121-837: The North–South S-Bahn Tunnel ( German : Nord-Süd-Tunnel ) is the central section of the North–South transversal Berlin S-Bahn connection crossing the city centre . It is not to be confused with the Tunnel Nord-Süd-Fernbahn [ de ] , the central tunnel part of the North–South main line used by intercity and regional trains. The S-Bahn North–South line encompasses the route from Bornholmer Straße and Gesundbrunnen via Friedrichstraße and Anhalter Bahnhof to Papestraße (today Südkreuz ) and Schöneberg . The North–South S-Bahn Tunnel has
242-465: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it
363-402: A second language , and 75–100 million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90 million people, or 16% of
484-612: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become
605-541: A backlit glass screen). During the renovation of Anhalter Bahnhof, the BVG (on behalf of the Senate Construction Administration) attempted to restore the original look of the station and placed enamelled tin plates on the walls. However, in contrast to the original white opaque glass panels, the new ones have completely different light reflections, and instead of white, inconspicuous seams between
726-541: A branch accessed via a triangle of lines ( Gleisdreieck ) between the Möckernbrücke and Bülowstraße stations near the current Gleisdreieck station . The first Potsdamer Platz U-Bahn station saw use for just over five and a half years, until its inconvenient site, and the desire to reach other parts of the city, enabled it to be superseded by a better sited new station on an extension of the line to Spittelmarkt . The new station opened first, on 29 September 1907, and
847-650: A consequence of the decision of the remaining Nazi leaders to blow up the section of the North-South Tunnel beneath the nearby Landwehrkanal as a desperate measure to slow the Soviet advance. Because of this incident, the North-South Link was unable to be used until 1947 (see below). Shortly after the war's end, the Ringbahnhof got a reprieve of sorts, temporarily reopening on 6 August 1945 as
968-559: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from
1089-542: A ground-breaking ceremony taking place on 16 June 1983. Construction started in earnest in December 1983 and the first test runs occurred in June 1984. This required a direct link for those people staying in the western part of Potsdamer Platz as there was no rail connection to Gleisdreieck. Five years of intensive testing followed, not without incident. On 18 April 1987 an arson attack at Gleisdreieck destroyed two cars, while
1210-651: A limited profile ( loading gauge - G2) with a height of 3.83 metres (12 ft 7 in) above the trackhead and a width of 3.43 metres (11 ft 3 in). This tunnel originally provided an S-Bahn connection from the former mainline stations of Anhalter Bahnhof and Potsdamer Bahnhof with the interchange for the east–west Stadtbahn at Friedrichstraße and on to the Stettiner Bahnhof (today: Nordbahnhof ). The tunnel connects three southerly suburban lines (the Wannsee Railway from Wannsee ,
1331-522: A more bizarre - though not unique - state of affairs. This line, plus two U-Bahn lines elsewhere in the city, suffered from a quirk of geography in that they briefly passed through East German territory en route from one part of West Berlin to another. This gave rise to the infamous "Geisterbahnhöfe" ( ghost stations ), Potsdamer Platz being the most notorious, which were sealed off from the outside world and trains ran straight through without stopping. They would generally slow down, however, affording passengers
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#17327731962381452-476: A more spectacular mishap occurred on 19 December 1988 when a train with badly adjusted brakes ran through the end wall of the Kemperplatz terminus, much to the amusement of the local press. However, with some spare cars pressed into service, the line, just 1.6 km (0.99 mi) in length, was opened to the public on 28 August 1989, although it did not really run from anywhere to anywhere. Nevertheless, it
1573-458: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained
1694-696: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In
1815-796: A recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ), the Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German
1936-483: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it
2057-500: A station that straddled the former "sector boundary" (between East and West Berlin ), reopened on 22 December 1990, and there were no checkpoint and armed guards before then. The eastern part was opened fully in March 1991. The first comprehensive renovation since 1945 started from January 1991 in subsections, but was converted in mid-1991 to a complete closure due to the high levels of dust. The Deutsche Reichsbahn replaced almost all
2178-542: A technical point of view, its construction was something of a challenge, as aboveground the Hotel Furstenhof was being rebuilt at the same time. The U-Bahn line extension and new station ran right through the hotel's basement, cutting it in half. Contrary to several sources, the hotel did not however enjoy a separate entrance directly from the station. The enormous Wertheim Department Store in nearby Leipziger Straße did enjoy such an entrance, as in later years did
2299-620: A terminus of its own at Kemper Platz , very near the Philharmonie (Philharmonic Hall, home of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra ). As early as the late 1970s the West Berlin government had discussed introducing such a system to the city, particularly a section linking Tegel Airport with the centre. The go-ahead was finally given for the building of a test track at Potsdamer Platz on 2 December 1980, with
