Bielefeld Hauptbahnhof

Bielefeld Hauptbahnhof is the main station in the region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe in German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is an important station because of the size of the city of Bielefeld and its location at the Bielefeld Pass, which makes it a node for long-distance and regional traffic. It was opened in 1847 with the opening of the Cologne-Minden trunk line. It is classified by Deutsche Bahn as a category 2 station.Station environmentBielefeld Hauptbahnhof is located in the north-west of Bielefeld between the Neue Bahnhofsviertel and the city centre. Not far from the station building is the entrance to the underground station on the Stadtbahn line running through the inner city. Opposite is the Stadthalle Bielefeld conference centre, which includes a hotel.It is a through station on the Hamm–Minden railway, which runs through the city from the north-east to the south-west. Since it has no train shed, the platforms have individual canopies.HistoryAt the opening of the Hamm–Minden railway section of the Cologne-Minden Railway Company’s trunk line on 15 October 1847, Bielefeld station had only a temporary wooden building. The first stone station building was completed in 1849. It was rebuilt and enlarged in 1885. The station at the time was far to the north of the city, because enough flat land was available there. Southwest of the station, the line passes close to the old town, but is already rising to cross the Bielefeld Pass. The almost one km between the old town and the station stimulated the development of public transport in Bielefeld. In the coming decades, the residential and industrial development of the city extended to the station and eventually beyond.