![Dworzec Główny - detal fasady](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Dworzec_G%C5%82%C3%B3wny_-_detal_fasady.jpg)
The Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway (german: Kaiser Ferdinands-Nordbahn; cs, Severní dráha císaře Ferdinanda; pl, Kolej Północna Cesarza Ferdynanda) was the name of a former
railway
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 pre ...
company during the time of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...
. Its main line was intended to connect
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
with the salt mines in
Bochnia
Bochnia (german: Salzberg) is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted for its salt mine, the oldest functioning i ...
near
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
. The title is still used today in referring to a number of railway lines formerly operated by that company.
History
The Nordbahn, financed by
Salomon Mayer von Rothschild
Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (9 September 1774 – 28 July 1855) was a German-born banker in the Austrian Empire and the founder of the Austrian branch of the prominent Mayer Amschel Rothschild family.
Family
He was born at Frankfurt am Mai ...
(1774–1855), was Austria's first steam
railway company
A railway company is a company within the rail industry. It can be a manufacturing firm or an rail transport operations, operator. Some railway companies operate both the trains and the track, while, particularly in the European Union, operation ...
. The first stretch, between
Floridsdorf
Floridsdorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Fluridsduaf'') is the 21st district of Vienna (german: 21. Bezirk, Floridsdorf), located in the northern part of the city and comprising seven formerly independent communities: Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Greater Je ...
and
Deutsch Wagram, was opened in 1837. An extension to Vienna was built in 1838, and the track through
Břeclav
Břeclav (; german: Lundenburg) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Town parts of Charvátská Nová Ves and Poštorná are administrative parts of Břeclav.
Etymol ...
to
Brno in 1839. The first train from Vienna arrived in
Břeclav railway station on 6 June 1839. By 1841, the railway had reached
Přerov and
Olomouc
Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019).
Located on t ...
and in 1842
Lipník nad Bečvou
Lipník nad Bečvou (; german: Leipnik) is a town in Přerov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservatio ...
. An extension to
Ostrava
Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...
and
Bohumín
Bohumín (; ; pl, , german: Oderberg) is a town in Karviná District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
Bohumín is made up of town parts and villages of Nový Bohumín, ...
was completed in 1847.
The Nordbahn never directly reached
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
or
Bochnia
Bochnia (german: Salzberg) is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted for its salt mine, the oldest functioning i ...
. The first rail connection to Kraków via Bohumín,
Kozle, and
Mysłowice
Mysłowice ( szl, Myslowicy; german: Myslowitz) is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The population of the city is 74,085.
It is located in the south district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union in the Silesian Highlan ...
was provided by the Prussian
Wilhelmsbahn and
Oberschlesische Eisenbahn (Upper Silesian Railway). The line from Mysłowice to Kraków was built by the Krakau-Oberschlesische Bahn (Kraków and Upper Silesian Railway). An entirely Austrian rail route from Vienna to Kraków did not exist until, in 1856, the
k.k. Östliche Staatsbahn (Imperial and Royal Eastern State Railway), a descendant of the Kraków and Upper Silesian, opened a branch form
Trzebinia
Trzebinia (; yi, טשעבין ''Tchebin'') is a town in Chrzanów County, Lesser Poland, Poland with an Orlen oil refinery and a major rail junction of the Kraków - Katowice line, with connections to Oświęcim and Spytkowice. The town be ...
via
Oświęcim
Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...
to
Czechowice-Dziedzice
Czechowice-Dziedzice (, szl, Czechowice-Dziydzice), previously known until 1958 as Czechowice, is a town in Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 35,684 inhabitants as of December 2021. It lies on the northeastern edge of t ...
, where it met the Northern Railway.
The Northern Railway company was nationalized in 1907. It also owned many
coal mines
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...
and other industry enterprises in the
Ostrava
Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...
region. After the nationalization of its railway network, the company continued to operate its coal and industry businesses.
The original Nordbahnhof in the Austrian capital (Vienna North railway station) was destroyed in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. It was rebuilt and re-opened in 1962 as
Wien Praterstern together with the bridge across the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
. Today's express trains from Vienna to Brno now leave from
Wien Hauptbahnhof
Wien Hauptbahnhof, Vienna Central Station or Vienna Main Station is the main railway station in Vienna, Austria, located in the Favoriten district. It became fully operational in December 2015, linking major railway lines from the north, east ...
, and Praterstern is served by suburban and regional trains only.
Lines in Central Europe built by the Nordbahn in the period up to 1856
![Bahnkarte Deutschland 1849](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Bahnkarte_Deutschland_1849.jpg)
Town names are indicated as they were at the time of opening.
*
Floridsdorf
Floridsdorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Fluridsduaf'') is the 21st district of Vienna (german: 21. Bezirk, Floridsdorf), located in the northern part of the city and comprising seven formerly independent communities: Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Greater Je ...
–
Deutsch Wagram (1837). First
steam-powered
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...
railway in Austria.
*
Wien
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
(Wien Nordbahnhof)–
Gänserndorf
Gänserndorf () is a town on the Marchfeld, Lower Austria, Austria and the capital of Bezirk Gänserndorf. It is about 20 km northeast of Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, p ...
