Duchy of Brunswick State Railway
Encyclopedia
The Duchy of Brunswick State Railway (Herzoglich Braunschweigische Staatseisenbahn) was the first state railway
in Germany
. The first section of its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway line between Brunswick
and Wolfenbüttel
opened on 1 December 1838.
lor to Duke William of Brunswick. Amsberg investigated the transportation links from the land-locked Duchy of Brunswick
to the Hanse
cities of Hamburg
, Bremen
and Lübeck
and recognised that the transportation of wood and mining products from the duchy's estates in the Harz
mountain range to the maritime harbours was not competitive. Conversely products from the seaboard harbours tended to be transported on the Elbe
river to Magdeburg
in the Prussian Province of Saxony
but not to Brunswick. In 1824 he proposed, in a memorandum, a plan to build railway links from Brunswick through the Kingdom of Hanover
to the cities of Hamburg and Bremen. These ideas were publicised in 1832 but foundered on German sectionalism (Kleinstaaterei).
In 1835 Amsberg again looked into the plan to build an eastern railway from Brunswick via Helmstedt
to Magdeburg. This plan was given up in favour of a later route via Oschersleben
in order to form a junction there to the Prussian Magdeburg–Halberstadt line. In the same year, the first steam-hauled railway line in Germany, the Bavarian Ludwig Railway, opened between Nuremberg
and Fürth
. At the instigation of Amsberg, the Brunswick state ministry finally made the decision to build a railway line from Brunswick southwards to Wolfenbüttel and the exclave of Bad Harzburg
(until 1892: Neustadt) – the Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway – and thereby pre-empt the intent of the Hanoverian government to build an eastern railway via Halberstadt
to Magdeburg, which would bypass Brunswick to the south.
On 1 August 1837 construction began on the first section from Brunswick in southern direction and on 30 November 1838 the route was inaugurated by Duke William riding on a train to Wolfenbüttel hauled by a Blenkinsop
locomotive. Opened to traffic the next day, it was the first German state railway and the fourth railway line to be built in the German Confederation
. On 31 October 1841 the line to Bad Harzburg via Vienenburg
was completed. The Vienenburg station opened in 1840 on Hanover territory is today the oldest railway station in Germany which is still in use. The ascent from here to the rim of the Harz range was initially worked by horses, but by 1843 steam haulage had been introduced on this section too, using three locomotives
built in England
. These engines were the first six-coupled locomotives in Germany.
In 1850, Philipp-August von Amsberg became head of the Duchy's Railway and Postal Division in Brunswick.
. In 1869 Amsberg entered into the sale of the Brunswick State Railway to Prussia with a heavy heart. The Duchy of Brunswick
had amassed heavy debts at that time, that had arisen mainly due to the expansion of the railway.
In March 1870, with effect from 1 January 1869, the Brunswick State Railways were transferred to a private railway concern, the Brunswick Railway Company. Amsberg did not survive to see the Prussian state buy up the shares in this company between 1879 and 1882, operate it under the Prussian state railways and subordinate it in 1886 to the royal railway division (Eisenbahndirektion) of Magdeburg.
Länderbahnen
The German term Länderbahnen generally refers to the state railways of the German Empire in the period from about 1840 to 1920 when they were merged into the Deutsche Reichsbahn after the First World War....
in Germany
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
. The first section of its Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway line between Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
and Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, located on the Oker river about 13 kilometres south of Brunswick. It is the seat of the District of Wolfenbüttel and of the bishop of the Protestant Lutheran State Church of Brunswick...
opened on 1 December 1838.
Opening
The construction of the line was mainly the work of the entrepreneur Philipp August von Amsberg, privy councilPrivy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
lor to Duke William of Brunswick. Amsberg investigated the transportation links from the land-locked Duchy of Brunswick
Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
to the Hanse
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
cities of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
and Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
and recognised that the transportation of wood and mining products from the duchy's estates in the Harz
Harz
The Harz is the highest mountain range in northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart , latinized as Hercynia. The legendary Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz...
mountain range to the maritime harbours was not competitive. Conversely products from the seaboard harbours tended to be transported on the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
river to Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
in the Prussian Province of Saxony
Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1945. Its capital was Magdeburg.-History:The province was created in 1816 out of the following territories:...
but not to Brunswick. In 1824 he proposed, in a memorandum, a plan to build railway links from Brunswick through the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover 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 Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
to the cities of Hamburg and Bremen. These ideas were publicised in 1832 but foundered on German sectionalism (Kleinstaaterei).
