What earlier names did Berlin Ostbahnhof carry?

The station was known as Frankfurter Bahnhof, Schlesischer Bahnhof, and Berlin Hauptbahnhof before reverting to Berlin Ostbahnhof.

Where is the station located?

The station is situated in the Friedrichshain quarter of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough.

What historic landmark stands near the station?

The East Side Gallery, a surviving stretch of the Berlin Wall, stands near the station.

Why do fewer mainline trains serve this station now?

Long-distance services declined after rail traffic was shifted away from the Stadtbahn into the Tiergarten tunnel toward the new central station.

Which suburban rail network serves the station?

The station connects to the Berlin S-Bahn suburban rail network along the elevated Stadtbahn route.

Berlin · Germany

Berlin Ostbahnhof railway station: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Residents living in Friedrichshain take the elevated Stadtbahn platforms for rapid cross-city transit, while accepting that long-distance routes bypass the terminal through the Tiergarten tunnel.

Berlin Ostbahnhof · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Within two hours

Brandenburg Gate≈ 50 min

About the place

Berlin Ostbahnhof anchors Friedrichshain as an elevated transit junction with a complex history of political division.

The junction originated as a terminus linking routes toward Frankfurt an der Oder and Breslau before engineers integrated the platforms into the elevated Stadtbahn viaduct. Operating under names like Frankfurter Bahnhof and Schlesischer Bahnhof, the complex served as an imperial continental gateway handling international express routes to Saint Petersburg and Vienna while receiving fleeing populations from eastern pogroms.

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Heavy wartime bombing destroyed the original terminal, prompting Deutsche Reichsbahn to rebuild the complex under the name Ostbahnhof. Situated immediately beside the border installations that now form the East Side Gallery, the site functioned alongside Lichtenberg as the primary transit artery of East Berlin. Authorities temporarily renamed the facility Hauptbahnhof and added reception facilities for visiting socialist delegations.

Post-reunification redevelopment dismantled the unfinished hotel and modernized the tracks, restoring the Ostbahnhof designation. The complex relinquished its central status when the newly constructed Hauptbahnhof redirected mainline long-distance services through the subterranean Tiergarten tunnel. Operating day and night without interruption, the station now centers on regional services and elevated urban commuter lines.

Associations

East Side GallerySurviving sections of the border wall stand adjacent to the station grounds.
Berlin StadtbahnElevated viaduct lines carry continuous suburban commuter services through the center.
Tiergarten Tunnel BypassLong-distance express trains bypass the platforms, reducing direct national connections.
Schlesischer BahnhofThe former station name marked the eastern terminus for travel toward Silesia.

Facts

The station operated under the name Berlin Hauptbahnhof while serving as the central terminal of East Berlin.
Mainline passenger rail traffic declined after long-distance services were re-routed through the Tiergarten tunnel.
The station structure remains open day and night without scheduled closing hours.
The East Side Gallery preserves the longest remaining fragment of the Berlin Wall close to the station tracks.

Updated September 9, 2026Source: Wikipedia

Berlin Ostbahnhof railway station: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

What is around6

Berlin Ostbahnhof anchors Friedrichshain as an elevated transit junction with a complex history of political division.

Getting there and staying

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