2420-462: A very good knowledge of the area and buildings would be required. One theory states that the explosion was undertaken by members of the SS . There are few eyewitnesses who can actually verify this. Rather they report that in the last days of the war the tunnel was already partially flooded with fresh and sewage water that was leaking from damaged pipes. Although the repairs were begun immediately after 1945,
2541-601: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as
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#17327731962382662-612: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German
2783-558: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic
2904-478: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German
3025-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25 million speak it as
3146-535: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in
3267-611: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as
3388-565: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are
3509-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and
3630-597: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as
3751-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German
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3872-525: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c. 1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period
3993-578: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish
4114-485: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers
4235-689: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to
4356-602: The Reichshauptstadt the plan for this curve was not realised. Instead, spurs for a junction to Anhalter Bahnhof were built with the plan for a further underground section to Görlitzer Bahnhof and, south of the Landwehr Canal , four tunnel spurs taking the North–South Line to the planned S-Bahn station Hornstraße . But all further construction was halted by the war which Hitler began a few weeks before
4477-639: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as
4598-840: The Anhalt Suburban Line from Teltow Stadt and the Dresden line from Blankenfelde ) with three northerly suburban lines (the Kremmen Railway from Hennigsdorf , the Northern Railway from Oranienburg and the Stettiner Bahn from Bernau ). The idea of a north–south cross-town railway emerged not long after the completion of the east–west cross-town railway called the Stadtbahn ("City Railway") in 1882. The construction of an elevated line like
4719-537: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share
4840-480: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language
4961-522: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout
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5082-746: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in
5203-627: The Hotel Excelsior from the Anhalter Bahnhof. Until 1923 the station was known as Leipziger Platz. From then the name was Potsdamer Platz. The station was closed from 13 August 1961 to 13 November 1993 when Berlin was separated by Berlin Wall . A border fortification was placed near Potsdamer Platz station. This border fortification was removed in December 1990. It was imagined that trains on either side would simply run as far as
5324-690: The Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It is the most spoken native language within the European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as
5445-666: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c. 765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in
5566-676: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung
5687-573: The Stadtbahn was ruled out because of extensive building along the route, and a tunnel would have been highly problematic in the steam age. By the end of the 19th century, Siemens proposed an underground line similar to the lines that later became what is today called the U-Bahn , connecting the Wannsee substation of the Potsdamer Bahnhof to the then Stettiner Bahnhof . In 1911, within
5808-550: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit. ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this
5929-513: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German
6050-420: The fall of the communist government (the Wende) in the light of conservation issues, but important details were not faithfully restored, e.g. the typical station S-Bahn sign outside the station, designed by Richard Brademann, never matched the original. Closest to the original S-Bahn sign are the ones at Anhalter Bahnhof (although instead of the cast iron cutout in the shape of the S-Bahn "S", today they only have
6171-408: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from
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#17327731962386292-614: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In
6413-414: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of
6534-417: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of
6655-399: The German states; the invention of the printing press c. 1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of
6776-623: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by
