The Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway is a 47 km long German main line railway in the northern foothills of the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

. It is one of the oldest lines in Germany and the first government-owned railway in Germany.

History

On 1 December 1838 the first section of the first state railway line in Germany opened between Brunswick (

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 **Ge ...

: ''Braunschweig'') and

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

. It connected the two most important cities in the former

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig) was a historical German state. Its capital was the city of Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by the Congress of Vienna ...

. In 1841 it was extended through

Schladen Schladen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2013, it is part of the municipality Schladen-Werla. It is situated on the river Oker, approx. 15 km south of Wolfen ...

and

Vienenburg Vienenburg is a borough of Goslar, capital of the 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 mountain range and eas ...

Bad Harzburg Bad Harzburg (; Eastphalian: ''Bad Harzborch'') is a spa town in central Germany, in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony. It lies on the northern edge of the Harz mountains and is a recognised saltwater spa and climatic health resort. Geogra ...

(then called ''Neustadt'', "New Town"). The steep section between Vienenburg and Bad Harzburg was operated with horse-haulage until 1843. In 1843 the Wolfenbüttel– Jerxheim–Oschersleben line was opened, which together with the Magdeburg–Halberstadt line formed a connection with Berlin. From 1844, the Brunswick–Hanover line was put into service and east-west traffic ran between Berlin and Hanover via Wolfenbüttel and from 1847 with the opening of the Hanover-Minden line as far as the Ruhr. In 1856 the

Brunswick Southern Railway The Brunswick Southern Railway (german: Braunschweigische Südbahn) was built by the Duchy of Brunswick State Railway as a link from its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway to the Hanoverian Southern Railway. It ran through the northwestern Harz For ...

was opened between Börßum and

Kreiensen Kreiensen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 January 2013, it is part of the town Einbeck. Geography Kreiensen is situated on the river Leine, approx. north of Northeim, and so ...

, creating a connection towards Kassel and

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. 1866 the Vienenburg–Goslar branch was opened, creating the first rail link to the then Hanoverian town of Goslar. The line lost its significance for long-distance traffic with the completion of the Berlin–Lehrte line in 1871 and the direct Brunswick–Magdeburg line in 1872. In 1924 the route was deviated to connect to the former Vienenburg marshalling yard.

Operations

Today the line is served mainly by regional passenger services, but has some freight traffic. Regionalbahn trains connect Brunswick and Bad Harzburg and Brunswick and Goslar every two hours, so that north of Vienenburg service run approximately hourly. These are supplemented on some sections by services between Brunswick and

Schöppenstedt Schöppenstedt is a small town in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the '' Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") of Elm-Asse. Geography It is situated southwest of the Elm and Asse hi ...

and there are additional services between Halle, Vienenburg, Bad-Harzburg and Hanover. The railway is not electrified and north of Vienenburg it is double track.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunswick-Bad Harzburg railway Railway lines in Lower Saxony Transport in Braunschweig Railway lines opened in 1838 Buildings and structures in Wolfenbüttel (district) Buildings and structures in Goslar (district)