On this day in 1912 the new revamped, redesigned and refurbished station “Gleisdreieck” at the railway junction of today’s lines U1/U3 and U2 in Berlin-Kreuzberg, was officially opened.
Even though it is called U-Bahnhof (underground station) and is part of Berlin’s U-Bahn network, “Gleisdreieck” is very much elevated - it belongs to the Östliche Stammstrecke (Eastern Core - or Stem - Line), the first section of today’s Berlin U-Bahn to have been built and opened in 1902. However, the station itself did not show up on the maps until 1912 and it took a tragedy to set these wheels rolling.
In September 1908 one of the worst railway catastrophes in Berlin‘s history took place at the triangular railway junction - Gleisdreieck stands for “track/rail triangle”. After two trains collided, with a carriage full of people falling off the high viaduct and another one only hanging there for dear life, it became clear that things were not working out the way they should. The very design of the junction posed an inherent threat to the safety of both the stock and passengers.
And so the catastrophe sped up the long-needed refurbishment. The new station was designed by a brilliant Swiss architect active in Berlin and in Prussia, Sepp Kaiser.
You can find out more about the history of Gleisdreieck and the whole core-line of Berlin’s U-Bahn by listening to my audio-tour - either while walking the line or while safely sat in your favourite armchair (click the image).
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