6897-413: The Grand Opening of the complete North-South S-Bahn line. (see also History of the Berlin U-Bahn#World War II ) Shortly before the end of the Second World War on 2 May 1945, there was a detonation of explosives under the Landwehrkanal . As a result, the entire tunnel and (via a connecting tunnel at Friedrichstraße) part of the Berlin U-Bahn, and S-Bahn were inundated. There are few other examples in
7018-437: The Helvetica font which was until recently used by Deutsche Bahn . During construction of the Regional station, the western part of the distribution hall between the surface and platforms has been cut off. More modern fixtures have also destroyed the original spatial effect. Since 8 August 2009, in connection with the opening of the interchange with the new U55 line, Unter den Linden has been renamed Brandenburger Tor, although
7139-547: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are
7260-408: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c. thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c. 1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy
7381-479: The Potsdamer Platz station destroyed vital equipment. Needless to say, the line was not ready for the Berlin Olympics; in fact it was another three years before it first saw public use. In spite of all the setbacks, it was opened from Unter den Linden to Potsdamer Platz on 15 April 1939, extended to Anhalter Bahnhof on 9 October, and then to Yorckstraße, to complete the link, on 6 November. The Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn station also contained an underground shopping arcade,
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#17327731962387502-408: The Ringbahn branch and the two suburban lines on the Anhalter and Dresden railway lines. Those Ringbahn trains would reverse in a staging area north of the underground Potsdamer Platz station, which was designed as the upper level of the two-floor tunnel underneath the north–south street formerly and later called Ebertstraße but back then Hermann-Göring-Straße . This two-level design was chosen out of
7623-414: The Ringbahn branch by converting the Kolonnenstraße station serving the Ringbahn branch to an interchange station between the Ringbahn branch and the Wannseebahn, and the construction of a new station just south of the Landwehrkanal as a replacement for the Potsdamer Ring- and Vorortbahnhof which moved north into the Potsdamer Platz underground station. Owing to the planning for the transformation of
7744-401: The Ringbahn stations of Westhafen and Wedding, the preservation of the route during the building of the Hauptbahnhof and the Tiergartentunnel, along which the new line will run. To the south of the Hauptbahnhof the line will continue easterly of the Reichstag building and then crossing the U55 to the west of Brandenburger Tor where it will join the old North–South Tunnel. South of Potsdamer Platz
7865-406: The Tannenberg Fraktur of the originals, and the letters of the platform-side walls are convex rather than sunk into the shallow etched-glass panels. The original pattern can be seen at the Berlin S-Bahn Museum. Another renovation began in February 2002 and ended in October 2002, which removed all the last traces of East Berlin. The building of the new heavy-rail tunnel to the Hauptbahnhof and
7986-441: The Yorckstraße U-Bahn station ( U7 ) running east–west between them. The architect of most of the stations in the North–South tunnel is Richard Brademann , specifically: Bornholmer Straße, Humboldthain, Oranienburger Straße (Brademann's first S-Bahn Underground station), Unter den Linden, Potsdamer Platz and Anhalter Bahnhof. Stettiner S-Bahnhof had Lüttich as its architect; Friedrichstraße had von Hane. Although they were built in
8107-431: The alternative name Hochbahn (literally "high railway"). The first line (now part of line U1 ) ran from Stralauer Tor to Potsdamer Platz. Begun on 10 September 1896 and opened on 18 February 1902, the actual Potsdamer Platz station was rather poorly sited. Though it was reached via an entrance right outside the main-line terminus, people then had to walk about 200 metres (660 ft) along an underground passage beneath
8228-419: The appropriately named Bahnstraße (Railway Street). It was built by Swedish architect Grenander in 1902, and it was supposed to be named Potsdamer Bahnhof, or Potsdamer Ringbahnhof, but after 5 years the station was relocated 180m to the southwest at Leipziger Platz. Later that year, the system was developed into a through line running from Warschauer Brücke to Knie , which actually placed Potsdamer Platz on
8349-413: The connected electromagnetic effects of the overhead wiring meant that a new compatible signalling system had to be installed. This work was undertaken between July 2005 and May 2006. The North–South Line was the last section of the Berlin S-Bahn network to have the automatic Block signalling of type AB 37 and Sv-Signals with aperture relay installed. In order for the tunnel to follow the roadway in
8470-403: The construction of the new stations Bornholmer Straße north of the S-Bahn Ring and Humboldthain inside the Ring between Berlin Gesundbrunnen and the then still existing Stettiner Bahnhof . The tunnel section from north of the Stettiner Bahnhof to the new station Unter den Linden was opened on 28 May 1936, just in time for the 1936 Berlin Olympics , despite the collapse of a section of
8591-430: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with
8712-456: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in
8833-519: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of
