Berlin S-Bahn station Nordbahnhof by Silva Wischeropp

About "Berlin S-Bahn station Nordbahnhof"

by Silva Wischeropp

About the artwork

Only the underground S-Bahn station remains of the former long-distance railway station Nordbahnhof. At the beginning of the 20th century, the large hall of the Szczecin railway station and the small reception building of the suburban railway station were located on the site of the Nordbahnhof. The Vorortbahnhof lost its function when the S-Bahn came into service and the underground S-Bahn station was built in 1936. In 1952, the long-distance station was also closed down. It had been badly damaged during the war and was also located in the immediate vicinity of the border. In the first years after the Wall was built, many people tried to flee via the railway area. For this reason, the above-ground area of Nordbahnhof became a restricted zone. Only members of the transport and border police or border troops had access.
Transport police and border guards also monitored the underground platforms. The station had an exit to both East and West Berlin. It thus offered very good opportunities for escape. For this reason, the entire area was hermetically sealed off. The underground S-Bahn station developed into a ghost station, because the trains of the S-Bahn line ran to the west and consequently no longer stopped at Nordbahnhof. In today's S-Bahn station you will find an exhibition about the border and ghost stations in Berlin. There you can also learn how people managed to escape through the underground and S-Bahn network of the divided city despite all the obstacles.
You can discover some remains of the border fortifications in the park on the Nordbahnhof grounds: For example, the wall that today borders the area of the beach volleyball court. It was formerly part of the Hinterland wall.