Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 20: A rail hub with symbolic power
Berlin's central station was inaugurated in May 2006. Beyond its functionality, the modern glass-and-steel structure was built to play a key role in reunified Germany
Berlin's central station was inaugurated in May 2006. Beyond its functionality, the modern glass-and-steel structure was built to play a key role in reunified Germany. "This is a symbolic day, since this is also such a symbolic location. Right next to the former [Berlin] Wall, a new bridge is now being built between different directions, connecting the once-separated parts of Berlin in a completely new way," said then-Chancellor Angela Merkel in her speech marking the inauguration of Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the capital's new central train station, on May 26, 2006. Merkel went on to praise the multilevel transportation hub as "a modern, open-minded and cosmopolitan structure" that also embodied the spirit of recently reunified Berlin and Germany. The location was particularly symbolic, because the modern station was built on a site that had spent years in neglect, along a historical no-man's land. Its opening in 2006 was celebrated with fireworks seen by hundreds of thousands of people Image: SCHROEWIG/Caspar/picture alliance Central station's location reflects Berlin's tumultuous history After World War II, when Berlin was divided between the capitalist West and the communist East, the city's rail network was also split in two. East Berlin had its Ostbahnhof while long-distance trains ran from the infamous Bahnhof Zoo in West Berlin. After German reunification in 1990, planners wanted a completely new central station that would physically and symbolically reconnect the city. The chosen site was on the location of a former 19th-century station, Lehrter Bahnhof. When that station opened in 1871, it quickly became the landing point of Germany's most important east-west rail line. During World War II, Lehrter Bahnhof was heavily damaged.
Then, between 1957 and 1959, the building's remains were bulldozed. However, the S-Bahn station with the same name was retained; it was the final stop in the suburban train network on the West Berlin side, before crossing the border into the East. Planning a reunified rail network When Berlin suddenly had to function as one city again in 1990, its long-divided rail system also needed to be redefined and modernized. The new central station was designed as the key node of this unified network, with multiple levels of railway traffic intersecting at different heights, crossing through the center of the city like a giant steel "X." The architectural design competition was won by German architect Meinhard von Gerkan (who died in 2022), and his firm Gerkan, Marg and Partners, or gmp architects. The alignment of the tracks and platforms had been predetermined by Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national railway company, explains architect Stephan Schütz, executive partner at gmp architects. "The task was therefore to create, on this basis, a structure that opened itself onto the city while simultaneously providing both orientation and clarity," Schütz tells DW. Von Gerkan, whose standing in the world of architecture had been cemented through his firm's design of Berlin's Tegel Airport in the 1970s, envisioned the station as a "cathedral of transport." 'A cathedral of transport': A structure with many picture-worthy angles Image: Karl-Heinz Spremberg/imageBROKER/picture alliance "Daylight plays a special role in this context, which is why steel and glass define the station's appearance," Schütz points out. The design offered a bright, futuristic and spacious feel. Another highlight, notes Schütz, is the station's "precise alignment with the dome of the Reichstag, serving as a visual focal point." Incidentally, the dome of Germany's parliamentary building was also rebuilt after the reunification of Germany — and in glass too, as a symbol of democratic transparency.
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