8954-553: The end of 2005, half a year before the planned opening of Berlin Hauptbahnhof. The station was finally opened on May 28, 2006. After upgrades on the Berlin Dresden railway , the airport express (FEX) is to run via Potsdamer Platz. The planned rebuild of the trunk line will reconnect Potsdamer Platz with Potsdam . The station is served by the following services: The long-distance station is, strictly speaking, not
9075-599: The evening of 8 January 1984, operation of the section was handed over to the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG). The restoration of traffic through the tunnel restarted in May of that year. No works were allowed to be carried out on the Nord-Süd Tunnel during the division of Berlin. The Berlin Nord-Süd Tunnel had been heavily renovated three times, twice during the time of East German rule, and with
9196-467: The financial planning for the Land of Berlin, be built by 2030. In July 2007, Deutsche Bahn announced delays in the construction of the first stage. After they had concluded the financial agreement and thereby delayed the under-signing of the project, the building work would start in 2008, rather than at the end of 2007 as planned. Some preparatory work has already been completed, including the diversions at
9317-723: The following stages: The additional usage of this section is limited as there is already a connection at Potsdamer Platz to the U2 Line and at Gleisdreieck only the U1 would be provided with an additional connection. The building work for the northerly section up to the Hauptbahnhof, which will be funded by the German Federal Government via the Community Transport Financing law, costed 24 million Euro. The remaining section should, as envisaged by
9438-465: The framework of a much broader competition for proposals for the further development of the city of Berlin, several proposals for such a north–south railway interconnection were set forth. The discussion was revived in the 1920s after the First World War . The advent of electrification made a tunnel solution possible. The work was finally begun in 1933 as one of the public works undertaken by
9559-537: The heavily built-up city centre, the tightest curve in the North–South Tunnel is only 150 metres (500'). To operate the trains safely, this required a special profile to be developed for the wheels. The BVG encountered several derailments of its stock, which had only a standard wheel profile. The permissible height in the tunnel is also restricted. Therefore, trains of class ET 169 , which are longer and taller than typical Berlin S-Bahn stock, are also banned from
9680-444: The history of Berlin that have produced so much conflicting information. It is debatable whether people were drowned during the flooding, because it is possible these drownings were confused with the 80 to 130 bodies of victims of the last days of the war, who died before the tunnel was flooded. Also debatable (and to this day also unclear) is who actually demolished the tunnel and who had ordered it. In order to cause such an explosion,
9801-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,
9922-481: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of
10043-765: The installation of a new signalling system in the later phase. When the Berlin Wall was opened and destroyed in 1990, discussions were ongoing to reopen all the Berlin Nord-Süd Tunnel stations in March 1990 together with the U6 and U8 . However, Oranienburger Straße, Nordbahnhof and Unter den Linden stations began the modernisation programme to remove armed guards and out-of-bounds signage, and to do thorough cleanup work, with Oranienburger Straße reopening on 2 July 1990, while Nordbahnhof, together with Unter den Linden reopened on 1 September 1990. Bornholmer Straße,
10164-519: The largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina , and Espírito Santo . Berlin Potsdamer Platz station Berlin Potsdamer Platz is a railway station in Berlin . It is completely underground and situated under Potsdamer Platz in central Berlin. Regional and S-Bahn services call at
10285-504: The largest in Europe . Four platforms were provided at the station, and all were used although just two were planned to suffice: the other two were originally intended to be utilised by another new line, which was to branch off eastwards and run under the city to Görlitzer Bahnhof . A connection from Anhalter Bahnhof was also to be made. Although construction of some tunnel sections went ahead (and these still exist, though are inaccessible to
10406-693: The last stop before the border and then reverse back. This was partly the case with the U-Bahn line through Potsdamer Platz, as in October 1991, the Mohrenstraße station operationally became a terminus for trains on the eastern side. On the western side however, the entire section all the way back to Wittenbergplatz was closed completely and at least partially dismantled. Indeed, two of the abandoned stations on this section, Bülowstraße and Nollendorfplatz , were converted into markets. The antiques market at
10527-505: The latter was housed in sixteen old wooden coaches lined up beside the platforms, while another coach even carried passengers back and forth to Bülowstraße where a Turkish bazaar was sited. This station was intended to be an interchange with the future driverless line U3 and U10 , but the plans were scrapped when the U3 gained much of its current route in December 2004. It was partially converted into space for events and exhibitions in 2006. In
