118-525: The Berlin–Dresden railway is a double track, electrified main line railway in the German states of Berlin , Brandenburg and Saxony , which was originally built and operated by the Berlin-Dresden Railway Company ( Berlin-Dresdener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft ). It runs from Berlin through the southern Teltow countryside and then between Lower Lusatia and Fläming Heath through Elsterwerda and
236-424: A federal state , consists of sixteen states . Berlin , Hamburg and Bremen (with its seaport exclave , Bremerhaven ) are called Stadtstaaten (" city-states "), while the other thirteen states are called Flächenländer ("area states") and include Bavaria , Saxony , and Thuringia , which describe themselves as Freistaaten ("free states"). The Federal Republic of Germany ("West Germany")
354-639: A day ran between Baruth and Elsterwerda . South of Elsterwerda in the Dresden catchment area, there were somewhat more services. The route was also heavily used for freight transport. The Dresden-Friedrichstadt marshalling yard was an important hub for north-south traffic. There was extensive traffic between Scandinavia as well as the Baltic Sea ports and the inland countries towards southern Europe. In addition, heavy block trains carrying raw lignite and in double traction were transported between Elsterwerda and Dresden. In
472-501: A more independent status, especially in Bavaria. However, it has no legal significance. All sixteen states are represented at the federal level in the Bundesrat (Federal Council), where their voting power depends on the size of their population. Germany is a federal , parliamentary , representative democratic republic . The German political system operates under a framework laid out in
590-571: A plan to divide the German Reich into 14 roughly equal-sized states. His proposal was turned down due to opposition of the states and concerns of the government. Article 18 of the constitution enabled a new delimitation of the German territory but set high hurdles: "Three fifth of the votes handed in, and at least the majority of the population are necessary to decide on the alteration of territory". In fact, until 1933 there were only four changes in
708-616: A referendum in the Federal Republic as a whole (paragraph 4) was abolished, which meant territorial revision was no longer possible against the will of the population affected by it. East Germany had originally consisted of five states (i.e., Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia). In 1952, these states were abolished and the East was divided into 14 administrative districts called Bezirke . Soviet -controlled East Berlin – despite officially having
826-427: A revision, the federal government had to include the proposal into its legislation. Then a referendum was required in each territory or part of a territory whose affiliation was to be changed (paragraph 3). The proposal should not take effect if within any of the affected territories a majority rejected the change. In this case, the bill had to be introduced again and after passing had to be confirmed by referendum in
944-510: A tank car block train loaded with petrol to derail due to excessive speed. Two wagons exploded and 15 others burned out. At the beginning of the new millennium, the condition of the route had noticeably deteriorated due to inadequate maintenance in the 1990s. Since 2002, regional traffic has been relocated between Großenhain and Radebeul -Naundorf to the Großenhain–Priestewitz and Leipzig–Dresden lines. From Coswig, regional traffic
1062-882: Is 37.83 kilometres (23.51 mi) in length and links the River Havel near the city of Potsdam with the River Dahme near Köpenick in Berlin's eastern suburbs. The Dahme provides a link to the Oder-Spree Canal , and hence to the River Oder and Poland . Whilst the Dahme is a tributary of the River Spree , itself a navigable tributary of the Havel, the Teltow Canal offers the advantage of bypassing
1180-429: Is referred to as "Land government" (Landesregierung) . Before 1 January 2000, Bavaria had a bicameral parliament, with a popularly elected Landtag , and a Senate made up of representatives of the state's major social and economic groups. The Senate was abolished following a referendum in 1998. The states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg are governed slightly differently from the other states. In each of those cities,
1298-650: Is sometimes propagated by the richer states as a means to avoid or reduce fiscal transfers . In southwestern Germany, territorial revision seemed to be a top priority since the border between the French and American occupation zones was set along the Autobahn Karlsruhe-Stuttgart-Ulm (today the A8 ). Article 118 stated "The division of the territory comprising Baden , Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern into Länder may be revised, without regard to
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#17330943774381416-404: Is very common to use the term Bundesland (federated Land ). Officially this term Bundesland neither appears in the constitution of 1919 nor in the current one. Three Länder call themselves Freistaaten ("free states", an older German term for "republic"): Bavaria (since 1919), Saxony (originally from 1919 and again since 1990), and Thuringia (since 1994). Of the 17 states at the end of
1534-464: The Teltowkanal in German , is a canal to the south of Berlin , the capital city of Germany . The canal lies in both the states of Berlin and Brandenburg , and at points forms the boundary between the two. It takes its name from the region of Teltow and town of Teltow which lie on its course. The canal was constructed between 1900 and 1906, when it was opened by Wilhelm II . The canal
1652-684: The Anhalter Bahnhof (Anhalt station). A little later, the Berlin station in Dresden was abandoned as part of the redevelopment of the Dresden railway node. In its place the Dresden-Friedrichstadt station was built, which has been used since 1894 for freight and regional services. Since that time, long distance services have turned off towards Radebeul -Zitzschewig on the Leipzig–Dresden line and Dresden-Neustadt to Dresden Hauptbahnhof . In contrast, freight trains to and from Leipzig use
1770-635: The Congress of Vienna (1815), 39 states formed the German Confederation . The Confederation was dissolved after the Austro-Prussian War in which Prussia defeated Austria and forced Austria to remove itself from the affairs of the German states. Territorial boundaries were essentially redrawn as a result of military conflicts and interventions from the outside: from the Napoleonic Wars to