In 1835 Amsberg again looked into the plan to build an eastern railway from Brunswick via Helmstedt
Helmstedt
Helmstedt is a city located at the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. Helmstedt has 26,000 inhabitants . In former times the city was also called Helmstädt....
to Magdeburg. This plan was given up in favour of a later route via Oschersleben
Oschersleben
Oschersleben is a town in the Börde district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The population in 1905 was 13,271, in 2005 about 18,000.-Geography:...
in order to form a junction there to the Prussian Magdeburg–Halberstadt line. In the same year, the first steam-hauled railway line in Germany, the Bavarian Ludwig Railway, opened between Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
and Fürth
Fürth
The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
. At the instigation of Amsberg, the Brunswick state ministry finally made the decision to build a railway line from Brunswick southwards to Wolfenbüttel and the exclave of Bad Harzburg
Bad Harzburg
Bad Harzburg is a 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.- Location :...
(until 1892: Neustadt) – the Brunswick–Bad Harzburg railway – and thereby pre-empt the intent of the Hanoverian government to build an eastern railway via Halberstadt
Halberstadt
Halberstadt is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the capital of the district of Harz. It is located on the German Half-Timbered House Road and the Magdeburg–Thale railway....
to Magdeburg, which would bypass Brunswick to the south.
On 1 August 1837 construction began on the first section from Brunswick in southern direction and on 30 November 1838 the route was inaugurated by Duke William riding on a train to Wolfenbüttel hauled by a Blenkinsop
John Blenkinsop
John Blenkinsop was an English mining engineer and an inventor of steam locomotives, who designed the first practical railway locomotive....
locomotive. Opened to traffic the next day, it was the first German state railway and the fourth railway line to be built in the German Confederation
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
. On 31 October 1841 the line to Bad Harzburg via Vienenburg
Vienenburg
Vienenburg is a town in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the north of the Harz mountain range on the river Oker, approx. northeast of Goslar...
was completed. The Vienenburg station opened in 1840 on Hanover territory is today the oldest railway station in Germany which is still in use. The ascent from here to the rim of the Harz range was initially worked by horses, but by 1843 steam haulage had been introduced on this section too, using three locomotives
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
built in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. These engines were the first six-coupled locomotives in Germany.
In 1850, Philipp-August von Amsberg became head of the Duchy's Railway and Postal Division in Brunswick.
Development of the network
- On 10 July 1843 the eastern branch Wolfenbüttel–Oschersleben via JerxheimJerxheimJerxheim is a municipality in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
and SchöningenSchöningenSchöningen is a town of about 13,000 inhabitants in the district of Helmstedt, Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located near the border with Saxony-Anhalt, on the southeastern rim of the Elm hill range...
was opened with the junction to the Prussian railways operated by the Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway CompanyMagdeburg-Halberstadt Railway CompanyThe Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company was a railway in Prussia. It was nationalized in 1879.-History :The Magdeburg-Halberstadt Railway Company received a concession on 14 January 1842 from the Prussian government to build the 58 km long railway line from Magdeburg–Oschersleben–Halberstadt...
and further connection to BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
as well as to the Brunswick exclave of Blankenburg. - The western Brunswick-Peine line was opened on 19 May 1844 with a junction to the Royal Hanoverian State RailwaysRoyal Hanoverian State RailwaysThe Royal Hanoverian State Railways existed from 1843 until the annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866...
after finally an agreement had been reached with reluctant King Ernest Augustus I of HanoverErnest Augustus I of HanoverErnest Augustus I was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death. He was the fifth son and eighth child of George III, who reigned in both the United Kingdom and Hanover...