10648-603: The latter years of the Wall's existence, part of the abandoned U-Bahn section, the stretch between Gleisdreieck and Potsdamer Platz, was used by the M-Bahn (Magnetic Levitation Railway). Instead of diving underground as before, once it crossed over the Landwehrkanal, it remained above ground on a lengthy elevated structure supported on steel columns which curved across the Potsdamer Bahnhof's former site to end at
10769-410: The material in the tunnel walls, then cleaned and recoated them. Hence the wartime flood damage to the tunnel was finally removed. This was finally achieved on 1 March 1992 when Potsdamer Platz was reopened. The border controls were abolished on 23 July 1990. During the refurbishment of Potsdamer Platz, opaque glass panels were installed, but other errors have been committed: the station labels differ from
10890-600: The middle of the National Socialist period, the stations have none of the architecture of National Socialism, rather the officially taboo New Objectivity of the earlier Modern style. Except in a few details, e.g. the mosaic of the emblem in the northern distribution area of S-Bahnhof Potsdamer Platz, with its exit to the New Reich Chancellery , the stations do not follow typical National Socialist Architecture . The stations were rehabilitated after
11011-507: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted
11132-426: The new National Socialist government to put the unemployed to work. The decision was taken in 1933, plans were made, and the first stones were moved in 1934. Because of the number of underground lines to be crossed, the need to pass under rivers and streams meant that tight curves, small-profile tunnels and steeper inclines than normal were incorporated into the planning parameters. Building commenced in 1934 with
11253-454: The new line will divert from the old North–South Tunnel and run parallel to the U2 to Gleisdreieck before connect to the existing S-Bahn line at Yorckstraße (Großgörschenstraße). Connections at the north and south ends of Potsdamer Platz station already exist. German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] ) is a West Germanic language in
11374-653: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from
11495-591: The north–south line built as part of the Berlin Hauptbahnhof Project, was opened in 2006. This station is on the four-track north–south connection of long-distance and regional traffic between the stations Hauptbahnhof and Südkreuz. The station is 260 meters long, 50 meters wide and (at track level) 20 meters below street level, has two island platforms on the four tracks. Regional Express trains on lines RE 3, RE 4 and RE 5 currently stop at Potsdamer Platz regional station. Traffic forecasts before
11616-405: The opening assumed 80,000 passengers per day, including 50,000 exiting or entering and around 30,000 people transferring to the underground and S-Bahn. Construction work was to begin in 1995. Completion of the shell was planned for spring 1997, and the interior work was to follow between 1997 and 1999. The opening of the station was planned for 2002. By mid-2002 it was planned to open the station at
11737-499: The original name tiles remain on the station walls. In the medium term the north–south connections will be improved with a second north–south tunnel, connecting in a first phase the Hauptbahnhof with Potsdamer Bahnhof. This project is being pursued under the planning name of S21 and should improve the currently poor connection of the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof with the North–South S-Bahn line. This project will proceed in
11858-542: The panels, the seams reveal a black grid. At Potsdamer Platz they have installed opaque glass panels but have committed other errors: the station labels differ from the Tannenberg Fraktur of the originals, and the letters of the platform-side walls are convex rather than stuck in the shallow etched glass panels. The original pattern can be seen at the Berlin S-Bahn-Museum. There are also labels in
11979-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation
12100-405: The public), the line was never opened. During the war, many sections of the U-Bahn and S-Bahn were closed due to enemy action, and the sections through Potsdamer Platz were no exception. The North-South Link, less than six years old, became the setting for one of the most contentious episodes of the final Battle for Berlin , in late April and early May 1945. On 2 May, the tunnel was flooded as
12221-499: The rest of the extension to Spittelmarkt on 1 October 1908 (evidence of the original station's site can still be seen in the tunnel, from passing trains). As the new station lay mostly beneath the adjoining Leipziger Platz , this is what the station was initially called, being renamed Potsdamer Platz on 29 January 1923. The station was one of a number designed by the Swedish architect Alfred Frederik Elias Grenander (1863–1931). From
12342-578: The scarcity of space, and in order to allow a later extension to the then Lehrter Bahnhof and its suburban lines to Nauen and Wustermark . This stabling and reversal yard with its inherent possibility of extension north could be used as part of the S21 line to the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof , then on to the northern section of the Ringbahn. The original plan also envisaged uniting the Wannseebahn and
12463-546: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,
12584-504: The station, and it is also served by U-Bahn line U2 . The first station at Potsdamer Platz was the Potsdamer Bahnhof terminus , which was closed on 27 September 1945 due to war damage. In 1939 the S-Bahn, or Stadtbahn (City Railway), arrived. The idea for a North-South Link rapid transit rail line from Unter den Linden to Yorckstraße , via Potsdamer Platz and Anhalter Bahnhof, had first been mooted in 1914, but it