1888-662: The Congress of Vienna , the number of territories decreased from about 300 to 39; in 1866 Prussia annexed the sovereign states of Hanover , Nassau , Hesse-Kassel , and the Free City of Frankfurt . Prussia and the other states in Northern and Central Germany united as a federal state , the North German Federation , on 1 July 1867. Four of the five southern German states (Bavaria, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse-Darmstadt) entered military alliances with Prussia but Austria did not. In
2006-735: The Deutsche Mark was introduced as legal tender in the Saarland. Paragraph 6 of Article 29 stated that, if a petition was successful, a referendum should be held within three years. Since the deadline passed on 5 May 1958 without anything happening, the Hesse state government filed a constitutional complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court in October 1958. The complaint was dismissed in July 1961 on
2124-523: The Dresdner Bahnhof (Dresden station) in Berlin and Berliner Bahnhof (Berlin station) in Dresden. Both stations were used only briefly. In 1882 the Dresden station in Berlin (located on the site of the present-day Gleisdreieck U-Bahn station and the former postal station in Luckenwalder Strasse) was closed for passenger traffic. The line’s Berlin terminus was moved a little further north to
2242-580: The Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, those four states joined the North German Federation which was consequently renamed to German Empire . The parliament and Federal Council decided to give the Prussian king the title of German Emperor (since 1 January 1871). The new German Empire included 25 states (three of them, Hanseatic cities) and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine . Within
2360-427: The Leipzig–Dresden line and creating the first direct rail link between Berlin and Dresden. In 1872 the Berlin-Dresden Railway Company was founded to build a competing a line via Elsterwerda that was 12 km (7.5 mi) shorter. This route was opened on 17 June 1875. Long-distance traffic between Berlin and Dresden was divided between the two routes until the end of World War II . 1 October 1877 management of
2478-661: The Oder-Neisse line fell under either Polish or Soviet administration but attempts were made at least symbolically not to abandon sovereignty well into the 1960s. The former provinces of Farther Pomerania , East Prussia , Silesia and Posen-West Prussia fell under Polish administration with the Soviet Union taking the area around Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), pending a final peace conference with Germany which eventually never took place. More than 8 million Germans had been expelled from these territories that had formed part of
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#17330943774382596-608: The Regierender Bürgermeister (governing mayor) in Berlin. The parliament for Berlin is called the Abgeordnetenhaus (House of Representatives), while Bremen and Hamburg both have a Bürgerschaft . The parliaments in the remaining 13 states are referred to as Landtag (State Parliament). The city-states of Berlin and Hamburg are subdivided into Districts . The City of Bremen consists of two urban districts : Bremen and Bremerhaven , which are not contiguous. In
2714-578: The Saarland – which later received a special status – in the French zone; Mecklenburg(-Vorpommern) , Brandenburg , Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , and Thuringia in the Soviet zone . No single state comprised more than 30% of either population or territory; this was intended to prevent any one state from being as dominant within Germany as Prussia had been in the past. Initially, only seven of
2832-551: The TEN program . On 11 December 2008, a financing agreement was signed for the continuous upgrading for 160 km/h as a continuation of the first stage of development. This would be completed by 2014 and the travel time would be reduced to around 103 minutes after the work was completed. From the funds of the economic stimulus package I in repsonse to the 2007–2008 financial crisis , the following funds were made available from 2009: In 2010, renewed planning became necessary in order to access
2950-553: The Weimar Republic , six still exist (though partly with different borders): The other 11 states of the Weimar Republic either merged into one another or were separated into smaller entities: Some territories bordering other states were annexed to the bordering state. Also, Prussia had exclaves that were surrounded by other states. These became part of their surrounding states. All states, except Bavaria , now have territory of
3068-582: The West German constitution thus applied to the entire German people . Article 23, which had allowed "any other parts of Germany" to join, was rephrased. It had been used in 1957 to reintegrate the Saar Protectorate as the Saarland into the Federal Republic, and this was used as a model for German reunification in 1990. The amended article now defines the participation of the Federal Council and
3186-544: The 16 German states in matters concerning the European Union . Article 29 was again modified and provided an option for the states to "revise the division of their existing territory or parts of their territory by agreement without regard to the provisions of paragraphs (2) through (7)". Article 118a was introduced into the Basic Law and provided the possibility for Berlin and Brandenburg to merge "without regard to
3304-528: The 1949 constitutional document known as the Grundgesetz (Basic Law). By calling the document the Grundgesetz , rather than Verfassung (constitution), the authors expressed the intention that it would be replaced by a true constitution once Germany was reunited as one state. Amendments to the Grundgesetz generally require a two-thirds majority of both chambers of the parliament; the fundamental principles of
3422-664: The 1980s, up to 140 train journeys were made in the Weinböhla area each day. After the fall of the Wall, the gap between Lichtenrade and Mahlow was closed for the S-Bahn and traffic to Blankenfelde was resumed on a single track on 31 August 1992. Occasionally, freight trains with compacted waste containers even ran on the S-Bahn track from the Gradestrasse transfer station to landfills south of Berlin. On 17 May 1991, Deutsche Reichsbahn commissioned
3540-560: The American states and regional governments in other federations without serious calls for territorial changes" in those other countries. Arthur B. Gunlicks summarizes the main arguments for boundary reform in Germany: "the German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation and pay for it from own source revenues. Too many Länder also make coordination among them and with
