Fürstenwalde (Spree) station

Geschichte

Fürstenwalde station is the station of the city of Fürstenwalde/Spree in the German state of Brandenburg. It was opened on 23 October 1842 on the Berlin-Frankfurt railway. The station was then about one kilometre north of the town on Müncheberger Chaussee. The station building still exists and is one of the oldest in Germany.HistoryThe Berlin-Frankfurt Railway was opened for passenger services on 23 October 1842. Freight operations commenced on October 31 of that year. As of August 1845, the line was extended as part by the Lower Silesian-Markish Railway (Niederschlesisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft) to Wrocław (then Breslau), completed in 1846.The station was established west of the Müncheberger Chaussee, which as a result was renamed Eisenbahnstraße (“railway street”) between the town and the station. It was about one kilometre north of the city. A major reason for the establishment of the station would have been the Fürstenwalder Spreemuhle opened in 1837. This water mill of American design required a large amount of grain, which would be transported by rail.Station upgradeThe rail link subsequently proved to be a stimulus for growth. Goods were transported from Berlin and commodities, especially Silesian coal, were also brought in. By 1860 the Berlin–Breslau railway was double track throughout. The Berlin industrialist Julius Pintsch opened a new branch factory in Fürstenwalde in 1872. This was north of the station.The railway facilities were extended and sidings were built to many undertakings. The Pintsch company paid for a pedestrian tunnel near the level crossing to reduce delays imposed on its workers by the crossing barriers, which were often closed.