Main freight station Hanover

Front of the former main freight station with parking lot

The main freight station in Hanover was one of the most modern facilities of its kind in Germany from 1931 to the 1960s and remained the central freight station in Hanover for a long time until it was finally closed in 1997 . After that it stood empty for many years and became a lost place .

Little changed when the post office set up a letter distribution center and post office box there in 2008. Plans to market the approximately four hectare vacant hall repeatedly failed due to the poor state of construction and the associated high investment costs. But ultimately also because of local political influence that refused to change the zoning plan in favor of retail. This only changed with the demolition of the northern parts of the hall in 2015, the renovation of the southern parts of the hall and improved transport links.

After building permits were slowly issued by the building authorities and new tenants moved in, there are signs of change starting in 2019. A further revitalization of the industrial wasteland is sought. Two new tenants have been announced for 2020. The rental of commercial space around the hall is also making progress. Today, however, there is hardly any trace of the original dimensions of the facility and its function. Only the striking south facade and the renovated parts of the roof structure have been preserved.

Section inside a hall
Details of the steel structure
Warehouses
Area of the track systems, meanwhile dismantled

location

The area west of the railway line to Wunstorf, owned by a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn , is surrounded by the streets Arndtstraße , Weidendamm and Kopernikusstraße . Access is from the south via a flight of stairs in front of the former loading ramp. A central corridor encompasses all interior usable areas. The car park in the north concludes. A terrace was laid out on the west side.

history

The train station (left half of the picture) with destruction in the Second World War

View of the hall roofs of the train station, behind them red brick buildings by Conti (April 2011)

The freight yard on Weidendamm , designed as a terminal station for general cargo , was put into operation in 1877 at the same time as the new main station was built . The Möringsberg product station for bulk goods was built in its northern extension . In a major fire in both train stations in 1930, around 20,000 m² of storage space and 175 freight wagons were destroyed. After the reconstruction, both stations were combined to form the main freight station in Hanover in 1931 . This created the largest and most modern freight halls in Europe, in which up to 2000 tons of general cargo were handled every day.

The station suffered severe damage in the air raids on Hanover during World War II . Shortly before the American troops marched into Hanover in April 1945, the railroad facilities were looted by the population in the last days of the war .

The reconstruction of the station lasted from 1950 to 1958. Then the facility with around 40,000 m² of hall space was one of the largest freight stations of the German Federal Railroad , in which up to 390 freight wagons were loaded and unloaded every day. From the post-war period until the 1990s, the freight station served as the central transshipment point for all general cargo delivered by rail. They were carried on by trucks and transport vehicles. The Möringsberg bulk goods station closed in the 1980s and the entire main freight station closed in 1997.

During EXPO 2000 the unused area became an art station. An extensive lighting design by Gerhard Merz let the front side appear in the glistening light at night. Occasional techno events were also held until 2007. After that, the area completely fell into a "deep sleep", which only delighted amateur photographers. There were many plans for re-use, but none of them turned out to be feasible. In 2015 it was partially demolished, in which a little more than half of the hall was lost. Ironically, a new hall was built on the cleared area. In return, however, this made it possible to renovate the southern parts of the hall.

Demolition work on the rear halls, 2015

A total of 328,000 m³ of enclosed space was removed using five demolition excavators. A new commercial area is to be built on the area that will become available from 2016. Since the summer of 2016, a mechanized delivery base for parcels from Deutsche Post DHL has been located on an area of 5,000 m² .

In September 2017, the owner Aurelis finally presented plans for the future of the area: The halls are to be redesigned into a shopping and leisure center and in the future will house dining facilities, an Italian market, a fitness studio and a climbing hall, among other things.

Todays situation

Construction work began in January 2018. The first tenants moved in in May and June 2019. Additional tenants have been announced for 2020.

literature

Waldemar R. Röhrbein: Railway. In: Klaus Mlynek, Waldemar R. Röhrbein (eds.) U. a .: City Lexicon Hanover . From the beginning to the present. Schlütersche, Hannover 2009, ISBN 978-3-89993-662-9 , pp. 153ff.