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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.

Author
patpending

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
170,359

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
451

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

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

The route allowed Berliners easier access to the countryside.

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

The route was a 300kph test track for high-speed trains.

It was purely a job creation scheme.

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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

To help define Fare Zone "A".

To allow sightseeing tours of the city.

To avoid having to change stations.

So that tourists could be taken the long way round .

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

All trains had to stop there ("anhalten").

It served Halle and the region of "Anhalt".

Trains were infrequent, so travellers used to hitch-hike instead ("per Anhalter reisen").

Its construction was sponsored by the Anhalter brewery company.

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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

The Palace of the Republic on the Spree river.

The Red Town Hall

The television tower.

The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Memorial Church.

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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

In the Cold War, it was deliberately shown in the wrong place.

It is now a giant mall - "Kaufhaus des S�dens".

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

It is an autobahn interchange.

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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")..)

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Question 7 of 10

7. We arrive at Friedrichstrasse station. What was unusual about it in the days of the Wall? Hint

No trains stopped here.

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

It was rebuilt on a lake in Georgia, Soviet Union.

It was legally part of Yugoslavia.

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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

Nordbahnhof.

Lehrter Bahnhof.

Schlesischer Bahnhof.

Potsdamer Bahnhof.

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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

David Bowie.

Fischer-Z.

The Toy Dolls.

U2.

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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

Hamburger Bahnhof and Frankfurter Bahnhof.

W�rlitzer Bahnhof and D�ner Bahnhof.

W�rlitzer Bahnhof and G�rlitzer Bahnhof.

Anhalter Bahnhof and Inter-Rail Bahnhof.

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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!

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.

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!

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 "Neuk�ln" (should have been spelt Neuk�lln, 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.

Answer: W�rlitzer Bahnhof and D�ner 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); G�rlitzer Bahnhof (for G�rlitz, 1867 - 1951); Anhalter Bahnhof, see above.

The Wurlitzer organ merely sounds like a Berlin station, and unlike the Hamburger and the Frankfurter, the D�ner 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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