3658-689: The Anhalt station on 18 May 1952. Afterwards regional services used the outer ring to reach the East Berlin stations of Schöneweide , Lichtenberg or Ostbahnhof . Only the S-Bahn service from Rangsdorf ran over the border into West Berlin. Freight services continued to operate in West Berlin from the north to Marienfelde station (including to the gas works at Mariendorf and the Daimler factory at Marienfelde). The remaining long-distance tracks south of Marienfelde station
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3776-480: The Basic Law as a binding order. An expert commission was established, named after its chairman, the former Secretary of State Professor Werner Ernst. After two years of work, the experts delivered their report in 1973. It provided an alternative proposal for the two regions: the north and center-southwest. In the north, either a single new state consisting of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen and Lower Saxony should be created (solution A) or two new states, one in
3894-516: The Berlin and Dresden Reichsbahn rail divisions to quickly upgrade the line for a maximum speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). On 15 July 1991, the board of the Deutsche Reichsbahn adopted appropriate measures. Less than a year was available for implementation. The planned costs were DM 145 million. In some cases, preparations should also be made for a top speed of 200 km/h. In November 1991, WSSB Verkehrstechnik GmbH, which belongs to Siemens ,
4012-510: The Berlin–Dresden railway from Radebeul-Naundorf station to Friedrichstadt. The Prussian and Saxon railway administrations initially did not cooperate with the use of locomotives. Although carriages were hauled between Berlin and Dresden early on, the locomotives were changed in Elsterwerda. This caused financial losses and prevented a reduction in travel time. It was not until 1 May 1905 that
4130-604: The Berlin–Prague–Vienna axis. In October 1997, the Bahnbau Deutsche Einheit planning company was commissioned to plan and implement the development project. For DM 1.6 billion German, 125 km (78 mi) of railway line should be upgraded to a maximum speed of 200 km/h by 2008. The plan included the construction of 45 railway and 15 road bridges, 99 culverts, 435 km (270 mi) of overhead lines and twelve electronic signal boxes. The travel time between
4248-569: The Blankenfelde–Neucoswig section used by long-distance traffic was still passable at 160 km/h. At the end of 2011, around a quarter of the Brandenburg section, between Blankenfelde and Elsterwerda, could not even be operated at the speed of 120 km/h intended for regional traffic. The following table provides an overview of the development of the scheduled travel time in long-distance transport (fastest connection in each case): Depending on
4366-583: The Federal Minister of the Interior by reference to the referendum of 1951. However, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that the rejection was unlawful: the population of Baden had the right to a new referendum because the one of 1951 had taken place under different rules from the ones provided for by article 29. In particular, the outcome of the 1951 referendum did not reflect
4484-399: The Federal Republic as a whole (paragraph 4). The reorganization should be completed within three years after the Basic Law had come into force (paragraph 6). Article 29 states that "the division of the federal territory into Länder may be revised to ensure that each Land be of a size and capacity to perform its functions effectively". In their letter to Konrad Adenauer ,
4602-604: The Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. This was in contrast to the post-war development in Austria , where the national Bund ("federation") was constituted first, and then the individual states were carved out as units of that federal nation. The German use of the term Länder ("lands") dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919. Previously, the states of the German Empire had been called Staaten ("states"). Today, it
4720-536: The Federal Territory must be revised (paragraph 1). Moreover, in territories or parts of territories whose affiliation with a Land had changed after 8 May 1945 without a referendum, people were allowed to petition for a revision of the current status within a year after the promulgation of the Basic Law (paragraph 2). If at least one tenth of those entitled to vote in Bundestag elections were in favour of
4838-532: The French-occupied Saar Protectorate was returned and formed into the Saarland , the Federal Republic consisted of ten states, which are referred to as the " Old States " today. West Berlin was under the sovereignty of the Western Allies and neither a Western German state nor part of one. However, it was in many ways integrated with West Germany under a special status. A new delimitation of
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4956-1005: The GDR. The notable trains included the Vindobona Express from Berlin to Vienna from 1957 and the Hungaria Express between Berlin and Budapest since 1960. Other important long-distance trains were the Balt-Orient Express to Bucharest, the Pannonia Express to Sofia and the Meridian to Belgrade, which at times ran as far as Bar on the Adriatic . From 1976 onwards, the Städteexpress ("city express") Elbflorenz connected Berlin with Dresden and "Fichtelberg" connected Berlin with Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz ) on this line. They ran to Berlin in
5074-578: The German-speaking lands for centuries and which mostly did not have sizable Polish minorities before 1945. However, no attempts were made to establish new states in these territories, as they lay outside the jurisdiction of West Germany at that time. In 1948, the military governors of the three Western Allies handed over the so-called Frankfurt Documents to the minister-presidents in the Western occupation zones. Among other things, they recommended revising
5192-670: The Großenhainer Pflege countryside to Dresden . Upgrades completed in December 2017 enabled maximum speeds of 160 km/h (99 mph). Work is under way to reopen the traditional route through the southern suburbs of Berlin for long-distance trains and to allow speeds of 200 km/h (120 mph) on parts of the line. In 1848 the Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company opened the Jüterbog–Röderau line , connecting with