(1838)
*
Gänserndorf
Gänserndorf () is a town on the Marchfeld, Lower Austria, Austria and the capital of Bezirk Gänserndorf. It is about 20 km northeast of Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, p ...
–
Lundenburg (1839).
The oldest steam-powered railway in today's Czech Republic
*
Lundenburg–
Brünn
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
(1839)
*
Lundenburg–
Göding–
Altstadt–
Prerau (1841)
*
Prerau–
Olmütz
Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019).
Located on th ...
(1841)
*
Prerau–
Leipnik (1842)
*
Leipnik–
Weißkirchen –
Ostrau –
Oderberg
Oderberg () is a town in the district of Barnim, in Brandenburg in northeastern Germany. It is situated 16 km east of Eberswalde, and 27 km southwest of Schwedt, close to the border with Poland, and in close vicinity of Berlin.
Overvie ...
(1847)
*
Ostrau–
Troppau
Opava (; german: Troppau, pl, Opawa) is a city in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Opava. Opava is one of the historical centres of Silesia. It was a historical capital o ...
(1855)
*
Oderberg
Oderberg () is a town in the district of Barnim, in Brandenburg in northeastern Germany. It is situated 16 km east of Eberswalde, and 27 km southwest of Schwedt, close to the border with Poland, and in close vicinity of Berlin.
Overvie ...
–
Petrowitz bei Freistadt–
Auschwitz;
Czechowitz-Dzieditz–
Bielitz
Bielsko (german: Bielitz, cs, Bílsko) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that to ...
(1855)
*
Auschwitz–
Krakau. This line was built by the
Eastern National Railway in 1856, and later taken over by the Northern Railway.
Telegraph service
The railway used a telegraph system designed by
Alexander Bain, in particular along the
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
to
Bochnia
Bochnia (german: Salzberg) is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted for its salt mine, the oldest functioning i ...
line, as late as 1886; the system was slower at messaging than the later Morse systems.
[ ]
Rolling stock
Steam locomotives of the first period (1837–1842)
*
''Austria'' and ''Moravia
*
''Samson'', ''Hercules'', and ''Vulcan''
*
''Vindobona''
*
''Saturn'' and ''Mercur''
*
''Columbus''
*
''Jupiter'', ''Gigant'', ''Concordia'', and ''Bruna''
*
''Rakete''
*
''Bucephalus''
*
''Magnet''
*
''Nordstern''
*
''Atlas'' and ''Vesta''
*
''Patria''
*
''New York''
*
''Minotaurus'' and ''Ajax''
*
''Adler'' and ''Pfeil''
*
''Baltimore''
*
Virginia und Florida''
*
''Phönix'', ''Meteor'', ''Titan'', and ''Pluto''
*
''Olomucia'' and ''Comet''
*
''Theseus'' and ''Centaur''
*
''Planet'', ''Delphin'', ''Blitz'', and ''Neptun''
*
''Cyclop'' and ''Goliath
Steam locomotives of the second period (1844–1906)
*
''Koloss'' and ''Elephant''
*
''Donau'' to ''Aetna
*
''Adonis'' to ''Ganymed''
*
''Orpheus'', ''Aeolus'', and ''Ulysses''
*
''Prometheus'' to ''Andromeda''
*
''Orion'' and ''Lucifer''
*
''Aeneas'' to ''Orestes''
*
''Nestor'' to ''Ariadne'', ''Bihar'' to ''Üllö'', ''Jason II''
*
''Austria II'' to ''Salamander''
*
''Hebe I'', ''Proserpina'' and ''Daphne I''
*
''Vulcan II'' to ''Glaucos I''
*
''Fortuna I'' to ''Leda I''
*
''Tiger'' to ''Mora''
*
Telegraph I bis Euterpe I''
*
''Vindobona II'' to ''Flora''
*
''Antilope I'' to ''Mazeppa''
*
''Tiberius'' to ''Pilades''
*
Borsig 815–820, 828–833''
*
''Jupiter II'' to ''Clio''
Legacy
The Northern Railway was selected as the main motif of a very high-value collectors' coin: the Austrian
Emperor Ferdinand's North Railway commemorative coin, minted on 13 June 2007. The reverse side depicts a scene of the steam locomotive "Ajax" steam crossing the bridge over the Danube on the first public run from the North Railway Station in Vienna to Deutsch-Wagram on 6 January 1838. The journey, which caused quite a sensation, was witnessed and cheered by crowds of Viennese who had gathered along its route.
See also
*
History of rail transport in Austria
*
History of rail transport in the Czech Republic
*
History of rail transport in Poland The history of rail transport in Poland dates back to the first half of the 19th century when railways were built under Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian, Russian Empire, Russian, and Austria-Hungary, Austrian rule. Of course, "divided Poland" in the 19t ...
*
Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways
The Imperial-Royal State Railways (german: k.k. Staatsbahnen) abbr. ''kkStB'') or Imperial-Royal Austrian State Railways (''k.k. österreichische Staatsbahnen'',The name incorporating "Austrian" appears, for example, in the 1907 official state ha ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Northern
Railway lines in Poland