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Berlin Zoologischer Garten




Berlin Zoologischer Garten (translates from German as Berlin Zoological Garden, short form '''Berlin Zoo''' or colloquially ''Bahnhof Zoo'') was the central transport facility in West Berlin during the city's political division and is still the main station for the western central area of Berlin. Situated on Hardenbergplatz , adjacent to the Berlin Zoo , Berlin Zoo station is also an interchange for the U-Bahn and S-Bahn , which uses the Stadtbahn , along with long distance and international trains, known in German as the ''Fernbahn'').

Hardenbergplatz is also West Berlin's largest city bus terminal and is also used by long-distance buses/coaches. "ZOB", Berlin's central bus terminal for regional and long-distance travel, is located on the Messedamm not far from the Funkturm .


HISTORY

The Bahnhof Zoo was originally a Stadtbahn station, opened in February 1882 . In 1902 , the U2 , the first Berlin U-Bahn line, was activated under ground. Between 1934 and 1940 the station was rebuilt, and the track installations were expanded. In August 1961 the U-Bahn Line 9 was opened under the U2, which connected the station with the transportation network in the North-South direction.

The fact that with only two platforms and four tracks for long-distance trains the station was still the most important in West Berlin was another unnatural phenomenon of the divided city. With the completion of the Berlin Hauptbahnhof in mid- 2006 the station will almost certainly lose even more importance.


OPERATIONAL USAGE


Statistical data


The station's future


In Summer 2005, the head of the Deutsche Bahn Hartmut Mehdorn announced that after May 28 , 2006 , long-distance trains will no longer use the station. Despite the outcry from nearby retailers and local politicians, on June 6 , 2005 , the Deutsche Bahn announced its final, conclusive transportation plan for Berlin.


ZOO STATION IN POPULAR CULTURE

  • In Germany, the station is still best known for its role as the the setting of the book "Christiane F. - The children from Bahnhof Zoo" ('' Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo '') by Christiane Vera Felscherinow which dramatizes the period in the 1970s and 1980s when the rear of the station facing Jebensstraße was a meeting point for prostitutes, teen runaways, and drug addicts. The Berlin authorities shut down this function with rigorous police operations at the end of the Eighties.


  • The U2 song " Zoo Station " was inspired by the station.

  • The song The Zoo by German rock band The Scorpions was inspired by the station.

  • The Song 'Zoo Time' by British Band Mystery Jets Featured The Lyric 'Wir sind die Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo' (We Are The Children Of Bahnhof Zoo)