiesbaden station was extensively refurbished and modernised at a cost of € 25 million between 2003 and 2004. A redesign of the forecourt, costing € 1.5 million, was carried out between mid 2006 and March 2007. The modernisation should have been completed with the opening of the high-speed line to Cologne, but was postponed several times due to lack of funds.
Next door is the Lilien-Carré shopping centre opened in March 2007 on the site of the former main post office.
As part of the economic stimulus package, the train shed roofs have been renovated at a cost of € 35 million since late 2010.
Read more about this topic: Wiesbaden Central Station
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