. - The Brunswick Southern RailwayBrunswick Southern RailwayThe Brunswick Southern Railway 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 Foreland from Börßum via Salzgitter, Ringelheim and Seesen to Kreiensen...
branch from BörßumBörßumBörßum is a municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-Geography:Börßum lies only a few kilometers north of the Harz Mountains, north of Schladen, on the east bank of the Oker, 11 km south of Wolfenbüttel. It is not far southeast of the Oderwald....
to the Hanoverian Southern Railway at KreiensenKreiensenKreiensen is a municipality in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany.-Geography:Kreiensen is situated on the river Leine, approx. 20 km north of Northeim, and 35 km south of Hildesheim....
was built from 1853 and opened in 1856. - In 1858 the junction to the HelmstedtHelmstedtHelmstedt is a city located at the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. Helmstedt has 26,000 inhabitants . In former times the city was also called Helmstädt....
brown coal district was effected by a northern branch of the Wolfenbüttel–Oschersleben line at Jerxheim, - Another branch from Vienenburg to GoslarVienenburg–Goslar railwayThe Vienenburg–Goslar railway is a main line between Vienenburg and Goslar on the northern edge of the Harz mountains in Germany. It was opened in 1866.- Route :...
opened in 1866; as this line ran entirely through Hanover territory it had been built by the Hanoverian State Railway, but was at first operated by the Brunswick State Railway. - When the southwestern link from Kreiensen to HolzmindenHolzmindenHolzminden is a town in southern Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Holzminden. It is located directly on the river Weser, which here is the border to North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:...
and HöxterHöxterHöxter is the seat of the Höxter district, and a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands...
link to the lines of the Royal Westphalian Railway CompanyRoyal Westphalian Railway CompanyThe Royal Westphalian Railway , was a German rail company established in 1848 with funding from the Prussian government, which later became part of the Prussian State Railways...
opened in October 1865, a through route was established via AltenbekenAltenbekenAltenbeken is a municipality in the district of Paderborn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Altenbeken is situated in the Eggegebirge, approx. 15 km northeast of Paderborn...
to the Rhine-Westphalian industrial regionRuhrThe Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
. - With the completion of the Jerxheim–Börßum link, a long-distance through route was established in 1868 between Magdeburg and the RuhrRuhrThe Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
area bypassing both Hanover and Brunswick, which was of particular interest to PrussiaKingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
. The major east-west thorughfare was superseded by the Berlin–Lehrte railway (Lehrter Bahn) opened in 1871.
Takeover by the state of Prussia
After the 1866 annexation of Hanover by Prussia, the Brunswick lines were entirely surrounded by the Prussian state railwaysPrussian state railways
The term Prussian state railways encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia...
. In 1869 Amsberg entered into the sale of the Brunswick State Railway to Prussia with a heavy heart. The Duchy of Brunswick
Duchy of Brunswick
Brunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
had amassed heavy debts at that time, that had arisen mainly due to the expansion of the railway.
In March 1870, with effect from 1 January 1869, the Brunswick State Railways were transferred to a private railway concern, the Brunswick Railway Company. Amsberg did not survive to see the Prussian state buy up the shares in this company between 1879 and 1882, operate it under the Prussian state railways and subordinate it in 1886 to the royal railway division (Eisenbahndirektion) of Magdeburg.
Literature
Pioniere des Eisenbahnwesens, Carl Röhrig Verlag Darmstadt, Dr.-Ing Erhard Born (Herausgeber).See also
- Duchy of BrunswickDuchy of BrunswickBrunswick was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established as an independent duchy by the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
- History of rail transport in GermanyHistory of rail transport in GermanyGerman Railway history began with the opening of the steam-hauled Bavarian Ludwig Railway between Nuremberg and Fürth on 7 December 1835. This had been preceded by the opening of the horse-hauled Prince William Railway on 20 September 1831...
- Prussian state railwaysPrussian state railwaysThe term Prussian state railways encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia...
External links
- There is an English-language discussion forum at Railways of Germany