Tempelhof (Berlin U-Bahn)
Encyclopedia
Tempelhof is a railway station in the district
of Berlin
with the same name. It is served by the S-Bahn
lines , , and and the U-Bahn
line . The S-Bahn station is on an embankment
at the junction of Tempelhofer Damm
and Bundesautobahn 100
, about 1 km south of the entrance to the former Tempelhof Airport. The U-Bahn station, officially called Tempelhof (Südring) (South Ring), is under Tempelhofer Damm immediately south of the S-Bahn station.
The S-Bahn station opened on 1 January 1872 as part of the opening of the Ringbahn. It was originally located somewhat further west, but was relocated in 1895 to Tempelhofer Damm (then called Berliner Straße) in order to provide better integration into the rail network for a base of the Train
Battalion of the Prussian Guard which was then located there. A goods station
remained to the west.
The Ringbahn was electrified in 1928; a power station was built between the Tempelhof and Papestraße (now Südkreuz
) stations, accessible from both. In 1930, it was integrated into the Berlin S-Bahn. The extension of the U-Bahn line southwards to provide an interchange station at Tempelhof occurred during the same period: the U-Bahn station opened on 22 December 1929 under Tempelhofer Damm where the South Ring crossed it, and was thus called Tempelhof (Südring). It was designed by Alfred Grenander
in an unusually spare style with open mezzanine galleries at both ends of the platform. The exit at the north end leads directly into the S-Bahn station building, which was an innovation at the time. Until 1966 it was the southern terminus of the CII line, now the U6; the tunnel to Alt-Tempelhof was almost completely excavated when work was suspended in 1941 because of World War II, but in July 1945 a fire broke out in the turnaround and train storage area at the Tempelhof station and caused so much damage that trains terminated at Mehringdamm
until February 1946.
After the erection of the Berlin Wall
in 1961, West Berliners boycotted the S-Bahn to put pressure on the GDR government, which controlled the parent Deutsche Reichsbahn. The boycott led to extremely reduced S-Bahn passenger numbers, and after a strike by West Berlin S-Bahn employees to the ending of service over large stretches of the system in the West. The West Berlin portion of the Ringbahn, including the Tempelhof station, was taken out of service in September 1980. The U-Bahn station, named simply Tempelhof since 1962, remained in service. It was renovated in 1985; the ceiling had sustained bad water damage and was plastered over. The brightly coloured rectangular patterns on the ceiling date to this time.
Service was only restored on the Ringbahn after German reunification
, although the Berlin Senate had been working on plans to reopen it even before the Wall fell, since the S-Bahn had been transferred in January 1984 to the BVG (Berlin Transport). Südring was again appended to the name of the Tempelhof U-Bahn station on 31 May 1992, and the S-Bahn station reopened on 17 December 1993 when the segment of the South Ring between Baumschulenweg and Westend was placed back in service, and thus the station is once more a transfer point between the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn.
Tempelhof
Tempelhof is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. It is now deserted and shows as a blank spot on maps of Berlin. Attempts are being made to save the still-existing...
of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin 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...
with the same name. It is served by the S-Bahn
Berlin S-Bahn
The Berlin S-Bahn is a rapid transit system in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It consists of 15 lines and is integrated with the mostly underground U-Bahn to form the backbone of Berlin's rapid transport system...
lines , , and and the U-Bahn
Berlin U-Bahn
The Berlin is a rapid transit railway in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, and is a major part of the public transport system of that city. Opened in 1902, the serves 173 stations spread across ten lines, with a total track length of , about 80% of which is underground...
line . The S-Bahn station is on an embankment
Embankment (transportation)
To keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...
at the junction of Tempelhofer Damm
Bundesstraße 96
The Bundesstraße 96 is a federal highway in Germany. It begins in Zittau in the Saxony, close to the border triangle between Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, heads north through Berlin and ends in Sassnitz on the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea...
and Bundesautobahn 100
Bundesautobahn 100
is an Autobahn in Germany. The A 100 encloses the city centre of the German capital Berlin, running from the Wedding district of the Berlin-Mitte borough in a southwestern bow through Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Tempelhof-Schöneberg to Neukölln...
