Leipzig Hauptbahnhof

is, at 83,460 m², Europe's largest railway station when measured by floor area. It has 24 platforms housed in six iron trainsheds; a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches; and a 293 metre-long facade. It handles an average of 150,000 passengers per day, with a total of over 54 million people using the Hauptbahnhof each year.

The station was opened in 1915 as a joint terminal for the Royal Saxon State Railways and the Prussian state railways. The building has two identical domed entrance halls facing the street, one for each company. When the German railway systems were combined into the Deutsche Reichsbahn, the two halls lost this purpose. The building was damaged by bombing during World War II when roof over the concourse collapsed and one of the entrance halls was destroyed. The station was restored by the Deutsche Reichsbahn to its original appearance in the 1950s.

After German reunification the station was renovated and modernized by the Deutsche Bahn. The concourse floor was removed and two basement levels were dug out to create a shopping mall. Other areas of the building were largely restored, but also modernized at the time.

The City Tunnel Leipzig, leading from the south of Leipzig to the central station, is under construction and is expected to be finished in 2013.

The station was used in the 1992 film Shining Through.

Historic Exhibits

These historical DR locomotives are on display at Leipzig Hbf.

• Class 52 steam locomotive 52 5448-7
• Class 137 DMU......
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