Park at the north station
| Park at the north station | ||
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| Park with a lawn | ||
| Basic data | ||
| place | Berlin | |
| District | center | |
| Created | 2004-2009 | |
| Surrounding streets |
Gartenstrasse , Julie-Wolfthorn-Strasse, Caroline-Michaelis-Strasse |
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| Buildings | Szczecin tunnel | |
| use | ||
| User groups | Leisure time , children, foot traffic | |
| Park design | Fugmann & Janotta | |
| Technical specifications | ||
| Parking area | 55,000 m² | |
| building-costs | € 1.6 million | |
52 ° 32 '10.4 " N , 13 ° 22' 59.5" E
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The park at the Nordbahnhof is a 5.5 hectare park in the Berlin district of Mitte between Gartenstrasse and Caroline-Michaelis-Strasse on the site of the former Nordbahnhof .
history
From 1842, trains ran from the terminus, which was still known as Szczecin station , in the direction of Szczecin and Pomerania . To accommodate the rapidly growing traffic, a new building was built in 1876 on the site three meters above street level, which was expanded in 1903. In 1950 the station was renamed Nordbahnhof to avoid a name reference to the city of Szczecin, which is now in Poland . In 1952 the station was closed both because of the severe war damage and because of the unfavorable location for the Reichsbahn , as the tracks initially ran over West Berlin . The station building was therefore torn down from 1955 to 1962. The systems of the north-south tunnel of the S-Bahn with the tunnel entrance at Schwartzkopffstrasse , running parallel to the long-distance railway tracks, continued to operate.
With the construction of the wall in 1961, the area became part of the border fortifications. West of the S-Bahn and along Caroline-Michaelis-Straße, which was laid out in 2005, the so-called hinterland wall and death strip and another border wall, the course of which is now marked by a row of cobblestones, were built. So the situation arose that the border between the East Berlin district of Mitte with the hinterland wall in the west and the West Berlin district of Wedding with the three meter high clinker wall was in the east.
Planning and implementation
As early as 1995, an urban development and landscape planning ideas competition for the design of the park took place, which was won by the Atelier Loegler (architects) from Kraków and Fugmann & Janotta (landscape planners ) from Berlin. Realization of the project only started in spring 2004.
The park was created under the management of Grün Berlin GmbH , according to the plans of the Berlin office for landscape architecture and landscape development Fugmann & Janotta . Since the funds were not continuously available, the completion dragged on until the opening on May 14, 2009, but this did not mean the complete completion according to the winning design. It was not until 2019 that it was decided to finish building the park for 360,000 euros.
The total costs amounted to around 1.6 million euros, which were largely financed from so-called compensatory measures for interventions in nature and the landscape from 15 different building projects. On the adjoining site to the west of the former Szczecin suburban train station (today: Stettiner Carré ), Deutsche Bahn built office buildings for more than 2000 employees, so that Deutsche Bahn's share of the total costs was around 65%. The remaining funds came from projects by the state of Berlin and other investors. In addition, investment funds from the Mitte district of around 40,000 euros were available for the construction of a streetball court and playground equipment. In 2011, the adjacent building complex was expanded to include the Carré North Station and today, with 3700 jobs, it is the largest Deutsche Bahn location in Germany.
The renovation of the wall on Gartenstrasse is an independent measure and is financed from the monument title of the Senate Department for Urban Development . The total costs for this amounted to approx. 1.1 million euros.
layout
The most striking feature of the park is its location three meters above street level, the legacy of the North Station. The brick wall required for this on Gartenstrasse and the former interior wall shape the character of the park.
Remains of the former railway systems can be found in many places. The former Noa signal box , which was converted into a townhouse, is located on Schwartzkopffstrasse . Another special feature is the Szczecin Tunnel , which connected East Berlin's Schwartzkopffstraße with West Berlin Gartenstraße, but was closed by GDR authorities as early as 1952 . There is an “archaeological window” here, which gives a glimpse into the former walled-up underground border installations.
The rear wall and the two-row cobblestone course of the border wall as well as parts of the preserved post route of the border troops also remind of the past as part of the former border fortifications . Together with the nearby Berlin Wall Memorial , the park is part of the Berlin Wall memorial concept.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a lush spontaneous vegetation of birch trees and steppe-like tall grasses that are typical of Berlin developed on the former death strip, providing a habitat for many birds and other small animals. This situation - "the big meadow at the north station" - should be preserved and gives the park its atmosphere today. Individual islands have been set into this large meadow, which are connected to the main paths by metal walkways. Here you will find games and sports as well as recreational areas. Shade is provided by light trees that are loosely distributed over the lawns. At the edge along Gartenstraße there is a 20 to 30 meter wide strip of wood that forms a shady relaxation area. A lane that stems from the former course of the Wall was kept free and used for the construction of the “ Wall Trail ”.
The stone cubes composed of sandstones and granite shelves, which are supposed to provide habitats for various small animals, are remarkable.
The MountMitte high ropes course and several beach volleyball fields have been created on Wolfthornstrasse under the responsibility of the Mitte district , which are connected to the park and form the southern end of the green area.
Due to the S-Bahn, which leaves the north-south tunnel in the north of the park, this area is largely cordoned off for safety reasons. For visitors to the park, a narrow, cleared area leads along this barrier to the Liesenbrücke bridge , which can be left laterally through a newly constructed stairway at the clinker wall in Gartenstrasse.
Web links
- Park at the north station. Senate Department for Urban Development Berlin, accessed on May 20, 2011 .
- Park opened at Nordbahnhof. District Office Mitte of Berlin, May 13, 2009, accessed on May 20, 2011 .
- Park at the north station. Grün Berlin GmbH, accessed on May 20, 2011 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dirk Jericho: Park at the Nordbahnhof will be completed ten years after it opened. In: Berlin Week . August 21, 2019, accessed April 20, 2020 .
- ↑ Press release of BA-Mitte No. 211/2009 of May 13, 2009