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Quiz about From Station to Station  Rails in Berlin
Quiz about From Station to Station  Rails in Berlin

From Station to Station - Rails in Berlin Quiz


Look at a map of Berlin and you see rail routes all round it and large rail-related lands where there used to be stations in the centre. So this is my quiz about rail in Germany's new capital...

A multiple-choice quiz by patpending. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
patpending
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
170,359
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
450
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. As we approach Berlin under the clouds, we see a so-called "outer ring" rail route. But why was this circular route built? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. As we approach the centre of Berlin we see an inner rail ring encircling the city centre. What was the purpose of this original ring? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Waiting for our bags we see in our guidebook that Berlin in its heyday had many terminus stations, one major one being the "Anhalter Bahnhof". ("Bahnhof" means "station" in German). But why was this station so called? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Berlin landmarks: the Anhalter Bahnhof was rebuilt in 1880 to a design by architect Franz Schwechten. But which landmark also came from his drawing board? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. We take an underground train to Potsdamer Platz and, using a map, we walk past some bits of the Wall to the location of the Anhalter Bahnhof. We might wish to check the map again once we arrive there. Why? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. We take the S-Bahn train to Friedrichstrasse station. That "S" stands for something - but what is that missing German word for which is stands?

Answer: (One German word (two options - think "fast" or "town")..)
Question 7 of 10
7. We arrive at Friedrichstrasse station. What was unusual about it in the days of the Wall? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. "Berlin Hauptbahnhof" was the title of the present "Ostbahnhof" from 1987 to 1998. We travel through a former terminus and current S-bahn station which is being comprehensively rebuilt as a new main station for the 21st century. Name the station which will become "Berlin Hauptbahnhof" and already carries the name. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. We arrive at the Bahnhof Zoo station, in the centre of West Berlin. Which pop act was inspired to record the track "Zoo Station"? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Berlin had many terminus stations for lines radiating out in all directions. Of the following pairs of station names, some are real and some are made up. In which of the following name pairs are BOTH stations fictitious? (i.e the correct option to choose is the one where neither one nor the other station ever existed as a terminus in Berlin)

Which two names are made up?
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. As we approach Berlin under the clouds, we see a so-called "outer ring" rail route. But why was this circular route built?

Answer: So that East German and Soviet rail traffic could pass around West Berlin.

The outer ring was begun in 1950 so that German Democratic Republic and Soviet zone traffic could completely avoid the Western sectors of Berlin. Partly using existing tracks, it was completed in 1956 and doubled throughout by 1962.
2. As we approach the centre of Berlin we see an inner rail ring encircling the city centre. What was the purpose of this original ring?

Answer: To avoid having to change stations.

Although the inner ring does largely define Zone "A" it was completed from 1871 to 1877, partly along the previous "connecting line" built as early as 1851. Several Berlin taxi drivers have told me the earlier line connecting radial routes was crucial for Prussian mobilisation in the Franco-Prussian war, so no surprise the concept was built up and finalised then.

Today in unified Berlin the inner ring is busy with local traffic, visitors might be surprised to know it only re-opened in June 2002!
3. Waiting for our bags we see in our guidebook that Berlin in its heyday had many terminus stations, one major one being the "Anhalter Bahnhof". ("Bahnhof" means "station" in German). But why was this station so called?

Answer: It served Halle and the region of "Anhalt".

The Anhalter Bahnhof opened in 1841, serving Leipzig, Anhalt, Bavaria and points south. I invented the brewery and the stopping answer, but the hitch-hiking option is very apposite today...
4. Berlin landmarks: the Anhalter Bahnhof was rebuilt in 1880 to a design by architect Franz Schwechten. But which landmark also came from his drawing board?

Answer: The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Memorial Church.

This church was largely destroyed in a bombing raid in November 1943. Its tower was to form the centrepiece of a new church construction opened as a war memorial in 1961. The station, also heavily bombed in the war, was demolished around the same time.

The Palace of the Republic and the Television Tower came much later.

I have been walkng to work past this church recently and thinking to myself of the lesson it has to tell us. A shame the station could not be saved.
5. We take an underground train to Potsdamer Platz and, using a map, we walk past some bits of the Wall to the location of the Anhalter Bahnhof. We might wish to check the map again once we arrive there. Why?

Answer: All there is left standing is a remnant of the entrance portico.

At the time of writing (2004) there is just a forlorn part of the entrance standing. You can hear Berliners playing sports on the floodlit courts built behind where the lines were. You never know what else might be built here - there are plans for a hotel!
6. We take the S-Bahn train to Friedrichstrasse station. That "S" stands for something - but what is that missing German word for which is stands?

Answer: stadt

Nowadays people think the "S" must stand for "Stadt" but I have allowed "Schnell" too. The first electric trains began running in 1924 from Stettiner Bahnhof to Bernau and there was a big expansion of electric services in 1928-1930. The name "S-Bahn" is now used across Germany for commuter services.
7. We arrive at Friedrichstrasse station. What was unusual about it in the days of the Wall?

Answer: Although inside the Wall, it was a border crossing point.

Because overground and underground trains from the West arrived and passed through here, it was used as a border crossing. The prefabricated border crossing building "Palace of Tears" survives today with a much nicer purpose of TV studio and cabaret centre!
8. "Berlin Hauptbahnhof" was the title of the present "Ostbahnhof" from 1987 to 1998. We travel through a former terminus and current S-bahn station which is being comprehensively rebuilt as a new main station for the 21st century. Name the station which will become "Berlin Hauptbahnhof" and already carries the name.

Answer: Lehrter Bahnhof.

Lehrte is a small town on the line to Hannover. Schlesischer Bahnhof (Silesian Station) was a former name for Ostbahnhof. Nordbahnhof (North station)was Stettiner Bahnhof (Stettin(Sczeczin) station from 1842-1952) is on the S-Bahn line through Friedrichstrasse to the north and there are complaints that that line will not properly connect to the new Hauptbahnhof.

The historic Potsdamer Bahnhof (1838-1944) did not survive the war.
9. We arrive at the Bahnhof Zoo station, in the centre of West Berlin. Which pop act was inspired to record the track "Zoo Station"?

Answer: U2.

The Toy Dolls recorded "Nelly the Elephant". Both Fischer-Z and Bowie recorded titles about Berlin and its atmosphere, Bowie's "Neuköln" (should have been spelt Neukölln, fact fans) even made with Brian Eno who worked with U2 on "Achtung Baby" and this track.

But at Bahnhof Zoo you can still catch an underground train on the U2 line.
10. Berlin had many terminus stations for lines radiating out in all directions. Of the following pairs of station names, some are real and some are made up. In which of the following name pairs are BOTH stations fictitious? (i.e the correct option to choose is the one where neither one nor the other station ever existed as a terminus in Berlin) Which two names are made up?

Answer: Wörlitzer Bahnhof and Döner Bahnhof.

These station names existed (in some cases the stations were renamed or replacements built): Hamburger Bahnhof (for Hamburg, 1846-84); Frankfurter Bahnhof (for Frankfurt/Oder, 1842-67); Görlitzer Bahnhof (for Görlitz, 1867 - 1951); Anhalter Bahnhof, see above.

The Wurlitzer organ merely sounds like a Berlin station, and unlike the Hamburger and the Frankfurter, the Döner Kebab, a tasty and cheap snack food, characteristic of Berlin, has never given its name to a main terminus station. I've got my one Euro fifty ready!
Source: Author patpending

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor minch before going online.
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