Deutsche Oper (Berlin U-Bahn) Explained

Deutsche Oper
Symbol Location:berlin
Symbol:u
Address:Bismarckstraße/Krumme Straße
Borough:Charlottenburg, Berlin
Country:Germany
Owned:Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Operator:Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
Platforms:2 island platforms
Tracks:4
Connections:

N2

Structure:Underground
Bicycle:Yes
Accessible:No
Zone:

Berlin A/5555[1]

Map Type:Berlin#Germany#Europe
Embedded:
Stroke-Colour:
  1. C60C30
Stroke-Width:3
Marker:rail-underground
Marker-Colour:
  1. 009D58
Zoom:15

Deutsche Oper is a station of the Berlin U-Bahn on line U2, located in the Charlottenburg district. It is named after the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Overview

The station opened on 14 May 1906 under the name Bismarckstraße in the course of the first western extension of the 1902 Stammstrecke route, which originally ran from Warschauer Brücke (now Warschauer Straße) to Knie (now Ernst-Reuter-Platz).

At the same time, the Wilhelmplatz (now Richard-Wagner-Platz) station was put in operation as the western terminus. The architect Alfred Grenander had designed Germany's first U-Bahn station with four tracks, in consideration of the future branch-off to Reichskanzlerplatz (now Theodor-Heuss-Platz) in Westend that went into service on 29 March 1908.

The station was renamed Städtische Oper on 1 August 1929, Deutsches Opernhaus on 16 August 1934, and received its current name on 22 September 1961.

Service between this station and Richard-Wagner-Platz (now on the U7) ceased on 1 May 1970, leaving the two central tracks unused, however the tunnel remains and is used for maintenance service between the U2 and U7 lines. U7 service to the new Bismarckstraße station began on 28 April 1978[2]

On 8 July 2000, during the Love Parade, a fire broke out at Deutsche Oper, injuring 21, destroying an U-Bahn train and severely damaging the station. As the only exits were at the western end of the platforms, passengers had to flee in the tunnel. As a result, the BVG decided to build a new eastern exit and reopened the station on 1 September 2000 in a renovated 1906 condition.

The walls are furnished with tiles designed by José de Guimarães, a gift from the Portuguese ambassador in Berlin. The station is featured in Rammstein's 2004 music video for Mein Teil and also in the movie Run Lola Run by Tom Tykwer.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Alle Zielorte. Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg. 5 May 2021. 62. 1 January 2021. 18 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210118201651/https://www.vbb.de/media/download/9983. dead.
  2. J. Meyer-Kronthaler: Berlins U-Bahnhöfe. be.bra Verlag (1996)