Berlin Zoologischer Garten station (german: Bahnhof Berlin Zoologischer Garten, colloquially Bahnhof Zoo, ) is a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It is located on the
Berlin Stadtbahn
The Berlin Stadtbahn ("city railway") is a major railway thoroughfare in the German capital Berlin, which runs through Berlin from east to west. It connects the eastern district of Friedrichshain with Charlottenburg in the west via 11 interme ...
railway line in the
Charlottenburg
Charlottenburg () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Prussia, it is best known for Charlottenburg Palace, the ...
district, adjacent to the
Berlin Zoo.
During the division of the city, the station was the central transport facility of
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
, and thereafter for the western central area of reunified Berlin until the opening of
Berlin Hauptbahnhof in 2006. It is also an interchange with the
U-Bahn
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...
and the
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...
, which uses the Stadtbahn viaduct along with ''
RegionalExpress
In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with average speed at about 70–90 km/h (top speed often 160 km/h) as it calls at ...
'' and ''
RegionalBahn'' trains.
Overview
The station building overlooks the Hardenbergplatz square, Berlin's largest
city bus terminal and
night bus service
Night service, sometimes also known as owl service, refers to the public transport services operated during the night hours. These services are operated, mainly using buses but in certain cases using trams (or streetcars), not including inte ...
centre, named after Prussian prime minister
Karl August von Hardenberg (1750–1822). It is also used by long-distance buses/coaches; however, Berlin's central intercity bus terminal, the
Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof Berlin
The Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof Berlin (short: ''ZOB Berlin'') is a central bus station located at the Funkturm Berlin in the Berlin district Westend of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district. It was initiated by Gustav Severin (founder of the Asso ...
(ZOB), is located on Messedamm in
Westend, not far from the
Funkturm
The Berliner Funkturm or Funkturm Berlin (Berlin Radio Tower) is a former broadcasting tower in Berlin. Constructed between 1924 and 1926 to designs by the architect Heinrich Straumer, it was inaugurated on 3 September 1926, on the occasion of ...
.
Zoologischer Garten is also a
Berlin U-Bahn
The Berlin U-Bahn (; short for , "underground railway") is a rapid transit system in Berlin, the capital and largest city of Germany, and a major part of the city's public transport system. Together with the S-Bahn, a network of suburban train li ...
station and
S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...
station, serving U-Bahn lines
U2 and
U9, and S-Bahn lines
S3,
S5,
S7, and
S9.
History
The original station, served by Berlin Stadtbahn commuter trains, opened on 7 February 1882. On 11 March 1902, the first
Berlin U-Bahn
The Berlin U-Bahn (; short for , "underground railway") is a rapid transit system in Berlin, the capital and largest city of Germany, and a major part of the city's public transport system. Together with the S-Bahn, a network of suburban train li ...
line, today the
U2, was opened underground. With a view to the
1936 Summer Olympics, the station was rebuilt and expanded between 1934 and 1940.
On the night of 23 and 24 November 1943, the track area was directly hit by bombs, and further damage accumulated during the
Battle of Berlin.
After the final closure of the
Anhalter Bahnhof in 1952, Bahnhof Zoo remained the only long-distance railway station operated by the
Deutsche Reichsbahn
The ''Deutsche Reichsbahn'', also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regiona ...
of
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
within
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
. On 28 August 1961, two weeks after the erection of the
Berlin Wall, the new
U-Bahn line U9 was opened below the U2, connecting the station with the transport network in the north-south direction.
The fact that, with only two platforms and four tracks for long-distance trains, the station was still the most important in West Berlin, was another unnatural phenomenon of the divided city. After
reunification
A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governm ...
, despite the outcry from nearby
Kurfürstendamm
The Kurfürstendamm (; colloquially ''Ku'damm'', ; en, Prince Elector Embankment) is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former ''Kurfürsten'' (prince-electors) of Brandenburg. The broad, long boulevar ...
retailers and local politicians, the station lost its importance following the launching of the new
Berlin Hauptbahnhof on 28 May 2006, because long-distance services began passing through the station without stopping. An exception was the famous
Sibirjak
''Sibirjak'' (russian: Сибиряк, translit=Sibiryak, lit=Siberian) was a passenger train which linked Berlin to some of main routes and cities of Russia. The train passed through Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, partly ...
