Braunschweig Hauptbahnhof

Geschichte

Braunschweig Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the German city Braunschweig. It is about 1.5km southeast of the city centre and was opened on 1 October 1960, replacing the old passenger station on the southern edge of the old town. The train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn, Erixx, Metronom and WestfalenBahn.HistoryDue to the growing traffic of the post-war era, the need of a new main station was urgent. There had long been disadvantages in the construction and location of the old terminal station and it had become out of date. It was decided to build a new through station on the outskirts of the city in the district now called Viewegs Garten.This was on the grounds above the Braunschweig East station (Ostbahnhof, also called St. Leonhard station, marshalling yard or freight yard). The laying of tracks for the future station began as early as the 1930s. The final location was a compromise, with the cost and area to be demolished to be kept as low as possible.The first discussions and plans for a new station were made in 1870 in Tappe’s plan for the expansion of the city. Even then, the current location was favoured.Several plans between 1870 and 1934, including Rincklake’s plan for the station in 1889, saw a new station in the area of the modern exhibition centre in the vicinity of Eisenbüttel or between Eisenbüttel and the old station. In 1889, a station was proposed at the original site but rotated 180 degrees. An unusual proposal was put forward in 1908 with the future station orientated north-south at the end of today's Jasperallee (to the northeast of the old town). However, this idea received little support as it would have been necessary to cut through an intact residential district. For years, no agreement was reached. The conversion of the old station into a through station was rejected because it would have cost more than the construction of a new station. Building a new line new to a through station was difficult as the area around the old city of Braunschweig was already heavily developed at the end of the 19th century. Between 1909 and 1932, there were concrete plans for a new through station in the area of the modern exhibition centre, that is south of the old station. The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz would be built just north of the station. A new wide boulevard would be built from the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz running north-south to connect the new station to the old town.