The Royal Hanoverian State Railways (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
: ''Königlich Hannöversche Staatseisenbahnen'') existed from 1843 until the annexation of the
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...
by the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
in 1866. At that time its railway network, which comprised 800 kilometres of track, went over to the Prussian state.
Construction phases and routes
The ''Kreuzbahn''
The concept of the ''Kreuzbahn'' arose from the desire of
Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover
Ernest Augustus (german: Ernst August; 5 June 177118 November 1851) was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death in 1851. As the fifth son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Hanover, he initially seemed unlikely to become a m ...
, to avoid having a central railway station in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
. The routes therefore ran into the district of
Lehrte
Lehrte is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 17 km east of Hanover. In the 19th century Lehrte was the most important railway junction in the former Kingdom of Hanover. As of the 21st ...
in the form of a cross (hence ''Kreuzbahn'' = cross railway) and, as a result, Lehrte developed into an important railway hub.
The government of the Kingdom of Hanover had initially taken over the construction of state railways, because no private sponsors could be found for the first railway lines that were planned. These were the routes:
*
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
via
Lehrte
Lehrte is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 17 km east of Hanover. In the 19th century Lehrte was the most important railway junction in the former Kingdom of Hanover. As of the 21st ...
to
Peine
Peine (; Eastphalian: ''Paane'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Peine. It is situated on the river Fuhse and the Mittellandkanal, approximately west of Braunschweig, and east of Hanover.
History
A deed from 11 ...
on the border with the
Duchy of Brunswick
The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick ().
It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...
* Lehrte to
Celle
Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...
* Lehrte to
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...
The
first line, a 16 kilometre stretch from Hanover via Misburg to Lehrte, was opened on 22 October 1843. Its extension towards Brunswick followed on 1 December 1843 as far as the state border at Peine; there on 19 May 1844 it was joined to the
Duchy of Brunswick State Railway
The Duchy of Brunswick State Railway (''Herzoglich Braunschweigische Staatseisenbahn'') was the first Länderbahnen, state railway in German Confederation, Germany. The first section of its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway line between Braunschweig ...
that owned almost a third of the now 60 kilometre long connexion between the two ''
residenz
Residenz () is a German word for "place of living", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, Residenzstadt, denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, therefore carrying a similar meaning as the modern ...
'' cities. On 15 October 1845 the
Lehrte–Celle line followed and on 12 June 1846 the
Lehrte–Hildesheim line was finally completed.
From the ''Kreuzbahn'' the following additional lines were built under the direction of the Royal Hanoverian Railway which was founded on 13 March 1843:
The
Celle–Harburg line via
Uelzen
Uelzen (; officially the ''Hanseatic Town of Uelzen'', German: ''Hansestadt Uelzen'', , Low German ''Ülz’n'') is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the county of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a ...
and
Lüneburg
Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...
was opened on 1 May 1847 and on 15 October 1847 the
Hannover–Minden line followed with its connexion to the
main line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
operated by the
Cologne–Minden Railway Company.
Bremen Railway
Against the wishes of Prussia the
line to Bremen, which was jointly funded with the state of
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, was not constructed directly from
Minden
Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...
, but from Hanoverian
Wunstorf
Wunstorf () is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km west of Hanover. The following localities belong to the town of Wunstorf: Blumenau (with Liethe), Bokeloh, Großenheidorn, Idensen ...
. On 12 December 1847 the Wunstorf–Bremen section was opened. As a result of the political events of 1848/49 (
March revolutions), further expansion of the railway network in the
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...
was delayed.
Hanoverian Southern Railway
* 1 May 1853: Hannover–
Alfeld
Alfeld is a town in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. Located on the Leine river, it is the second biggest city in the district of Hildesheim in southern Lower Saxony and part of the Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsbur ...
* 15 September 1853: Nordstemmen–Hildesheim link
* 31 July 1854: Alfeld–Kreiensen–
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
extension
* 8 May 1856: Göttingen–Hanoverian Münden (including the ''Dransfelder Rampe'')
* 23 September 1856: Hanoverian Münden–Kassel
Hanoverian Western Railway
The project, jointly agreed with Prussia, for a railway from
Löhne
Löhne () is a town in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Löhne is situated on the river Werre, approx. 8 km north of Herford and 20 km south-west of Minden.
Neighbouring places
* Hüllhorst
* Bad ...
to the
Cologne-Minden Railway Company
The Cologne-Minden Railway Company (German, old spelling: ''Cöln-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', ''CME'') was along with the Bergisch-Märkische Railway Company and the Rhenish Railway Company one of the railway companies that in the mid-19th ...
network via
Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
to
Emden
Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528.