, which departed from Bahnhof Zoo for the
Novosibirsk Trans-Siberian railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
station until 2013.
Train services
The station is served by the following services:
Timetables for Berlin Zoologischer Garten station
*Regional services ''Magdeburg – Brandenburg – Potsdam – Berlin – Fürstenwalde – Frankfurt (Oder) (– Cottbus)''
*Regional services ''Wismar – Schwerin – Wittenberge – Nauen – Berlin – Königs Wusterhausen – Lübben – Cottbus''
*Regional services ''Dessau – Bad Belzig – Michendorf – Berlin – Berlin-Schönefeld Airport – Wünsdorf-Waldstadt''
*Local services ''Nauen – Falkensee – Berlin – Berlin-Schönefeld Airport''
*Local services ''Wustermark – Golm – Potsdam – Berlin''
*Local services ''Königs Wusterhausen – Berlin-Schönefeld Airport – Saarmund – Golm – Potsdam – Berlin''
*Berlin S-Bahn services ''Spandau – Westkreuz – Hauptbahnhof – Alexanderplatz – Ostbahnhof – Karlshorst – Köpenick – Erkner''
*Berlin S-Bahn services ''Westkreuz – Hauptbahnhof – Alexanderplatz – Ostbahnhof – Lichtenberg – Strausberg Nord''
*Berlin S-Bahn services ''Potsdam – Wannsee – Westkreuz – Hauptbahnhof – Alexanderplatz – Ostbahnhof – Lichtenberg – Ahrensfelde''
*Berlin S-Bahn services ''Spandau – Westkreuz – Hauptbahnhof – Alexanderplatz – Ostbahnhof – Schöneweide – Flughafen Schönefeld''
In popular culture
*The station is well known as the setting of the 1978 book ''Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo'' ("We children from Zoo Station"), written by the '' Stern'' journalists Kai Hermann and Horst Rieck according to interviews with Christiane Felscherinow. It became a bestseller in Germany, dramatising the period in the late 1970s when the rear of the station facing Jebensstraße was a meeting point for rent-boys, teen runaways, and drug addicts. The film ''Christiane F. – We Children from Bahnhof Zoo
''Christiane F.'' (german: Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, italic=yes, ) is a 1981 German biographical drama film directed by Uli Edel that portrays the descent of Christiane Felscherinow, a bored 13-year-old growing up in mid-19 ...
'' directed by Uli Edel
Ulrich "Uli" Edel (; born 11 April 1947) is a German film and television director, best known for his work on films such as ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' and '' Body of Evidence.''
His '' Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny'' won a Golden Globe for ...
was released in 1981. An eight-episode series inspired by the same story was later released in 2021, also titled ''Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo'' ("We children from Zoo Station").
*The 1929 children's novel ''Emil und die Detektive
''Emil and the Detectives'' () is a 1929 novel set mainly in Berlin, by the German writer Erich Kästner and illustrated by Walter Trier. It was Kästner's first major success and the only one of his pre-1945 works to escape Nazi censorship. The ...
'' ("Emil and the Detectives"), written by Erich Kästner, prominently features the station as an important location. The subsequent film adaptations in 1931
Events
January
* January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics.
* January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa.
* January 22 – Sir I ...
, 1954, 1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
, and 2001 all include the station as a location which the protagonist, Emil Tischbein, visits.
*The 1991 U2 song " Zoo Station" was inspired by the station, written while the band was recording ''Achtung Baby
''Achtung Baby'' () is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 18 November 1991 on Island Records. After criticism of their 1988 release ''Rattle and Hum'', U2 shifte ...
