Bydgoszcz Główna ( Polish for Bydgoszcz Main station, sometimes also translated as Bydgoszcz Central) is the principal railway station serving the city of Bydgoszcz , the largest city and co-capital of Poland's Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship .
119-597: The first station building in Bydgoszcz was established in 1851 during construction of the Prussian Eastern Railway from Krzyż to Königsberg . On 25 July 1851 the station was inaugurated upon the event of the official opening of the railway east of Krzyz - Bydgoszcz (145 km) by the Prussian king, William IV. Before the opening, the station was decorated and a show was held on the square in front of it, during which
238-528: A League of Nations mandate since 1920, was occupied by the Lithuanian Armed Forces in 1923 and annexed without giving the inhabitants a choice by ballot. After Adolf Hitler's rise to power , opposition politicians were persecuted and newspapers banned. Erich Koch , who headed the East Prussian Nazi party from 1928, led the district from 1932. The Otto-Braun-House was requisitioned to become
357-591: A municipal corporation , economic freedom as well as emancipation of the serfs and Jews . In the course of the Prussian restoration by the 1815 Congress of Vienna , the East Prussian territories were re-arranged in the Regierungsbezirke of Gumbinnen and Königsberg . From 1905, the southern districts of East Prussia formed the separate Regierungsbezirk of Allenstein . East and West Prussia were first united in personal union in 1824 and then merged in
476-565: A real union in 1829 to form the Province of Prussia . The united province was again split into separate East and West Prussian provinces in 1878. From 1824 to 1878, East Prussia was combined with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia , after which they were reestablished as separate provinces. Along with the rest of the Kingdom of Prussia, East Prussia became part of the German Empire during
595-528: A republic . Most of the former Prussian provinces of West Prussia and Posen , territories annexed by Prussia in the 18th century Partitions of Poland , were ceded to the Second Polish Republic according to the Treaty of Versailles . East Prussia became an exclave , being separated from mainland Germany. The Klaipėda Region was also separated from the province. Because most of West Prussia became part of
714-679: A Russian broad gauge track was laid next to the standard gauge track; this has been dismantled between Elbląg and Bogaczewo. This track is still present in Młynary, but unused. Between Chrusciel and Braniewo the ballast is missing and it is not usable. From Tczew to Bogaczewo the line is operated with electric trains. As the line passes through a sparsely populated area, far from urban areas, the Eastern Railway here only carries minor traffic. The short section of line from Kaliningrad to Kybartai in Lithuania
833-483: A bridge to the East Prussian city of Marienwerder . In the summer 1939 timetable four pairs of express trains, twelve D-trains and a pair of long-distance transit trains between Berlin and Königsberg operated on the line. The latter required a travel time of 6 hours and 36 minutes for the 590 kilometre long line from Königsberg to Berlin Silesian station. The railway network of the former East Prussian province in 1937 had
952-536: A largely single-track non-electrified main line, part of the tariff zone of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (Berlin-Brandenburg Transport Association) and has been operated by Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn since 10 December 2006 with Bombardier Talent diesel multiple units. On 22 December 2006, the line speed was restored to 120 km/h between the 75.0 and 80.7 kilometre points for the first time in 60 years. This did not affect travel times or
1071-515: A length of 4,176 kilometers. On 22 January 1945, the last train ran from Königsberg to Berlin; after that no continuous rail traffic ran on this line. Since 1991 the term Ostbahn (Eastern Railway) has again been used to appeal to the nostalgia of tourists wishing to travel along parts of the former line. Substantial boundary changes were made as a result of the German defeat in World War II, so that
1190-553: A much smaller homonymous Olsztyn Voivodeship, the bulk of Elbląg Voivodeship and a significant part of the Suwałki Voivodeship . The remaining pre-war population was treated as Germanized Poles and a policy of re- Polonization was pursued throughout the country Most of these " Autochthons " chose to emigrate to West Germany from the 1950s through 1980s (between 1970 and 1988 55,227 persons from Warmia and Masuria moved to Western Germany). Local toponyms were Polonised by
1309-604: A newly built branch line to Strausberg Nord . In 1989, the U-Bahn line E (now U 5) was extended over the VnK line to Wuhletal station . It is the only station in Berlin where it is possible to transfer between S-Bahn and U-Bahn services on the same platform. In 1992, Birkenstein station was opened between Mahlsdorf and Hoppegarten . At the same time a second S-Bahn track went into operation on this section. East Prussia East Prussia
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#17328693502781428-588: A regional folk band from Kujawy, who sang in Polish, performed. The first passenger train available for travellers departed from Bydgoszcz on 27 July 1851. In 1853, officials of the Eastern Railway Division moved from the station to purpose-built premises on the New Market. With the development of rail and transport growth there was demand for an extension of the railway station. One of the main reasons that made