5310-443: The Nazi regime via the Gleichschaltung process, as the states administratively were largely superseded by the Nazi Gau system . Three changes are of particular note: on 1 January 1934, Mecklenburg-Schwerin was united with neighbouring Mecklenburg-Strelitz ; and, by the Greater Hamburg Act ( Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz ) of 1937, the territory of the city-state was extended, while Lübeck lost its independence and became part of
5428-480: The Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein . During the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II , internal borders were redrawn by the Allied military governments. New states were established in all four zones of occupation: Bremen , Hesse , Württemberg-Baden , and Bavaria in the American zone ; Hamburg , Schleswig-Holstein , Lower Saxony , and North Rhine-Westphalia in the British zone ; Rhineland-Palatinate , Baden , Württemberg-Hohenzollern and
5546-409: The Regionalbahn service from Elsterwerda to Dresden Hbf took 61 minutes, no Regional Express ran and the Eurocity took 37 minutes. Towards the north, the RE from Elsterwerda to Berlin Hbf took 127 minutes and the Eurocity took 89 minutes. In 2012, there were political demands that, in addition to stopping some ECs in Elsterwerda, a few trains should also stop in Doberlug-Kirchhain , especially because of
5664-406: The S-Bahn was extended to Rangsdorf . The S-Bahn shared tracks in southern Berlin with long-distance passenger and freight trains. At the end of the 1930s work began on the new track to separate the S-Bahn and long-distance tracks, but by the beginning of the Second World War this work was not completed. In April 1945, S-Bahn services ceased as a result of the war. After the end of the war in 1945
5782-401: The Saarland (solution C), the district of Germersheim would then become part of Baden-Württemberg. The other alternative was that the Palatinate (including the region of Worms ) could be merged with the Saarland and Baden-Württemberg, and the rest of Rhineland-Palatinate would then merge with Hesse (solution D). Both alternatives could be combined (AC, BC, AD, BD). At the same time,
5900-485: The Teltow Canal with the Spree. There is only one lock on the canal, at Kleinmachnow . The canal is navigable by boats with a draught of up to 1.75 metres (5 ft 9 in) and with a maximum bridge clearance of 4.4 metres (14 ft). [REDACTED] Media related to Teltowkanal, Bäke at Wikimedia Commons 52°26′47″N 13°28′14″E / 52.44639°N 13.47056°E / 52.44639; 13.47056 This Berlin location article
6018-414: The Western Allies, viewed itself as part of the Federal Republic and was largely integrated and considered a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum , Baden, Württemberg-Baden, and Württemberg-Hohenzollern merged into Baden-Württemberg . In 1957, the Saar Protectorate joined the Federal Republic as the state of Saarland . The next change occurred with German reunification in 1990, in which
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#17330943774386136-402: The affected states, the proposals were shelved. Public interest was limited or nonexistent. The referendum in Baden was held on 7 June 1970. 81.9% of voters decided for Baden to remain part of Baden-Württemberg, only 18.1% opted for the reconstitution of the old state of Baden . The referendums in Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate were held on 19 January 1975 (the percentages given are
6254-420: The annual timetable, up to 20 minutes of timetable reserve is included. With the completion of further development stages, the shortest travel time should fall to 102 minutes in December 2020. Further expansion stages are being planned (see below). In the long term, the aim is for a journey time of 90 minutes. Currently (2024 timetable year) there are direct connections between the two major cities every hour during
6372-465: The available funds and carry out the approved construction work. A cost–benefit analysis in April 2010 determined a benefit-cost ratio of 2.9 for the upgrade project. In mid-2010, the Federal Ministry of Transport expected that the total investment costs for the line upgrade would be €802 million. The costs are broken down into the different implementation and upgrade stages as follows: States of Germany The Federal Republic of Germany , as
6490-407: The boundaries of the West German states in a way that none of them should be too large or too small in comparison with the others. As the premiers did not come to an agreement on this question, the Parliamentary Council was supposed to address this issue. Its provisions are reflected in Article 29 of the Basic Law . There was a binding provision for a new delimitation of the federal territory:
6608-405: The centre of Berlin, with its heavy river traffic. At its western end, the Teltow Canal incorporates the Griebnitzsee lake which links to the Havel in Potsdam. The Griebnitz Canal provides a second link to the Havel from the eastern end of the Griebnitzsee. Towards its eastern end, the Teltow Canal is linked to the Landwehr Canal by the Neukölln Ship Canal , while the Britz Canal connects
6726-454: The commission developed criteria for classifying the terms of Article 29 Paragraph 1. The capacity to perform functions effectively was considered most important, whereas regional, historical, and cultural ties were considered as hardly verifiable. To fulfill administrative duties adequately, a population of at least five million per state was considered as necessary. After a relatively brief discussion and mostly negative responses from
6844-468: The configuration of the German states: the 7 Thuringian states were merged in 1920, whereby Coburg opted for Bavaria , Pyrmont joined Prussia in 1922, and Waldeck did so in 1929. Any later plans to break up the dominating Prussia into smaller states failed because political circumstances were not favourable to state reforms. After the Nazi Party seized power in January 1933, the Länder were gradually abolished and reduced to provinces under
6962-419: The consent of the federal government (Article 32 of the Basic Law). Typical treaties relate to cultural relationships and economic affairs. Some states call themselves a " free state " ( Freistaat ). It is merely a historic synonym for "republic" and was a description used by most German states after the abolishment of monarchy after World War I . Today, Freistaat is associated emotionally with
