Berlin Hauptbahnhof is both a major transport interchange and a modern landmark in the city center. Long-distance, regional and local rail routes meet inside a bright glass-and-steel building near the River Spree, the Reichstag and the government district. Opened in 2006, the station was designed to connect Berlin’s historic east–west railway with a new north–south route beneath the city. For travelers, its scale can be impressive at first; understanding how the levels and directions fit together makes a change of trains much easier.
The station occupies a site with a much older railway history. Berlin’s planning authorities record that the Lehrter Bahnhof opened in 1871 as one of the city’s terminal stations. A separate elevated Stadtbahn later crossed the area, and the Lehrter Stadtbahnhof served local trains. The station district was shaped by tracks, goods facilities and changing city boundaries; after Berlin’s division, much of the area lost its central role. The present station therefore stands on transportation ground that has repeatedly reflected the city’s political and physical geography.
