Historical development of the Bayerischer Bahnhof Leipzig

Picture: Wikipedia / Buchh. Ernst August Dittrich – Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig

1841

Leipzig Bayerischer Bahnhof (Leipzig Bavarian station), designed by the architect Plötsch is Germany’s oldest preserved railway station. The station first opened in 1842 for the Leipzig–Plauen-Hof-Bamberg- Nürnberg (in the year 1856  the route got extended to Munich) railway by the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company.

1883

On September 1883 the Bayerischer Bahnhof got connected to the local traffic of Leipzig with a tram route, which was used as horse tram until 1897 and later as electric tram.

1912

From 1. Oktober 1912 the fast trains operated on the line Leipzig Hbf–Leipzig-Connewitz to the new central station. Since then the Bayerischer Bahnhof is only used for local transport and cargo as well as a stop for exhibition excursion train. 

Picture: Güterbahnhof und Anschluss Großmarkthalle 1925, Atelier Hermann Walter / wikipedia

1943

The Bayerischer Bahnhof got partly destroyed through bomb attacks on 4th December 1943 as well as 20th February 1944. While the portico and the building were unharmed on the West side, the wooden concourse burned out. Also, the building on the East side needed to be torn down later partially. 

1952

The Bayerische Bahnhof was the oldest and still preserved terminus station worldwide for over 100 years. It was the most important long-distance traffic point until the depot closed in 1952. 

The tracks were equipped with electric catenaries since 2nd October 1961. In 1972 the general cargo clearance got routed to Magdeburg-Thüringer train station. 

1978

Around 1978 there was a plan to convert parts of the train station into a permanent showroom. In a further process, a museum trail station between the train station and the area of the technical museum should be set up. So the trail station can be used for special occasions like fairs. In the middle of the 1980ties, the signal boxes got renewed, but due to monument conservation, the semaphore signal at platform line got preserved. 

1991

The portico got redeveloped 1991. Until 2001 the train station was still in use for regional transport. 

2006

The shift of the portico to 20,50m East happened on Monday 10. April after preparatory actions in the period from December 2005 until April 2006.

2011

The portico was renovated externally from the beginning of 2011 until May 2012. The structure was in a more ailing condition than expected, which delayed the completion of the project several times. There was a ceremony on the 25th May 2012 to celebrate the completion of the restoration. 

In addition to the city tunnel, an underground station was established at the Bayerischen Bahnhof until December 2013. The train station got integrated into the newly established network of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland. From an operative perspective, it is just a stop. The further stop Leipzig MDR got developed at the Semmelweisstraße at the level of the former depot. The stop is still at the former railway station. The portico got located 30m to the East with a special slide bearing to make space for the construction of the city tunnel. Also, the foundation got covered with concrete. After adequate hardening the HEB steel girder got implemented, and the structure got lifted and moved. After the completion of the building shell of the city tunnel, the portico got move back on the 30th October 2009 to its previous location. The commissioning of the underground rail platform as part of the city tunnel happened on December 15th 2013.