1547-568: A separate pair of suburban tracks was laid next to the Frankfurt (Oder) line between the intersection of the long-distance lines at Rummelsburg and the start of the Stadtbahn. This required a grade-separation of the Stadtbahn tracks with the link to the Silesian station. The junction of the Ringbahn with the Stadtbahn and Stralau Rummelsburg station were entirely rebuilt in 1903. The two east–west lines and
1666-586: Is the only part of the former Eastern Railway that still has an important function, as it is the transit route from Kaliningrad to the Russian heartland. It belongs to the Kaliningrad Railway and has been rebuilt to Russian gauge . The former border station at Chernyshevskoye was completely dismantled after Lithuania was annexed by the Soviet Union and border controls were abolished. Russian Railways now rebuilt
1785-736: The Curonian Spit to Memel . The French Grande Armée troops immediately took up pursuit but were delayed in the Battle of Eylau on 9 February 1807 by an East Prussian contingent under General Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq . Napoleon had to stay at the Finckenstein Palace , but in May, after a siege of 75 days, his troops led by Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre were able to capture the city of Danzig , which had been tenaciously defended by General Count Friedrich Adolf von Kalkreuth . On 14 June, Napoleon ended
1904-758: The German People's Party politician Max von Bahrfeldt were all severely injured. Members of the Reichsbanner were assaulted while the local Reichsbanner Chairman of Lötzen , Kurt Kotzan , was murdered on 6 August 1932. In the March 1933 German federal election , the last contested pre-war German election, the local population of East Prussia voted overwhelmingly for the Adolf Hitler 's Nazi Party . Through publicly funded emergency relief programs concentrating on agricultural land-improvement projects and road construction,
2023-546: The Holocaust . In 1939 the Regierungsbezirk Zichenau was annexed by Germany and incorporated into East Prussia. Parts of it were transferred to other regions, e.g. Suwałki Region to Regierungsbezirk Gumbinnen and Soldau (Działdowo) to Regierungsbezirk Allenstein . Despite Nazi propaganda presenting all of the regions annexed as possessing significant German populations that wanted reunification with Germany,
2142-544: The Kingdom of Prussia . The designation " Kingdom of Prussia " was gradually applied to the various lands of Brandenburg-Prussia. To differentiate it from the larger entity, the former Duchy of Prussia became known as Altpreußen ("Old Prussia"), the province of Prussia, or "East Prussia". Approximately one-third of East Prussia's population died in the Great Northern War plague outbreak and famine of 1709–1711, including
2261-645: The Lithuanian SSR ) and the People's Republic of Poland (the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship ). The capital city Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. The German and the Masurian population of the province was largely evacuated during the war or expelled shortly afterwards in the expulsion of Germans after World War II . An estimated 300,000 died either in wartime bombing raids, in the battles to defend
2380-684: The Lower Silesian-Märkische Railway ( Niederschlesisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , NME). The Prussian state railways acquired a stake in the NME and took over its management in 1850 and purchased the remaining shares of the railway in 1852. In 1853, Edward Wiebe was the Director of the Railway division of the Eastern Railway in Bromberg. Already in the 1840s, he had been involved in planning
2499-638: The Nazi German government, which wanted to erase all aspects of Polish culture and Polish language in Warmia and Masuria . The Jews who remained in East Prussia in 1942 were shipped to concentration camps, including Theresienstadt in occupied Czechoslovakia , Kaiserwald in occupied Latvia , and camps in Minsk in occupied Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic . Those who remained were later deported and killed in
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#17328693502782618-600: The Nazis changed about one-third of the toponyms of the area , eliminating, Germanizing, or simplifying a number of Old Prussian , as well as those Polish or Lithuanian names originating from colonists and refugees to Prussia during and after the Protestant Reformation . More than 1,500 places were ordered to be renamed by 16 July 1938 following a decree issued by Gauleiter and Oberpräsident Erich Koch and initiated by Adolf Hitler . Many who would not cooperate with
2737-623: The Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War , whereby the united armies of Poland and Lithuania , defeated the Teutonic Order at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. In 1440 the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation was founded, and various cities and nobles of the region joined it. In 1454 upon the Confederation's request King Casimir IV of Poland signed the act of incorporation of the entire region to Poland. The Teutonic Knights' defeat
2856-649: The Potsdam Conference , pending a final peace conference with Germany. Since a peace conference never took place, the region was effectively ceded by Germany. Southern East Prussia was placed under Polish administration, while northern East Prussia was divided between the Soviet republics of Russia (the Kaliningrad Oblast ) and Lithuania (the constituent counties of the Klaipėda Region ). The city of Königsberg