7080-522: The considerations were further developed. While planning to upgrade the existing line to 200 km/h (120 mph) was already underway, the university continued to recommend a new line. The upgrade of the line for higher speeds (than the 160 km/h already largely achieved) was listed in the 1992 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan ( Bundesverkehrswegeplan ) as a new project with planned total costs of DM 395 million (1 January 1991 prices). Subsequently, preliminary plans were developed by 1996 to upgrade
7198-401: The constituent states have certain limited powers in this area: in matters that affect them directly, the states defend their interests at the federal level through the Bundesrat ("Federal Council"), and in areas where they have the legislative authority they have limited powers to conclude international treaties "with the consent of the federal government". It was the states that formed
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#17330943774387316-416: The constitution, as expressed in the articles guaranteeing human dignity, the separation of powers, the federal structure, and the rule of law are valid in perpetuity. Despite the original intention, the Grundgesetz remained in effect after the German reunification in 1990, with only minor amendments. The federal constitution stipulates that the structure of each Federated State's government must "conform to
7434-432: The constitution. An appeal against the decision was rejected as inadmissible by the Federal Constitutional Court. On 24 August 1976, the binding provision for a new delimitation of the federal territory was altered into a mere discretionary one. Paragraph 1 of Article 29 was rephrased, with the provision that any state had to be "of a size and capacity to perform its functions effectively" put first. The option for
7552-400: The day with a travel time of around two hours. For journeys between Berlin and Prague, the use of multi-system locomotives has eliminated the need to change locomotives in Dresden since mid-2018 and the time spent at Dresden Hauptbahnhof has been shortened by 10 minutes. The Institute for Railway Construction at TU Dresden developed for the State of Saxony, concepts for various new lines in
7670-416: The empire, 65% of the territory and 62% of the population belonged to the state of Prussia. After the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles , the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation. The debate on a new delimitation of the German territory started in 1919 as part of discussions about the new constitution. Hugo Preuss , the father of the Weimar Constitution , drafted
7788-404: The executive branch consists of a Senate of approximately eight, selected by the state's parliament; the senators carry out duties equivalent to those of the ministers in the larger states. The equivalent of the minister-president is the Senatspräsident (president of the senate), also commonly referred to as Bürgermeister (Mayor) in Bremen, the Erster Bürgermeister (first mayor) in Hamburg, and
7906-402: The federal system: the legislatures are popularly elected for four or five years (depending on the state), and the minister-president is then chosen by a majority vote among the Landtag ' s members. The minister-president is typically the head of the biggest party of a coalition. The minister-president appoints a cabinet to run the state's agencies and to carry out the executive duties of
8024-487: The federal territory has been discussed since the Federal Republic was founded in 1949 and even before. Committees and expert commissions advocated a reduction of the number of states; academics ( Werner Rutz , Meinhard Miegel , Adrian Ottnad , etc.) and politicians ( Walter Döring , Hans Apel , and others) made proposals – some of them far-reaching – for redrawing boundaries but hardly anything came of these public discussions. Territorial reform
8142-412: The federation more complicated." But several proposals have failed so far; territorial reform remains a controversial topic in German politics and public perception. Federalism has a long tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states , numbering more than 300 in around 1796. The number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars (1796–1814). After
8260-412: The federation. The states retain residual or exclusive legislative authority for all other areas, including culture, which in Germany includes not only topics such as the financial promotion of arts and sciences, but also most forms of education and job training (see Education in Germany ). Though international relations including international treaties are primarily the responsibility of the federal level,
8378-446: The five " New States " on 3 October 1990. The former district of East Berlin joined West Berlin to form the new state of Berlin. Henceforth, the 10 "old states" plus 5 "new states" plus the new state Berlin add up to current 16 states of Germany. After reunification, the constitution was amended to state that the citizens of the 16 states had successfully achieved the unity of Germany in free self-determination and that
8496-409: The former Free State of Prussia. Other former Prussian territories lying east of the rivers Neisse and Oder were lost in 1945 and are now part of Poland or Russia . They are Silesia (Upper and Lower), Pomerania, West Prussia-Posen, and East Prussia respectively. Possible boundary changes between states continue to be debated in Germany, in contrast to how there are "significant differences among
8614-576: The grounds that Article 29 had made the new delimitation of the federal territory an exclusively federal matter. At the same time, the Court reaffirmed the requirement for a territorial revision as a binding order to the relevant constitutional bodies. The grand coalition decided to settle the 1956 petitions by setting binding deadlines for the required referendums. The referendums in Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate were to be held by 31 March 1975, and
8732-709: The last Interregio in Germany from Berlin via Elsterwerda and Riesa to Chemnitz (IR line 34), this type of train was abolished and replaced by Regional-Express and Regionalbahn , e.g. RE 5, RE 3 from 2006, now RE 8 ( Stralsund – Elsterwerda ) and by the RB 45 (Elsterwerda – Riesa – Chemnitz). In 2007, the line had a capacity of 144 trains per day per direction. From 2006 to the end of 2010, all long-distance trains ran from Berlin to Dresden without stopping. From 2010 onwards, some Eurocity (EC) stops were introduced again in Elsterwerda, but these were not attractive for travellers to intermediate stations due to poor connection times. In 2012,
8850-411: The line to a length of 148 km (92 mi) for a speed of 200 km/h. Uckro, Elsterwerda and Böhla were to be bypassed and Doberlug-Kirchhain station was to be rebuilt. The costs for this were estimated at DM 2.295 billion (1 January 1993 prices). Towards the end of these plans, an intergovernmental agreement was concluded on 7 June 1995 to further develop the Berlin–Prague–Vienna railway route. This
8968-590: The line was taken over by Prussian state railways . On 24 January 1887 Saxony and Prussia contracted a treaty, under which ownership of the company passed to Prussia from 1 April 1887. This treaty also provided that the Elsterwerda–Dresden section was resold to the Saxon government on 1 April 1888, when it became part of the Royal Saxon State Railways . At both ends of the line new stations were built,
9086-749: The line were converted in 1992 by Deutsche Reichsbahn into Interregios from Rostock to Chemnitz on the Berlin to Elsterwerda section. All through rail services with stops along the way to Dresden were discontinued and replaced by regional trains with the opportunity of changing in Elsterwerda. The connections without intermediate stops on the route, for instance those of the Vindobona, were reclassified as InterCity services from Hamburg to Dresden and EuroCity services from Hamburg, Berlin to Budapest, Prague, Vienna and used with carriages from ČD , DB, MÁV and ÖBB . The Elsterwerda train disaster occurred on 20 November 1997 at Elsterwerda station. A brake failure caused
9204-460: The line. The scheduled travel time for long-distance traffic between Berlin Ostbahnhof and Dresden Hauptbahnhof was one hour and 59 minutes. Like the historic Henschel-Wegmann Train , it ran via Radebeul and Dresden-Neustadt on the Leipzig–Dresden railway to Dresden Hauptbahnhof. Deutsche Reichsbahn had purchased class 112 locomotives for express traffic. In 1992, IC line 7 (Dresden–Prague)
9322-416: The main stations of Berlin and Dresden was supposed to decrease from 111 minutes (1997) to 59 minutes. In 1998, it was decided to begin development work immediately, which had the character of maintenance and was to be completed in sections without any change in travel time by 2002. An upgrade to 200 km/h would only take place after 2003. The European Commission awarded a grant of €10 million in 2007 under
9440-750: The military railway station facilities continued to be used by the Reichsbahn. With the construction of the Teltow Canal , which opened in 1906, three new bridges for the Dresden Railway and the Military Railway became necessary south of the Mariendorf S-Bahn station (now Attilastraße ). At the southern end of the Tempelhof marshalling yard (near Priesterweg S-Bahn station , the long-distance tracks and
9558-489: The morning and in the opposite direction in the afternoon. Later, the Berlin Express train pair was added, which ran to Dresden in the morning and to Berlin in the afternoon. In local transport, trains ran approximately every hour between Schönefeld (bei Berlin) station and Wünsdorf , and some continued to Baruth . On the other sections, the importance of local transport was low. For many years only four passenger trains
9676-399: The necessary majority vote in Brandenburg, while a majority of Berliners voted in favour. Federalism is one of the entrenched constitutional principles of Germany . According to the German constitution , some topics, such as foreign affairs and defence, are the exclusive responsibility of the federation (i.e., the federal level), while others fall under the shared authority of the states and
9794-399: The new federal states in the second half of 1990. A new line was largely planned between Berlin and Dresden. This would have largely followed the existing line to the north of Großenhain and run in a southwesterly direction to the west of Cossebaude in order to be integrated into a planned high-speed line from Leipzig to Dresden. From Dresden a continuation towards Prague was planned. In 1991,
9912-535: The northeast consisting of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and the northern part of Lower Saxony (from Cuxhaven to Lüchow-Dannenberg ) and one in the northwest consisting of Bremen and the rest of Lower Saxony (solution B). In the center and southwest, one alternative was that Rhineland-Palatinate (with the exception of the Germersheim district but including the Rhine-Neckar region) should be merged with Hesse and
10030-548: The other states there are the subdivisions below. The most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia is uniquely divided into two area associations ( Landschaftsverbände ), one for the Rhineland , and one for Westphalia - Lippe . This arrangement was meant to ease the friction caused by uniting the two culturally different regions into a single state after World War II . The Landschaftsverbände now have very little power. Teltow Canal The Teltow Canal , also known as
10148-421: The percentages of those eligible who voted in favour): The votes in Lower Saxony were successful as both proposals were supported by more than 25% of eligible voters. The Bundestag, however, decided that both Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe should remain part of Lower Saxony. The justification was that a reconstitution of the two former states would contradict the objectives of paragraph 1 of article 29 of
10266-407: The pre-War states remained: Baden (in part), Bavaria (reduced in size), Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse (enlarged), Saxony, and Thuringia. The states with hyphenated names, such as Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt, owed their existence to the occupation powers and were created out of mergers of former Prussian provinces and smaller states. Former German territory that lay east of
10384-473: The principles of republican, democratic, and social government, based on the rule of law" (Article 28). Most of the states are governed by a cabinet led by a Ministerpräsident (minister-president), together with a unicameral legislative body known as the Landtag (State Diet ). The states are parliamentary republics and the relationship between their legislative and executive branches mirrors that of
10502-466: The provisions of Article 29, by agreement between the Länder concerned. If no agreement is reached, the revision shall be effected by a federal law, which shall provide for an advisory referendum." Since no agreement was reached, a referendum was held on 9 December 1951 in four different voting districts, three of which approved the merger ( South Baden refused but was overruled, as the result of total votes
10620-467: The provisions of Article 29, by agreement between the two Länder with the participation of their inhabitants who are entitled to vote". A state treaty between Berlin and Brandenburg was approved in both parliaments with the necessary two-thirds majority, but in a popular referendum of 5 May 1996, about 63% voted against the merger. The German states can conclude treaties with foreign countries in matters within their own sphere of competence and with
10738-623: The public support of Federal German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer for the plan. The rejection of the plan by the Saarlanders was interpreted as support for the Saar to join the Federal Republic of Germany. On 27 October 1956, the Saar Treaty established that Saarland should be allowed to join Germany, as provided by the German constitution. Saarland became part of Germany effective 1 January 1957. The Franco-Saarlander currency union ended on 6 July 1959, when
10856-607: The railway administration introduced locomotive operations with both Prussian and Saxon locomotives. From 1875 until World War I the Prussian military railway ran parallel with the line from Berlin to Zossen . Between 1901 and 1903, the line between Marienfelde and Zossen was reinforced so that the Studiengesellschaft für Elektrische Schnellbahnen (Study Society for Electric Rapid Railways) could carry out tests with three-phase rapid transit sets and locomotives. On 28 October 1903,
10974-487: The railway line was seriously damaged by the allies. In addition the bridges over the Teltow Canal in Berlin were blown up in the last days of the war by the German army. Later the line’s second track was dismantled to provide reparations to the Soviet Union . Only two tracks have been restored on these bridges. Services resumed between August and October 1945. Between Mariendorf and Marienfelde stations S-Bahn services and
11092-459: The record speed of 210.8 km/h (131.0 mph) was achieved on this line. In 1904, high-speed tests with steam locomotives followed on the upgraded military railway line. After the First World War, the military railway was disbanded as a military unit and operations on the military railway track between Berlin and Zossen were stopped. In the 1920s, the track in this section was dismantled and
11210-527: The referendum in Baden was to be held by 30 June 1970. The threshold for a successful vote was set at one-quarter of those entitled to vote in Bundestag elections. Paragraph 4 stated that the vote should be disregarded if it contradicted the objectives of paragraph 1. In his investiture address, given on 28 October 1969 in Bonn, Chancellor Willy Brandt proposed that the government would consider Article 29 of
11328-586: The remaining passenger and freight services ran on a common two-track section. Between Rangsdorf and Wünsdorf steam suburban trains operated to connect with the S-Bahn. The division of Germany and Berlin also affected the traffic on the Berlin-Dresden line. In 1951, a connecting curve was built in an easterly direction from the line linking with the newly established Berlin outer ring . Long-distance trains from Dresden used it to avoid West Berlin . The terminal stations on West Berlin territory were closed, including
11446-538: The same status as West Berlin – was declared East Germany's capital and its 15th district. The debate on territorial revision restarted shortly before German reunification . While academics (Rutz and others) and politicians (Gobrecht) suggested introducing only two, three, or four states in East Germany, legislation reconstituted the East German states in an arrangement similar to that which they had had before 1952, as
11564-417: The second track was fully restored. In the 1960s, work began on the raising of maximum speeds on the line to 160 km/h (99 mph). The stations from Baruth/Mark to Brenitz-Sonnewalde were converted for high speed with the relocation of platforms onto sidings. For various reasons, trains could still only operate at 120 km/h (75 mph). The section from Dresden-Friedrichstadt to Radebeul-Naundorf
11682-469: The slow development of the line. Some REs could have run via the Doberlug-Kirchhain Nord connecting curve to Finsterwalde instead of via Elsterwerda. In 2013, according to Deutsche Bahn, a market volume of around 6,700 trips per day was estimated across all modes of transport between the metropolitan areas of Dresden and Berlin. In August 2016, the line between Wünsdorf-Waldstadt and Elsterwerda
11800-458: The state's government. Like in other parliamentary systems, the legislature can dismiss or replace the minister-president after a successful no-confidence vote . The governments in Berlin , Bremen and Hamburg are referred to as " senates ". In the free states of Bavaria and Saxony , the government is referred to as "state government" (Staatsregierung) ; and in the other states, the government
11918-741: The suburban tracks of the Dresden Railway were separated from the tracks of the Berlin–Halle railway . There was a separate pair of tracks for suburban traffic as far as Mariendorf station (later called Attilastraße ). South of this station, long-distance traffic and suburban traffic shared a two-track line. In 1936 a high-speed express service commenced between Berlin and Dresden using the Henschel-Wegmann Train , taking 100 minutes. The Berlin suburb train operations were electrified in 1939 and 1940. Berlin S-Bahn services commenced on 15 May 1939 between Priesterweg and Mahlow and on 6 October 1940
12036-481: The territory of the former German Democratic Republic ( East Germany ) became part of the Federal Republic, by accession of the re-established eastern states of Brandenburg , Mecklenburg-West Pomerania ( Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ), Saxony ( Sachsen ), Saxony-Anhalt ( Sachsen-Anhalt ), and Thuringia ( Thüringen ), and the reunification of West and East Berlin into a city state. A referendum in 1996 to merge Berlin with surrounding Brandenburg failed to reach
12154-484: The three western military governors approved the Basic Law but suspended Article 29 until such time as a peace treaty should be concluded. Only the special arrangement for the southwest under Article 118 could enter into force. Upon its founding in 1949, West Germany thus had eleven states. These were reduced to nine in 1952 when three south-western states ( South Baden , Württemberg-Hohenzollern , and Württemberg-Baden ) merged to form Baden-Württemberg . From 1957, when
12272-602: The two major cities with short travel times. The double-decker multiple unit used for this runs at 160 km/h and also stops at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. In the future, it is planned to accelerate this connection to 200 km/h using new safety technology. The travel time of the Henschel-Wegmann train from 1936 to 1939 (100 minutes in the shortest case) has not yet been reached again, but the Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin
12390-423: The wishes of the majority of Baden's population. The two Palatine petitions (for a reintegration into Bavaria and integration into Baden-Württemberg) failed with 7.6% and 9.3%. Further requests for petitions (Lübeck, Geesthacht, Lindau, Achberg, and 62 Hessian communities) had already been rejected as inadmissible by the Federal Minister of the Interior or were withdrawn as in the case of Lindau. The rejection
12508-528: Was already based on a general development of the line for 200 km/h. In the long term, the travel time on the Berlin–Prague section should be reduced to three hours, which would also require the completion of a high-speed line from Dresden to Prague. However, a completion date was not agreed upon. On 5 June 1997, the transport ministers of Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria reached an agreement to upgrade
12626-474: Was an S-Bahn service to Berlin. As of 26 May 1963 a shuttle train consisting of a class VT 2.09 railbus (known as the "piglet taxi") ran between Mahlow and Blankenfelde , connecting to services on the outer ring. The low capacity of the single-track line and the poor condition of the track had long caused operational problems. The high density of freight on the line left only a small number of paths for fast passenger trains. An improvement occurred in 1972, after
12744-453: Was around 2 km south of today's Hauptbahnhof and therefore a little closer to Dresden. Until 2019, there were scheduled travel times of just under 100 minutes for the section from Berlin-Südkreuz to Dresden-Neustadt. While the condition of the line enabled travel times of under two hours from 1992 onwards, a journey from Dresden to Berlin took longer until the mid-2010s. There were numerous slow speed zones. In May 2008, only around 45 percent of
12862-445: Was awarded the contract to retrofit the control and safety technology. From January to May 1992, extensive retrofitting and renewal work was carried out on the line. The PZB train protection system was also installed, electrical supply lines were changed and the overhead line system was slightly adjusted. The rail track was not changed. When the timetable changed in May 1992, the maximum speed
12980-578: Was completely closed in order to upgrade the line to a speed of 200 km/h by removing level crossings and building new tracks. Since 2019, in addition to the Czech Railways' Eurocitys, an Intercity service has been running every two hours from Rostock via Berlin to Dresden. With scheduled stops in Doberlug-Kirchhain and Elsterwerda, this connects the Elbe-Elster-Land and parts of Lower Lusatia to
13098-585: Was confirmed by the Federal Constitutional Court in the case of Lübeck. In the Paris Agreements of 23 October 1954, France offered to establish an independent "Saarland", under the auspices of the Western European Union (WEU), but on 23 October 1955 in the Saar Statute referendum the Saar electorate rejected this plan by 67.7% to 32.3% (out of a 96.5% turnout: 423,434 against, 201,975 for) despite
13216-666: Was created in 1949 through the unification of the three western zones previously under American, British, and French administration in the aftermath of World War II . Initially, the states of the Federal Republic were Baden (until 1952), Bavaria (in German: Bayern ), Bremen , Hamburg , Hesse ( Hessen ), Lower Saxony ( Niedersachsen ), North Rhine-Westphalia ( Nordrhein-Westfalen ), Rhineland-Palatinate ( Rheinland-Pfalz ), Schleswig-Holstein , Württemberg-Baden (until 1952), and Württemberg-Hohenzollern (until 1952). West Berlin , while still under occupation by
13334-411: Was decisive). On 25 April 1952, the three former states merged to form Baden-Württemberg. With the Paris Agreements in 1954, West Germany regained (limited) sovereignty. This triggered the start of the one-year period as set in paragraph 2 of Article 29. As a consequence, eight petitions for referendums were launched, six of which were successful: The last petition was originally rejected by
13452-640: Was electrified on 28 September 1969. The adjoining section to the Berlin outer ring , including the two connections to the ring, followed in several sections from 1979 to 1983. A few years after the West Berlin S-Bahn network was taken over by the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe , the reconstruction began on the missing second track between Marienfelde and Lichtenrade in 1988. The route had heavy express train traffic towards Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Austria as well as inland traffic in
13570-421: Was increased in sections to 160 km/h. At the same time, switches with larger radii were installed, signal distances were increased and 100 new switch drives were installed. The signalling block system was automated throughout. This reduced travel times on long-distance transport by 35 minutes to under two hours. For the first time in several decades, speeds of more than 120 km/h (75 mph) were operated on
13688-534: Was introduced with a service at two-hour intervals with a connection to Hamburg. From 25 September 1994, a pair of ICE trains ran along the line every day. The ICE ran from Berlin Zoologischer Garten station to Dresden Hauptbahnhof in the evening and in the opposite direction in the morning. From 1998, the ICE ran via Berlin Ostbahnhof before the ICE connection was discontinued on 27 May 2000. The D-Zugs running on
13806-512: Was partially dismantled or became overgrown in the following decades. After the building of the Berlin Wall on 13 August 1961, S-Bahn-operations between Lichtenrade and Mahlow were abandoned. S-Bahn services initially operated a shuttle service between Mahlow and Rangsdorf, but this was discontinued on 9 October 1961 due to the lack of repair and storage facilities. Commuter trains from Wünsdorf ran to Schönefeld Airport station . From 1962 there
13924-674: Was relocated from the Leipzig line via Dresden-Neustadt to the longer, original Berlin line via Cossebaude. This was part of a scheme to segregate traffic so that on the Großenhain–Dresden and Medessen–Dresden section, regional trains would operate on the Großenhain–Priestewitz and Leipzig–Dresden lines (western route) and express trains would operate on the Medessen–Böhla and Berlin–Dresden lines (eastern route). On 28 May 2006, with
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