'' at the Hansa Tonstudio
Hansa Tonstudio is a recording studio located in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, Germany. The studio, famous for its Meistersaal recording hall, is situated approximately 150 metres from the former Berlin Wall, giving rise to its former nickna ...
in Berlin, which in turn inspired their Zoo TV Tour
The Zoo TV Tour (also written as ZooTV, ZOO TV or ZOOTV) was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of their 1991 album '' Achtung Baby'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 to 1993. It was intended to mirror ...
and the album ''Zooropa
''Zooropa'' is the eighth studio album by Irish rock band U2. Produced by Flood, Brian Eno, and the Edge, it was released on 5 July 1993 on Island Records. Inspired by the band's experiences on the Zoo TV Tour, ''Zooropa'' expanded on many o ...
''. Although the U-Bahn line U2 passes through the station today, it was numbered U1 at the time; a rearrangement and renumbering of the line took place in November 1993, when the section linking it to the remainder of the line in former East Berlin was reopened.
* The song "''Auf'm Bahnhof Zoo''" by Nina Hagen
Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the punk and new wave movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as ...
released on the 1978 album ''Nina Hagen Band
Spliff was a Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) rock band, active in the 1980s. Three of the members were already playing together in the political rock cabaret ''Lokomotive Kreuzberg'' (founded 1972 in Berlin) before they were 'adopted' by N ...
'' refers to the station.
* The song "''Zootime''" by Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band consists of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Jack Flanagan (bass and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums) and Henry Harriso ...
ends with the line ''Wir sind die Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo''.
* "''Bahnhof Zoo"'' is also a track on the 2005 album ''Randy the Band
''Randy the Band'' is an album by Swedish punk rock band Randy, released in October 2005 by Ny Våg Records and Epitaph Records/ Burning Heart Records. As of July 2020, it is Randy's latest album.
The album produced one single, "Razorblade," ...
'' by the Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
band Randy.
* The song "Big in Japan" by Alphaville refers to the Zoo station in the line "Should I stay here at the Zoo".
* The song "Bahnhof Zoo" by port-royal Port Royal is the former capital city of Jamaica.
Port Royal or Port Royale may also refer to:
Institutions
* Port-Royal-des-Champs, an abbey near Paris, France, which spawned influential schools and writers of the 17th century
** Port-Royal A ...
takes its name from the station.
* The song "Slept" by The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasi ...
was inspired by this station.
* The book ''Zoo Station: Adventures in East and West Berlin'' by Ian Walker was published in 1987 by Atlantic Monthly Press
Grove Atlantic, Inc. is an American independent publisher, based in New York City. Formerly styled "Grove/Atlantic, Inc.", it was created in 1993 by the merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. As of 2018 Grove Atlantic calls itself "A ...
. It recounts the author's experiences in 1980s Berlin, his encounters with the young people on both sides of the wall, and their separation and occasional commingling.
* The book ''Zoo Station'' by David Downing
David Downing (born 1946) is a British author of mystery novels and nonfiction. His works have been reviewed by ''Publishers Weekly'', ''The New York Times'', and ''The Wall Street Journal''. He is known for his convincing depictions of World Wa ...
, published by Soho Press
Soho Press is a New York City-based publisher founded by Juris Jurjevics and Laura Hruska in 1986 and currently headed by Bronwen Hruska. It specializes in literary fiction and international crime series. Other works include published by it inclu ...
in 2007, is the first in a series of World War II spy thrillers set in Berlin.
* Zoo Bahnhof was one of the murder scenes in ''The Pale Criminal
''The Pale Criminal'' is a historical detective novel and the second in the Berlin Noir trilogy of Bernhard Gunther novels written by Philip Kerr.
Plot
Set in 1938, two years after the events of March Violets, Bernhard (Bernie) Gunther has tak ...
'' (1990), a historical detective novel by Philip Kerr
Philip Ballantyne Kerr (22 February 1956 – 23 March 2018) was a British author, best known for his Bernie Gunther series of historical detective thrillers.
Early life
Kerr was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where his father was an enginee ...
.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
U2 (Berlin U-Bahn) stations
U9 (Berlin U-Bahn) stations
Zoologischer Garten
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
Zoologischer Garten
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
Zoologischer Garten
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
Zoologischer Garten
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...
Heritage sites in Berlin
Railway stations in Germany opened in 1882