Kurfurstenstrasse Station

Beneath the streets of Berlin, the Kurfurstenstrasse Station operates as part of Germany’s U-Bahn rapid transit network, the most extensive underground rail in the country. Linking the U1 and U3 lines, the Station is centrally located within the city in the Mitte borough. While the railway was designed to connect, the Station as well as the U-Bahn, have experienced a history of separation.

Opened in 1902, the U-Bahn was designed to alleviate traffic flowing through central Berlin. The railway continued to expand until the city was divided into East and West Berlin at the end of World War II. By the 1960s, the Berlin Wall and government restrictions imposed limited travel between the East and West. The U-Bahn lines were severed, with the exception of U6 and U8 which were used as transfer points.

Having been located in Mitte, one of the two boroughs that were formerly divided between East and West Berlin, Kurfurstenstrasse Station saw firsthand the effects of the separation; it was one of the stations closed as a result. However, following the triumphant fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent German reunification, the U-Bahn network was reopened.

Today, the U-Bahn serves 173 stations across ten lines. Over the course of a year, the network reportedly carries 400 million passengers. And while Kurfurstenstrasse Station is located in an area with a not-so-stellar reputation, the surrounding borough of Mitte includes some of the most historic sites of Berlin including the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Brandenburg Gate.