NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T: OR WHY BERLIN'S FIRST U-BAHN LINE VANISHES BETWEEN SCHÖNEBERG AND CHARLOTTENBURG
It is unclear who took this stunning photo of Bülowstraße in 1903 - back when Schöneberg was not part of Berlin yet - but he or she definitely knew the art of outdoor photography. Here the photographer stood at the window of a house (possibly No. 24 which, miraculously, still exists today) on the corner of Bülowstraße and Postdamer Straße, looking east towards Lutherkirche (today the American Church of Berlin).
Did you know that this splendid construction in its middle had been a cause of long-lasting squabbles between the city of Schöneberg, the company building the elevated railway line, Hochbahngesellschaft - initiated by Siemens & Halske (yes, that Siemens), the city of Charlottenburg and, of course, Berlin?
Schöneberg and Charlottenburg did not want the horrid viaduct with its loud trains defacing their elegant streets, and fought against it tooth and nail.
Eventually Charlottenburg used its clout as the then richest city in Prussia (and in the Top 10 in Germany) and demanded to have the (cheaper but potenatially harmful for the property prices along the line) overground solution with an underground one: the tracks were to vanish under the streets as soon as the line reached the border between Schöneberg and Charlottenburg.
That is why when you visit Schöneberg today, getting off at U-Bahnhof (U-Bhf) Bülowstraße and taking a longer westbound walk past U-Bhf Nollendorfplatz (you can, of course, travel to the latter station for a shorter stroll), some 150 metres behind the latter stop you will see the U-Bahn trains vanish under the ground. Here is where they enter the tunnel which takes them through Charlottenburg unseen.
But the border between Schöneberg and Charlottenburg runs close to the KaDeWe (the legendary Berlin department store in Tauentzienstraße), I hear you say! And so it does. But only since the late 1930s - the original border ran almost exactly where the U-Bahn tunnel begins, at Nollendorfplatz. In fact, the plaza belonged to both: the southern area was in Schöneberg, while the north-western was part of Charlottenburg.
In order to provide a safe descending gradient to the viaduct and make sure the trains to do slide down the tracks towards the tunnel, the latter had to be built at some distance to the plaza. And the angle, I am happy to report, is perfect. But you can see it for yourselves. Preferably in 1902;-)
A tip: take the U1 train leaving from the U-Bhf Wittenbergplatz and going east and pay attention - the moment the U-Bahn emerges from that tunnel and starts going up, it can make your day!