Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (Leipzig main station, ) is the central
railway terminus
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...
in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, Germany, in the district
Mitte. At , it is Europe's largest railway station measured by floor area. It has 19 overground platforms housed in six iron train sheds, a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches, and a long facade at the northeastern section of the
Inner City Ring Road.
[ The two ]Leipzig City Tunnel
The City Tunnel is a twin-bore railway tunnel for the city-centre S-Bahn in Leipzig. It links Leipzig Hauptbahnhof with the central Markt station, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz station and Bayerischer Bahnhof.
Construction began in July 2003. The fi ...
platforms were inaugurated in December 2013.
The station is operated by DB Station&Service
DB Station&Service AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, responsible for managing over 5,400 train station
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, ...
, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, and is classified as a Category 1 station, one of twenty in Germany. It also functions as a large shopping centre. Train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn, S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland
S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland represents an enlargement of the previous Leipzig-Halle S-Bahn. It is an electric rail public transit system operating in the metropolitan area of Leipzig-Halle, Germany. This S-Bahn (German abbreviation for ''Stadtschnel ...
, Erfurter Bahn and Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn
Transdev Germany is the largest private operator of passenger buses and trains in Germany. It is a subsidiary of Transdev.
History
In 1997, Aktiengesellschaft für Industrie und Verkehrswesen was purchased by a CGEA Group (60%) EnBW (40%) cons ...
. As of 2008, Leipzig Hauptbahnhof handled an average of 120,000 passengers per day.[''Shopping und Service – 140 Geschäfte laden zum Bummeln und Verweilen ein''](_blank)
Accessed 13 December 2008
In 2021, Leipzig Hauptbahnhof was ranked the best railway station in Europe.
History
After the opening of the Leipzig–Dresden railway
The Leipzig–Dresden line is a German railway line. It was built by the Leipzig–Dresden Railway Company between 1837 and 1839. It was the first long-distance railway and the List of the first German railways to 1870, first railway using only st ...
line in 1839, followed by the Magdeburg-Leipzig railway one year later, the Leipzig–Hof railway
The Leipzig–Hof railway is a two-track main line in the German states of Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria, originally built and operated by the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company. It runs from Leipzig through Altenburg, the Werdau wye junction, Reiche ...
in 1842, and the Leipzig–Großkorbetha railway
The Leipzig–Großkorbetha railway is a double track electrified in the German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, which connects the city of Leipzig and the Thuringian Railway. It runs from Leipzig via Markranstädt and Bad Dürrenberg to Großk ...
in 1856, Leipzig had become the most important railway junction in the Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxo ...
. Initially trains departed from separate termini, such as Bayerischer Bahnhof, located Southeast of the Leipzig city centre. While the city's population increased sharply, especially upon German unification
The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...
in 1871, the spatial separation proved to be complicated and ineffective.
By 1895, the Saxon railway lines were nationalized under the umbrella of the Royal Saxon State Railways
The Royal Saxon State Railways (german: Königlich Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen) were the state-owned railways operating in the Kingdom of Saxony from 1869 to 1918. From 1918 until their merger into the Deutsche Reichsbahn the title 'Royal' was ...
, while the lines of the former Magdeburg–Halberstadt, Berlin-Anhalt, and Halle-Sorau-Guben railway companies had been incorporated into the Prussian state railways
The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...
. Already in 1875, plans for the establishment of a united German imperial railway organisation, as proposed by Albert von Maybach
Arnold Heinrich Albert von Maybach (29 November 1822 – 21 January 1904) was a German lawyer, politician and railway manager.
Life
Albert von Maybach was born on 29 November 1822 at Werne an der Lippe as the son of the mayor (''Bürgermei ...
, had failed due to the antagonism of the Central German states, notably by the Saxon government. Therefore, two state railways rivalled to meet the demands of a steadily growing transport volume in the Leipzig area.
Finally in 1898, the Leipzig city council decided on a joint terminal for Royal Saxon and Prussian state railways north of the city centre. A building contract with both organisations was signed in 1902 and an architectural competition with 76 participants was held in 1906. The winning design by the architects William Lossow (1852–1914) and Max Hans Kühne (1874–1942) featured two identical domed entrance halls facing the street, one for each company. The foundation stone was laid on 16 November 1909 and the platforms were gradually brought into operation station from 1912 onwards. When construction works finished on 4 December 1915, Leipzig Hauptbahnhof had become one of the world's largest railway stations with 26 platforms.
The separate administration of the Saxon and Prussian parts of the station continued even after World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the establishment of the nationwide 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 ...
railway organisation in 1920. Not until 1934 Leipzig Hauptbahnhof as a whole was assigned to the Reichsbahn directorate in Halle. By 1939, it had become one of Germany's busiest railway stations. The building was severely damaged by Allied bombing during 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 ...
when during an air raid by the US Eighth Air Force on 7 July 1944 the roof over the concourse collapsed and the western entrance hall was destroyed. Numerous travellers and railway employees were killed. Rail traffic discontinued completely in April 1945.
After the war, train service was quickly resumed. The hardly damaged eastern entrance hall was restored by 1949, and the western hall was rebuilt to its original appearance 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 ...
railway company 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 ...
in the early 1950s. The concourse, however, remained without a roofing, until in 1954 the East German Council of Ministers
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...
resolved upon a complete reconstruction. The full restoration of Leipzig Hauptbahnhof was finished on 4 December 1965, 50 years after its inauguration.
After German reunification the station was renovated and modernized by the Deutsche Bahn AG. The concourse floor was removed and two basement levels were dug out to create a shopping mall. Other areas of the building were largely restored and modernized at the time. The Design and Planning were done by the architectural firm HPP based in Düsseldorf. The modified station building was inaugurated on 12 November 1997.
The Leipzig City Tunnel
The City Tunnel is a twin-bore railway tunnel for the city-centre S-Bahn in Leipzig. It links Leipzig Hauptbahnhof with the central Markt station, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz station and Bayerischer Bahnhof.
Construction began in July 2003. The fi ...
, an underground railway line between the south of Leipzig and Hauptbahnhof via the central Markt station, opened on 14 December 2013. Further modifications of platforms and tracks are currently being carried out in the course of the construction of the Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway
The Erfurt–Leipzig/Halle high-speed railway is a -long high-speed line in Germany between Erfurt and Leipzig and Halle.
It is listed in Germany's Federal Transport Plan (''Bundesverkehrswegeplan'') as " German Unity Rail Project no 8.2" ('' ...
line, part of the European Berlin–Palermo railway axis
The Berlin–Palermo railway axis (german: Eisenbahnachse Berlin–Palermo, it, Asse ferroviario Berlino-Palermo) is project No. 1 of the Trans-European high-speed rail network ( TEN-R), which involves the creation of a high-speed rail line betw ...
.
File:Leipzig Hauptbahnhof Passage.jpg, Concourse after modification
File:13-12-01-weihnachtsterror-leipzig-hbf-01.jpg, Interior during Christmas
File:Bombardier Twindexx Leipzig-5.jpg,
File:2013-12-14 12h30m33s Einfahrt Hauptbahnhof.jpg, First train at the Leipzig City Tunnel
The City Tunnel is a twin-bore railway tunnel for the city-centre S-Bahn in Leipzig. It links Leipzig Hauptbahnhof with the central Markt station, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz station and Bayerischer Bahnhof.
Construction began in July 2003. The fi ...
on 14 December 2013
Historic exhibits
On the site of closed track No. 24, several historical Deutsche Reichsbahn locomotives are on display:
* Class 52 steam locomotive 52 5448-7
* Class SVT 137 Diesel multiple unit 137 225
* Class E04 AC electric locomotive E04 01
* Class E44 AC electric locomotive E44 046
* Class E94 AC electric locomotive E94 056
Movie set
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof served as a backdrop for several films, such as
*''Shining Through
''Shining Through'' is a 1992 American World War II drama film which was released to United States cinemas on January 31, 1992, written and directed by David Seltzer and starring Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith, with Liam Neeson, Joely Ric ...
'' (1992)
*'' Obsession'' (1997)
*'' Mr. Nobody'' (2009).
Train services
The following services currently call at the station:
Long distance
Regional and S-Bahn
Gallery
Image:Leipzig-Hauptbahnhof-overview.jpg, Aerial picture of the station
Image:Leipziger_Hauptbahnhof_-_Eingangshalle_West.jpg, One of the two identical entrance halls.
File:Leipzig Hbf 2006.jpg, Concourse
Image:Hauptbahnhof-leipzig aussenansicht 04-03-06.jpg, Train shed detail
Image:Leipzig Hauptbahnhof from the north.jpg, Train shed
Image:Leipzig HBF platforms Oct 2000.jpg, Inside the train shed
Image:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-25414-0002,_Leipzig,_Hauptbahnhof,_Bahnsteig.jpg, Inside the sheds in 1954, before the glass shattered in the war had been replaced.
Image:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-36400-0007,_Leipzig,_Hauptbahnhof.jpg, The ruined concourse in 1956, still open to the elements before rebuilding.
Image:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-45000-0065,_Leipzig,_Hauptbahnhof,_Bahnsteig.jpg, 1957: Partially restored, but the concourse is still without a roof.
Image:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-A0904-0091-004,_Leipzig,_Hauptbahnhof.jpg, Exterior,1962.
Image:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-D0227-0001-024,_Leipzig,_Hauptbahnhof.jpg, Exterior,1965.
Image:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-D0905-0091-015,_Leipzig,_Hauptbahnhof.jpg, Exterior,1965.
Image:Leipzig Hbf Jewish Memorial 01.JPG, Holocaust memorial
Image:DRG E04 01 Leipzig HBF.jpg, Electric locomotive on display
File:Leipzig Hauptbahnhof1.JPG, Exterior, 2010.
File:12-06-30-leipzig-by-ralfr-04.jpg
References
External links
*
{{Portal bar, Transport, Germany
Railway stations in Germany opened in 1915
Hauptbahnhof
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
Hauptbahnhof
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...