| Kröpcke | |
| Place Type: | City square |
| Image Place: | File:Kroepcke square Hanover Germany a.jpg |
| Image Caption: | de|Kröpcke seen from the east looking towards Kröpcke clock shown at the right |
| Features: | de|Kröpcke clock |
| Location: | de|Georgstraße, and de|Karmarschstraße, de|Bahnhofstraße and de|Rathenaustraße |
| Address1: | Hanover |
| Address2: | Lower Saxony, Germany |
| Map Alt: | Map of Hanover showing location of de|Kröpcke and approximate locations of the former 13th-century defensive wall and 17th-century inner bastion enclosing the old town |
Kröpcke is the central square of the city of Hanover in Germany. The square is situated at the five-way crossroads of de|Georgstraße, and de|Karmarschstraße, de|Bahnhofstraße and de|Rathenaustraße. It is named after Wilhelm Kröpcke who started working at Café Robby, that had relocated to the then-nameless square in 1869, as a waiter in 1878, before leasing the café in 1885, changing its name to Café Kröpcke in 1895, and operating it until his death in 1919. Eventually, the square adopted the name from the café and in 1947 was officially named Kröpcke by the city of Hanover.
One of its most notable features is the Kröpcke clock, a 1977 reconstruction of a meteorological column erected in 1885 in front of the then Café Robby. This column was damaged by an air raid in 1943, but its clock was repaired in 1945 after the end of World War II in Europe. In 1954 the meteorological column was removed and replaced the following year with a This in turn was replaced in 1977 with a simplified reconstruction of the historical meteorological column that features a clock and, instead of meteorological instruments, a display case for art exhibitions and presentations.
The Kröpcke station is the main station in the Hanover Stadtbahn network. It was built from 1968 to 1974 and opened in several parts through the 1970s and 1980s. At the time, it was one of Hanover's largest construction sites, extending more than underground. Today, all Stadtbahn lines except two call at the station and it is the main interchange point for the network. It has six platforms in total on three lines that cross each other in independent tunnels.
Level -1Main entrance and access to Niki-de-Saint-Phalle-Promenade.
Level -2
Level -2.5Connecting level with escalators and staircases to the A, B and C lines.
Level -3
The station underwent extensive modernisation prior to Expo 2000, including hiding its 1970s colours tilework behind large murals.
| Towards | Previous station | Kröpcke | Next station | Towards | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarstedt | ||||
| 2 | Rethen Bf. Döhren | ||||
| 3 | Wettbergen | ||||
| 4 | Roderbruch | ||||
| 5 | Anderten | ||||
| 6 | Messe/Ost | ||||
| 7 | Wettbergen | ||||
| 8 | Messe/Nord | ||||
| 9 | Empelde | ||||
| 11 | Zoo | ||||
| 16 (during fairgrounds) | Messe/Ost | ||||
| 18 (during fairgrounds) | Messe/Nord |