Standardized railway station (Württemberg)
Encyclopedia
The standardized railway station was a type of station constructed primarily on branch lines for the Royal Württemberg State Railways
Royal Württemberg State Railways
The Royal Württemberg State Railways were the state railways of the Kingdom of Württemberg between 1843 and 1920...

. Between 1892 and approximately 1903, 59 such stations were constructed in Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....

 in three different versions.

History

The original intention of the government of the Kingdom of Württemberg
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...

 was to leave the construction of branch lines to private companies. However, when only a few companies took up the offer, a law to enable the construction of the first state branch line was passed in 1887. The line in question, the Schiltach-Schramberg railway
Schiltach-Schramberg railway
The Schiltach-Schramberg railway is a railway in Germany. At one time, the line branched off at Schiltach from the Kinzig Valley Railway . The line connected the City of Schramberg to the international railway system....

, ran from Nagold
Nagold
Nagold is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the northern Black Forest. It is located in the Landkreis of Calw . Nagold is known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viaduct...

 to Altensteig
Altensteig
Altensteig is a town in the district of Calw, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, 18 km southwest of Calw, and 19 km northeast of Freudenstadt.- Subdivisions :...

 and was followed soon afterwards by the Swabian Alb Railway
Swabian Alb Railway
The Swabian Jura Railway is a 58.25 kilometre long branch line from Reutlingen to Schelklingen, which crosses the Swabian Jura in southern Germany. Its route no. is 4620. The section from Reutlingen to Honau is also known as the Echaz Railway or Echaz Valley Railway...

 from Reutlingen
Reutlingen
Reutlingen is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of April 2008, it has a population of 109,828....

 to Honau and the Kocher Valley Railway from Waldenburg
Waldenburg
Waldenburg is the name of several places:* Waldenburg, Saxony, Germany* Waldenburg, Baden-Württemberg* Waldenburg, Switzerland*the former German name for Wałbrzych, Poland* Waldenburg, Arkansas, USAWaldenburg is also a surname:* Louis Waldenburg...

 to Künzelsau
Künzelsau
Künzelsau[p] is a town in Baden-Württemberg, in south central Germany. It is the capital of the Hohenlohe district. It is located on the river Kocher, 19 km north of Schwäbisch Hall, and 37 km northeast of Heilbronn....

. However, the state had limited funds and relied on financial contributions from local authorities along the route; the villages, however, had limited spending power and budgetary restrictions were extended to railway stations.

Some individually designed stations were still to be seen along the Schiltach
Schiltach
Schiltach is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, on the river Kinzig, 20 km south of Freudenstadt.-Geography:...

-Schramberg
Schramberg
Schramberg is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, 25 km northwest of Rottweil. With all its districts Talstadt, Sulgen, Waldmössingen, Heiligenbronn, Schönbronn and Tennenbronn it has about 22,000 inhabitants.One of...

 route (opened October 1892), the Nagold
Nagold
Nagold is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the northern Black Forest. It is located in the Landkreis of Calw . Nagold is known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viaduct...

-Altensteig
Altensteig
Altensteig is a town in the district of Calw, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, 18 km southwest of Calw, and 19 km northeast of Freudenstadt.- Subdivisions :...

 route (opened December 1891) and the Reutlingen
Reutlingen
Reutlingen is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of April 2008, it has a population of 109,828....

-Honau route (opened June 1892). The stretch from Waldenburg
Waldenburg
Waldenburg is the name of several places:* Waldenburg, Saxony, Germany* Waldenburg, Baden-Württemberg* Waldenburg, Switzerland*the former German name for Wałbrzych, Poland* Waldenburg, Arkansas, USAWaldenburg is also a surname:* Louis Waldenburg...

-Künzelsau
Künzelsau
Künzelsau[p] is a town in Baden-Württemberg, in south central Germany. It is the capital of the Hohenlohe district. It is located on the river Kocher, 19 km north of Schwäbisch Hall, and 37 km northeast of Heilbronn....

, which was opened in October 1892, was the first to see station buildings standardized on grounds of cost. In contrast to similar buildings on the stretch from Reutlingen
Reutlingen
Reutlingen is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of April 2008, it has a population of 109,828....

Honau, the stations here were of a simpler design with hip roofs abandoned in favour of gabled roofs.

Until approximately 1903, the standardized railway station was built on all new branch lines of the Royal Württemberg State Railways and again, in 1908 and 1911 respectively, on the Wieslauf Valley Railway at Rudersberg
Rudersberg
Rudersberg is a municipality in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 10 km southeast of Backnang, and 28 km northeast of Stuttgart.-Sport:...

 and Welzheim
Welzheim
Welzheim is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located 35 km east of Stuttgart, and 15 km northwest of Schwäbisch Gmünd....

. It was the only railway station of standard design to be constructed across the whole kingdom. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, the standardized railway station with its Swiss chalet style
Swiss chalet style
Swiss chalet style is an architectural style inspired by the chalets of Switzerland. The style originated in Germany in the early 19th century and was popular in parts of Europe and North America, notably in the architecture of Norway, the country house architecture of Sweden, Cincinnati, Ohio,...

 was deemed out of keeping with a period which favoured the up and coming Domestic Revival
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...

 style (Heimatstil).

The above is a translation based on the article in the German Wikipedia at :de::de:Einheitsbahnhof (Württemberg)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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