The West Holstein Railway Company was founded in 1875 with the aim of connecting the west

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

region in the present-day district of

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; ; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the ...

in the German state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

with the railway junction of

Neumünster Neumünster () is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein (behind Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg). The ''Holstenhallen'' and ...

and beyond with the cities of

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

and

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

. Its creation involved the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, the

Altona-Kiel Railway Company The Altona-Kiel Railway Company (, AKE) was a joint-stock company, established under the law of Denmark in personal union with the Duchy of Holstein, that built and operated an 105 km railway line between Altona and the Baltic Sea port city of ...

, neighbouring villages and towns and the town of Tonning.

History

After Schleswig-Holstein was annexed by Prussia as a result of the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War (; or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig–Holstein question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 Februar ...

, the Glückstadt–Elmshorn Railway Company (''Glückstadt-Elmshorner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft''), which owned the railway from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Itzehoe Itzehoe (; ) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24 km (14.9&nb ...

(now part of the

Marsh Railway The Marsh Railway () is a main line in the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany that links the stations of Elmshorn in the south and Westerland on the island of Sylt in the north. It is part of long route from Hamburg-Altona to Westerlan ...

) was able to promote the extension of its line to

Heide Heide (; Holsatian: ''Heid'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Dithmarschen. Population: 22,000. The German word ''Heide'' means "heath". In the 15th century four adjoining villages decide ...

. The West Holstein Railway Company (''Westholsteinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'') opened its first 79 km long stretch from

via

Hohenwestedt Hohenwestedt (Low Saxon: Wiste') is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 23 km south of Rendsburg, 25 km west of Neumünster and 40 km southwest of Ki ...

to Heide and Weddinghusen to Karolinenkoog at the

Eider The eiders () are large seaducks in the genus ''Somateria''. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The down feathers of eider ducks and some other ducks and geese are used to fill pillows and qu ...

estuary as the first branch line in Germany ( Neumünster–Heide railway and the Heide–Karolinenkoog railway) on 22 August 1877. From here, the town of

Tönning Tönning ( German; Low German ''Tünn'', ''Tönn'' or ''Tönnen''; Danish: ''Tønning''; North Frisian: ''Taning'') is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. History Tönning was destroyed in the ...

on the

Eiderstedt Eiderstedt (, ; ; North Frisian: ''Ääderstää'') is a peninsula in the district of Nordfriesland in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Overview It is approximately 30 km in length and 15 km in width and has been cre ...

peninsula was reached by means of a steam ferry, which operated from 6 August 1878. The bridging of the river would have been too expensive because of its considerable width and only in 1886 was the Marsh Railway extended through

Friedrichstadt Friedrichstadt (; ; ; ; ) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km (7 miles) south of Husum. History The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Duk ...

. This extension made the line to Karolinenkoog largely unnecessary, so that the northern section was closed in 1942 after a long period of low use. On 1 November 1878, the Wesselburen–Heide Railway Company (''Wesselburen–Heider Eisenbahngesellschaft''), with the involvement of the West Holstein Railway, the

and the Wesselburen municipality, opened a line that branched off from the Heide–Karolinenkoog railway in Weddinghusen and ran west for 11 kilometres to

Wesselburen Wesselburen () is a small town in the district of Dithmarschen in the German Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein. It is situated near the North Sea coast, approximately west of Heide. Wesselburen is part of the '' Amt'' ("collective municipali ...

. After the Wesselburen–Heide Railway had passed in the ownership of the West Holstein Railway Company on 1 April 1881, which already operated its trains and infrastructure, the line was extended a further 10 km to

Büsum Büsum () is a fishing and tourist town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the North Sea coast, approx. 18 km southwest of Heide. Büsum is also the administrative seat of the ''Amt'' ("collec ...

. Freight traffic commenced on 1 November 1883 and passenger traffic on 15 November 1883. On 1 July 1890, 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 ...

bought the company, including its exactly 100 km long network, and placed it under the ''Eisenbahndirektion'' ( railway division headquarters) in Altona. Today ''Nordbahn Eisenbahngesellschaft'' operates passenger services from Neumünster via Heide to Büsum. The branch-line to Karolinenkoog was closed in sections. Passenger services—as far as Hemmerwurth—ended on 23 May 1954 and freight traffic operated for another five years.

References

* {{Authority control Defunct railway companies of Germany