2975-460: The Ruhr Area and Berlin (see Ostflucht ). The population of the province in 1900 was 1,996,626 people, with a religious makeup of 1,698,465 Protestants , 269,196 Roman Catholics , and 13,877 Jews . The Low Prussian dialect predominated in East Prussia, although High Prussian was spoken in Warmia . The numbers of Masurians , Kursenieki and Prussian Lithuanians decreased over time due to
3094-683: The Second Polish Republic as the Polish Corridor , the formerly West Prussian Marienwerder region became part of East Prussia as the administrative district ( Regierungsbezirk ) of West Prussia. Also, the Działdowo district in the Allenstein region became part of the Second Polish Republic. The Seedienst Ostpreußen (Sea Service East Prussia) was established to provide an independent transport service to East Prussia. On 11 July 1920, amidst
3213-602: The Seven Years' War before withdrawing in 1762 and did not make Poland an offer of territorial exchange. In the 1772 First Partition of Poland , the Prussian king Frederick the Great annexed neighboring Royal Prussia , i.e., the Polish voivodeships of Pomerania ( Gdańsk Pomerania or Pomerelia ), Malbork , Chełmno and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia , thereby connecting his Prussian and Farther Pomeranian lands and cutting
3332-541: The War of the Fourth Coalition with his victory at the Battle of Friedland . Frederick William and Queen Louise met with Napoleon for peace negotiations, and on 9 July the Prussian king signed the Treaty of Tilsit . The succeeding Prussian reforms instigated by Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein and Karl August von Hardenberg included the implementation of an Oberlandesgericht appellation court at Königsberg,
3451-744: The Western Front according to the Schlieffen Plan . Despite early success and the capture of the towns of Rastenburg and Gumbinnen , in the Battle of Tannenberg in 1914 and the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes in 1915, the Russians were decisively defeated and forced to retreat. The Russians were followed by the German Army advancing into Russian territory. After the Russian army's first invasion
3570-465: The unification of Germany in 1871. From 1885 to 1890 Berlin 's population grew by 20%, Brandenburg and the Rhineland gained 8.5%, Westphalia 10%, while East Prussia lost 0.07% and West Prussia 0.86%. This stagnancy in population despite a high birth surplus in eastern Germany was because many people from the East Prussian countryside moved westward to seek work in the expanding industrial centres of
3689-586: The "Erich Koch Plan" for East Prussia allegedly made the province free of unemployment : on 16 August 1933 Koch reported to Hitler that unemployment had been banished entirely from the province, a feat that gained admiration throughout the Reich . In actuality, the Erich Koch Plan had been a staged propaganda event organized by Walther Funk and the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda to promote
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3808-400: The 13th century and created a monastic state to administer the conquered Old Prussians . Local Old-Prussian (north) and Polish (south) toponyms were gradually Germanised. The Knights' expansionist policies, including occupation of Polish Pomerania with Gdańsk/Danzig and western Lithuania, brought them into conflict with the Kingdom of Poland and embroiled them in several wars, culminating in
3927-656: The 13th century, the region of Prussia was part of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights . After the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466 it became a part of the Kingdom of Poland , either directly ( Warmia ) or as a fief (remainder). In 1525, with the Prussian Homage , the territory became the Duchy of Prussia , a vassal duchy of Poland. The Old Prussian language had become extinct by the 17th or early 18th century. Because
4046-564: The Eastern Railway connected at a level junction near Stralau Rummelsburg station . From 1 May 1888, trains could run through the Silesian Station over the Berlin Stadtbahn to the centre of Berlin and the lines to its west. Shortly afterwards another pair of tracks was added to the northern half of the Ringbahn to allow suburban trains to run independently of long-distance traffic. The interweaving of long-distance and suburban tracks at
4165-452: The Eastern Railway in recent years was the D-448/449 night train ( Stanislaw Moniuszko ), linking Berlin-Lichtenberg and Warsaw , which ran on the line as far as Piła Główna until 2009. Additionally, through carriages ran on the line to Gdynia , Kaliningrad and Kraków . The section within the current borders of Germany that connects Berlin with the Polish border near Küstrin-Kietz is now
4284-473: The Eastern Railway was a strategically important route on the basis of its orientation, work continued on this project despite the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1944, the predominantly suburban single-track line to Strausberg was put into operation, but services continued to be operated with steam trains. Electrical operations commenced in 1947–1948 in four stages. The S-Bahn route was later extended on