, about 1 km south of the entrance to the former Tempelhof Airport. The U-Bahn station, officially called Tempelhof (Südring) (South Ring), is under Tempelhofer Damm immediately south of the S-Bahn station.
The S-Bahn station opened on 1 January 1872 as part of the opening of the Ringbahn. It was originally located somewhat further west, but was relocated in 1895 to Tempelhofer Damm (then called Berliner Straße) in order to provide better integration into the rail network for a base of the Train
Train (military)
In military contexts a train can refer to logistic elements of a force or organisation. In this context the term train usually does not mean a railway train.Historically and for land forces, this usually referred to troops that are endowed with horses...
Battalion of the Prussian Guard which was then located there. A goods station
Goods station
A goods station is, in the widest sense, a railway station which is exclusively or predominantly where goods of any description are loaded or unloaded from ships or road vehicles and/or where goods wagons are transferred to local sidings.A station where goods are not specifically received or...
remained to the west.
The Ringbahn was electrified in 1928; a power station was built between the Tempelhof and Papestraße (now Südkreuz
Berlin Südkreuz
Berlin Südkreuz is a railway station in the German capital Berlin. The station was originally opened in 1898 and is an interchange station...
) stations, accessible from both. In 1930, it was integrated into the Berlin S-Bahn. The extension of the U-Bahn line southwards to provide an interchange station at Tempelhof occurred during the same period: the U-Bahn station opened on 22 December 1929 under Tempelhofer Damm where the South Ring crossed it, and was thus called Tempelhof (Südring). It was designed by Alfred Grenander
Alfred Grenander
Alfred Frederik Elias Grenander, , was one of the most prominent architects during the first building period of the Berlin U-Bahn in the first half of the twentieth century....
in an unusually spare style with open mezzanine galleries at both ends of the platform. The exit at the north end leads directly into the S-Bahn station building, which was an innovation at the time. Until 1966 it was the southern terminus of the CII line, now the U6; the tunnel to Alt-Tempelhof was almost completely excavated when work was suspended in 1941 because of World War II, but in July 1945 a fire broke out in the turnaround and train storage area at the Tempelhof station and caused so much damage that trains terminated at Mehringdamm
Mehringdamm (Berlin U-Bahn)
Mehringdamm is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the and the .Opened in 1924 as Belle-Alliance Strasse it was built by Grenander and later renovated by Rümmler. In 1946 the station was renamed Franz-Mehring-Strasse, after the socialist politician. In 1947, the station received it's current name...
until February 1946.
After the erection of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
in 1961, West Berliners boycotted the S-Bahn to put pressure on the GDR government, which controlled the parent Deutsche Reichsbahn. The boycott led to extremely reduced S-Bahn passenger numbers, and after a strike by West Berlin S-Bahn employees to the ending of service over large stretches of the system in the West. The West Berlin portion of the Ringbahn, including the Tempelhof station, was taken out of service in September 1980. The U-Bahn station, named simply Tempelhof since 1962, remained in service. It was renovated in 1985; the ceiling had sustained bad water damage and was plastered over. The brightly coloured rectangular patterns on the ceiling date to this time.
Service was only restored on the Ringbahn after German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, although the Berlin Senate had been working on plans to reopen it even before the Wall fell, since the S-Bahn had been transferred in January 1984 to the BVG (Berlin Transport). Südring was again appended to the name of the Tempelhof U-Bahn station on 31 May 1992, and the S-Bahn station reopened on 17 December 1993 when the segment of the South Ring between Baumschulenweg and Westend was placed back in service, and thus the station is once more a transfer point between the S-Bahn and the U-Bahn.