12705-461: The strange sight of dusty, dimly lit platforms patrolled by armed guards, there to prevent any East Berliners from trying to escape to the West by train. At the points where the lines passed directly beneath the actual border, concrete "collars" were constructed within the tunnels with just the minimum clearance for trains, to prevent people from clinging to the sides or roof of the coaches. The station
12826-470: The terminus of the Wannseebahn trains, while the Nord-Süd-Tunnel received massive repairs (millions of gallons of water had to be pumped out). The Ringbahnhof closed for good on 27 July 1946 after some fragmentary train workings had resumed along the North-South Link on 2 June. Full services recommenced on 16 November 1947, although repairs were not complete until May 1948. The North-South Link saw
12947-500: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in
13068-469: The track and the elevated steel deck between September 1991 and January 1992 to make way for the U2 to be reinstated. Today there is nothing left to show that it ever existed. Similarly it was decided not to proceed with any M-Bahn plans elsewhere in the city. The possibility of going ahead with the line to Tegel Airport resurfaced periodically, but since the airport itself closed in 2020, these plans have been consigned to history. A regional rail station on
13189-734: The tunnel could not be used again until 1947. The S-Bahn lines of the southerly suburban lines first had to be taken back to the overground Potsdamer Bahnhof before, in 1946, it was possible to use the underground line to Anhalter Bahnhof again. With the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 all the stations in East Berlin were shut, except for Friedrichstraße which was used as a border crossing point. Trains that were now only for use in West Berlin travelled between Anhalter Bahnhof via Friedrichstraße to Humboldthain without stopping. On
13310-462: The tunnel divides in two directions for the Wannsee line (line S1 ) and the Anhalt line / Dresden line (lines S2 and S25 ). These two tunnels then surface: The present subsequent stations of ( Yorckstraße and Yorckstraße (Großgörschenstraße) ) exist as two separate stations, a couple of hundred metres apart, with separate entrances, although they are today collectively known as Yorckstraße with
13431-535: The tunnel. The restrictions in carriage height and length continue to limit the trains that can be used, with only rolling stock specially developed for the Berlin S-Bahn (as of November 2024 consist of classes 270/485 , 480 , 481/482 and 483/484 ) allowed to use the tunnel. In particular, trains constructed for other cities cannot be used for the DC S-Bahn system of Berlin. South of the Anhalter Bahnhof
13552-692: The tunnelling work near the Brandenburger Tor (adjacent to the US-American Embassy) on August 20, 1935, killing 19 workers. This stretch was extended to the new underground Potsdamer Platz station in April 1939, and the connection to the Southern suburban lines via Anhalter Bahnhof was opened on 9 October 1939. The construction of the Southern section was marred by a number planning changes. The original plan, as it stood in 1936,
13673-555: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during
13794-600: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching
13915-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of
14036-547: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially
14157-492: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which
14278-545: Was not planned in detail until 1928, and then approval had to wait until 1933. Begun in 1934, it was plagued with disasters. Determination to have it finished in time for the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936 meant vital safety measures were ignored: on 20 August 1935, a tunnel collapse just south of the Brandenburg Gate buried 23 workmen of whom only four survived; then on 28 December 1936, a fire near
14399-513: Was regarded as an interesting curiosity and was quite heavily used on that basis, although it was to be short-lived. The station in the western part of Potsdamer Platz was called Kemperplatz. Less than three months later the Wall came down, which afforded the opportunity to restore the U-Bahn and S-Bahn, thus rendering the M-Bahn redundant. It was closed on 18 July 1991; stripping out of the electrical system began on 31 July, followed by dismantling of
14520-662: Was the last to be reopened, with major refurbishment work included to the entire North South line and the station, with re-coating/repainting of the station and huge removal of wartime flood damage, on 3 March 1992. Major refurbishment began to be carried out in January 1991. The U-Bahn , or Untergrundbahn (underground railway), was a major revolution in Berlin's public transport, and the forerunner of similar systems now seen in several German cities. The underground sections alternated with sections elevated above ground on viaducts – hence
14641-610: Was to introduce the Ringbahn , which branched to the Potsdamer Bahnhof (actually the Potsdamer Ring- und Vorortbahn adjacent to the Potsdamer Bahnhof) into the underground Potsdamer Platz station separately from the three southern suburban lines, and into the two centre tracks, after driving the Ringbahn branch into the underground at about the same location of the then Potsdamer Ring- und Vorortbahnhof serving
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