These days Nordbahnhof is an odd part of town. It seems to just host an S Bahn station, a tram stop and a shiny Deutsche Bahn office.
A closer look and a look back into the past highlight what a fascinating part of town this actually is.
The inauspiciously named Nordbahnhof (North Station) was originally a huge and grand terminus station called Stettiner Bahnhof (Stettin Station). Here trains would head north to Bernau, Eberswalde, Angermünde and of course, Stettin.
World War 2 marked the beginning of the end for the once great station. The building was badly damaged by bombing and the tracks to the north were temporarily put out of use.
After the war, the town of Stettin became part of Poland (Szczecin) and the station was given its rather boring new name in 1950.
As the station straddled the border of East and West Berlin, the passenger numbers plummeted. In 1952 the decision was made to cease services from Nordbahnhof and to eventually demolish the building.
The building of the Berlin Wallin 1961 sealed the deal, with the station finding itself completely cut off from the west. The underground S Bahn line was kept in service, but by 1962 the beautiful station building was just dust in the 'death strip' surrounding the Wall. The S Bahn station became a so-called'Ghost Station'
Immediately after the fall of the wall, plans were afoot to develop this area that found itself near the centre of a reunified Berlin.
The land was still owned by Berlin and Deutsche Bahn and together they made plans to develop a park on the land where the track beds were laid. Park am Nordbahnhof is now a very welcome addition to the local green spaces around Miniloft.
Deutsche Bahn have also built a large office complex on the site, bringing with it employment and a lively buzz to the area.
The city has overhauled the kid's splash-pool, always a popular site in the summer months and there is now a successful Eco Market every Wednesday.
The crowning achievement of the whole redevelopment process however is thetram linkfrom Hauptbahnhof and beyond. Now Nordbahnhof finds itself connected to the East and West once more. Not bad for an area that just a few short years ago was an empty patch of dusty land.
Before:
Photo: DB Mobility Logistics AG
Now:
