Görlitz station

Railway station in Saxony, Germany

Görlitz

Station building and forecourt

General information
Location| Bahnhofstr. 76, Görlitz, Saxony
Germany
Coordinates| 51°8′50″N 14°58′45″E﻿ / ﻿51.14722°N 14.97917°E﻿ / 51.14722; 14.97917
Line(s)|

* Berlin–Görlitz (KBS 220)
* Görlitz–Dresden (KBS 230)
* Görlitz–Weißenberg/OL. (closed)
* Węgliniec–Zgorzelec–Görlitz
* Görlitz–Jelenia Góra
* Görlitz–Zawidów

Platforms| 6
Construction
Accessible| Yes (except platforms 9 and 10)
Architect| Gustav Kießler
Architectural style| Jugendstil
Other information
Station code| 2194
DS100 code| DG[1]
IBNR| 8010131
Category| 3[2]
Website| www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened| 1 September 1847; 177 years ago (1847-09-01)
Electrified| 1923–1945[3]
Services
| Preceding station  | Trilex | Following station

|
|

Löbau (Sachs)

towards Dresden Hbf

|  | RE 1 |  | Zgorzelec

Terminus

Görlitz-Rauschwalde

towards Dresden Hbf

|  | RB 60 |  | Terminus
Preceding station  |  Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn | Following station
Kodersdorf

towards Hoyerswerda

|  | RB 64 |  | Terminus
Kodersdorf

towards Cottbus Hbf

|  | RB 65 |  | Görlitz-Weinhübel

towards Zittau

Preceding station  | KD | Following station
Zgorzelec

towards Jelenia Góra

|  | D19 |  | Terminus
Zgorzelec

towards Wrocław Główny

|  | D10 |  | Dresden Hauptbahnhof

Terminus

Preceding station  | Polregio | Following station
Terminus |  | PR |  | Zgorzelec

towards Zielona Góra Główna

Location

Görlitz station is the central station of the city of Görlitz in the German state of Saxony. Of the original twelve station tracks only six are still in operation. Görlitz is also served by stations in Rauschwalde, Weinhübel and Hagenwerder.

## History

[edit]

Original station in 1860

In 1845, the city began, along with the Lower Silesian-Marcher Railway (German: Niederschlesisch-Märkische Eisenbahn), the construction of a station building, which opened in 1847 and began the development of modern Görlitz.[4] Hotels, apartments and businesses were later built around the station. Previously, it had been surrounded only by fields. The station was built by the master mason, Gustav Kießler, who also built the Neisse Viaduct.

On 15 October 1846 Görlitz was connected to the railway network in Prussian Silesia,[5] of which Görlitz formed part at that time. The Lower Silesian-Marcher Railway had begun to build its line from Berlin to Breslau in 1843. A branch [de] of this line ran from Kohlfurt (after 1945 renamed as Węgliniec) to Görlitz. The South-North German Connecting Railway (Süd-Norddeutsche Verbindungsbahn) was already planning a connection between Berlin and Vienna via Görlitz and Seidenberg (renamed after 1945 as Zawidów).

The station of Görlitz, which Prussia had seized from Saxony in 1815, was jointly operated by the Lower Silesian-Marcher Railway and the Saxon-Silesian Railway, railway companies based in the two mentioned nations. The Saxon-Silesian Railway operated the line to Dresden. The city created Bahnhofsstraße as a street access to the station. The first station building was built on island platforms, so that the two railway companies could have separate entrances.

Two slender towers were built at the main entrance, which was protected from the weather by a veranda. From the entrance hall a passage connected to the ticket and luggage offices. This hall was connected by passages to the waiting rooms and trains. A similar building was built by Lower Silesian-Marcher Railway in Kohlfurt.

Görlitz was one of the major cities of Prussia and further extensions were built. A line was built to Berlin via Cottbus, opened in 1867. Traffic grew rapidly and the station became congested. The existing building was built west of the island platforms and a new entrance building was built facing Bahnhofsstrasse. A newly pedestrian tunnel was built leading directly from Bahnhofsstrasse to the extension of the building on the island platforms. All other old railway buildings, including the two towers had to be demolished for the new development. The new building was larger and better equipped than the old station. During the World War I the new building and the adjacent railway post office (1915) were completed. The entrance hall was opened in Art Nouveau style in 1917.

Art Nouveau style entrance hall

In 1923 Görlitz station was electrified and thus connected to electrified rail network on the Silesian Mountain Railway. Electric rail transport in Görlitz ended in February 1945, due to war-related interruption of overhead lines and power supply. Starting in autumn 1945 the overhead lines were dismantled and transported as reparations to the Soviet Union. Scheduled in 1981 Deutsche Reichsbahn planned the reelectrification of the station to be completed by 1995. However, after 1989 (opening of the East German western borders) the reconstruction of inner-German rail connections gained priority and the electrification of the Dresden-Görlitz Saxon-Silesian railway has been deferred indefinitely.

In 1984, the station hall ceiling was completely restored. The building has since become a historical monument.

## Train services

[edit]

As of May 2017 The station is served by the following services:[6]

* regional express RE1 / D10 Dresden – Bischofswerda – Bautzen – Görlitz (– Zgorzelec – Węgliniec – Legnica – Wrocław Gł.)
* regional service RB 60 Dresden – Bischofswerda – Bautzen – Görlitz
* regional service OE60 V Bischofswerda – Bautzen – Görlitz
* regional service OE64 Hoyerswerda – Görlitz
* regional service OE65 Zittau – Görlitz – Weißwasser – Cottbus
* regional service D19 Węgliniec – Zgorzelec – Görlitz – Zgorzelec – Lubań – Jelenia Góra
* regional service (Polregio) Goerlitz (Görlitz) – Żary – Zielona Góra Główna[7]

Görlitz station has border facilities for Poland. Trains used to run three times a day to Legnica and Wrocław from 2009 until 28 February 2015. Cross-border services have been restored in December 2015. Since then there are direct trains to Wrocław Gł., Węgliniec, Legnica and Jelenia Góra.

Due to construction works along Węgliniec–Roßlau railway the OE 64 (Hoyerswerda-Görlitz) is temporarily not operating.

## See also

[edit]

* Rail transport in Germany
* Railway stations in Germany

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas) (2009/2010 ed.). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
2. ^ "Stationspreisliste 2025" [Station price list 2025] (PDF) (in German). DB InfraGO. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
3. ^ In 1945 catenaries were dismantled as Soviet war reparations.
4. ^ "Picture of the original station with description – in German". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
5. ^ "History of the station on www.locomotive.de – in German". Archived from the original on 5 December 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
6. ^ Timetables for Görlitz station
7. ^ Polregio. Goerlitz – Żary – Zielona Góra Główna. Timetable (2022/2023) https://polregio.pl/media/21089/goerlitz-zary-zielona-gora-gl.pdf

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Görlitz station at Wikimedia Commons

Authority control databases |

* Deutsche Bahn

|

*[IBNR]: Internationale Bahnhofsnummer