History
The exact founding date of E ...
did not come to fruition until there had been protracted discussions about the course of the line and its connexion to the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
railway network.
In the end they agreed upon the present-day route from von Löhne via Osnabrück to Prussian
Rheine
Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base.
Geography
Rheine is on the river Ems, approx. north of Münster, approx. west of Osnabrück a ...
, that at the same time provided a junction at
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
to the
Royal Westphalian Railway Company
The Royal Westphalian Railway (german: Königlich-Westfälische Eisenbahn, KWE) was a German rail company established in 1848 with funding from the Prussian government, which later became part of the Prussian State Railways. The network eventuall ...
(''Königlich-Westfälische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') and from there a link via
Salzbergen
Salzbergen is a municipality in the Emsland district, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Ems, approx. 25 km south of Lingen, and 10 km northwest of Rheine.
It has the oldest oil refinery in the world, opened in 1860.
S ...
to
Leer and Emden.
The link to the Dutch railway network was achieved from Hanoverian
Salzbergen
Salzbergen is a municipality in the Emsland district, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Ems, approx. 25 km south of Lingen, and 10 km northwest of Rheine.
It has the oldest oil refinery in the world, opened in 1860.
S ...
through
Bentheim to
Oldenzaal
Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border.
It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the city ...
. On 24 November 1854 the first section, Emden–
Papenburg
Papenburg (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Papenbörg'') is a city in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony, Germany, situated at the river Ems. It is known for its large shipyard, the Meyer-Werft, which specializes in building cruise liners.
Geog ...
, was completed.
* 21. November 1855: Löhne–Osnabrück opened
* 19./20. Juni 1856: Entire route via Rheine to Emden completed
* 18. November 1865:
Salzbergen
Salzbergen is a municipality in the Emsland district, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Ems, approx. 25 km south of Lingen, and 10 km northwest of Rheine.
It has the oldest oil refinery in the world, opened in 1860.
S ...
–Oldenzaal
Bremen–Bremerhaven railway
On 23 January 1862 the extension of the Bremen line to
Geestemünde
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
/Wesermünde (today
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
) was effected, again in conjunction with the city of Bremen.
Elbe train ferry
On 15 March 1864 after lengthy negotiations the line along the river
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
from
Lüneburg
Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...
to Hohnstorf was finally built and, at the same time the
Lauenburg-Hohnstorf Elbe Ferry Company was formed and they established a ferry to connect with the
Berlin-Hamburg Railway Company's
Lauenburg–Büchen line on the other side of the Elbe.
Harz
{{main, Vienenburg–Goslar railway
The
Vienenburg
Vienenburg is a borough of Goslar, capital of the Goslar (district), Goslar district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The former independent municipality was incorporated in Goslar on 1 January 2014.
Geography
It is situated in the north of the Harz mou ...
–
Goslar
Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...
railway was also owned by the Hanoverian State Railways, although it was operated by the
Duchy of Brunswick State Railway
The Duchy of Brunswick State Railway (''Herzoglich Braunschweigische Staatseisenbahn'') was the first Länderbahnen, state railway in German Confederation, Germany. The first section of its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway line between Braunschweig ...
. The Göttingen–
Arenshausen
Arenshausen is a village in the Eichsfeld district of Thuringia, 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 m ...
and
Northeim
Northeim (; nds, Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road.
History
Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document r ...
–
Ellrich
Ellrich is a town in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the southern edge of the Harz, 13 km northwest of Nordhausen. It is the northernmost settlement in Thuringia.
History
Second World War
Durin ...
lines were not completed until after the transfer of the Hanoverian State Railways to Prussia after the
War of 1866
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
.
Transfer of the state railway to Prussia
On 15 December 1866 the Royal Hanoverian State Railways was merged 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 ...
and renamed as the Prussian
railway division of Hanover.
Sources
* Bundesbahndirektion Hannover (ed.): ''1843–1983. 140 Jahre Eisenbahndirektion Hannover'', Hanover (1983)
* Meschkat-Peters, Sabine: ''Eisenbahnen und Eisenbahnindustrie in Hannover 1835 – 1914'', Hanover 2001 (''Quellen und Darstellungen zur Geschichte Niedersachsens'', vol. 119)
See also
*
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...
Defunct railway companies of Germany
Transport in Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
1843 establishments in the Kingdom of Hanover
1866 disestablishments in the Kingdom of Hanover
German companies established in 1843
Railway companies established in 1843
Railway companies disestablished in 1866