4403-595: The German civilian population until the Eastern Front approached the East Prussian border in 1944. The population had been systematically misinformed by Endsieg Nazi propaganda about the real state of military affairs. As a result, many civilians fleeing westward were overtaken by retreating Wehrmacht units and the rapidly advancing Red Army . Reports of Soviet atrocities in the Nemmersdorf massacre of October 1944 and organized rape spread fear and desperation among
4522-529: The German inhabitants, which then consisted primarily of women, children and old men, did manage to escape the Red Army as part of the largest exodus of people in human history: "A population which had stood at 2.2 million in 1940 was reduced to 193,000 at the end of May 1945." Following Nazi Germany 's defeat in World War II in 1945, East Prussia was partitioned between Poland and the Soviet Union according to
4641-631: The Nazi Party's work creation policies, with East Prussia chosen because it already had relatively low unemployment due to its agrarian economy. Koch's industrialization plans provoked conflict with Richard Walther Darré , who held the office of the Reich Peasant Leader ( Reichsbauernführer ) and Minister of Agriculture. Darré, a neopaganist rural romantic, wanted to enforce his vision of an agricultural East Prussia. When his "Land" representatives challenged Koch's plans, Koch arrested them. In 1938
4760-454: The Polish Commission for the Determination of Place Names , though in most cases it was a restoration of historic Polish names. During the Polish post-war census of December 1950, data about the pre-war places of residence of the inhabitants as of August 1939 was collected. In case of children born between September 1939 and December 1950, their origin was reported based on the pre-war places of residence of their mothers. Thanks to this data it
4879-443: The Polish Kingdom, by joining forces with the Swedes and subsequent treaties of Wehlau , Labiau , and Oliva , Elector and Duke Frederick William succeeded in revoking the king of Poland's sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia in 1660. There was strong opposition to the separation of the region from Poland, especially in Königsberg (Polish: Królewiec ). A confederation was formed in the city to maintain Poland's sovereignty over
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4998-517: The Province of East Prussia was joined with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia . The Polish and Lithuanian populations were subjected to Germanisation policies, and later to outright persecution. The Kingdom of Prussia became the leading state of the German Empire after its creation in 1871. However, the Treaty of Versailles following World War I granted West Prussia to Poland and made East Prussia an exclave of Weimar Germany (the so-called Polish Corridor separated East Prussia from
5117-450: The Prussian Minister of Commerce and Industry—and therefore responsible for railways—led to progress on the issue. In August 1849, Von der Heydt laid before the diet a draft law for the construction of the Eastern Railway, which was adopted on 7 December 1849. Previously, on 5 November 1849, the Railway division of the Eastern Railway ( Königliche Direktion der Ostbahn ) had been established in Bromberg. Minister von der Heydt then initiated
5236-422: The Prussian provinces from Berlin. Freight traffic exceeded projections by several times. This was mostly made up of agricultural products such as livestock, grain and vegetables. The disruption of river traffic by the frequent low water levels in the Oder , Vistula and Warthe rivers or their freezing in the winter months led to periodic spikes in freight traffic on the Eastern Railway. The Eastern Railway itself
5355-561: The Reich's statistics of late 1939 show that only 31,000 out of 994,092 people in this territory were ethnic Germans. In the annexed pre-war Polish territory, the Polish population was subjected to various crimes , including mass arrests, roundups , deportations to forced labour and concentration camps (including teenagers), executions, massacres (also as part of the Intelligenzaktion and Aktion T4 ) and expulsions . The Jews were confined in ghettos and afterwards deported either deported to extermination camps or massacred in
5474-452: The Ringbahn were each given a platform for suburban traffic. This development made Stralau-Rummelsburg station one of the biggest stations in Berlin. In 1933 its name was changed to Ostkreuz . In the mid-1920s, extensive electrification began on the Berlin suburban lines. Electrification of the Eastern Railway was completed on 6 November 1928. Operation of a mixture of steam and electric trains continued until January 1929. On 15 December 1930,
5593-406: The Teutonic Knights. 1466 and 1525 arrangements by kings of Poland were not verified by the Holy Roman Empire , as well as the previous gains of the Teutonic Knights , were not verified. The Teutonic Order lost eastern Prussia when Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach converted to Lutheranism and secularized the Prussian branch of the Teutonic Order in 1525. Albert established himself as
5712-453: The ancestral lands of the Baltic Old Prussians were enclosed within East Prussia. During the 13th century , the native Prussians were conquered by the crusading Teutonic Knights . After the conquest the indigenous Balts were gradually converted to Christianity . Because of Germanization and colonisation over the following centuries, Germans became the dominant ethnic group, while Poles and Lithuanians formed sizeable minorities. From
5831-419: The area, initially organised as the Masurian District , later replaced by the Olsztyn Voivodeship in 1947, with a few counties incorporated into Białystok Voivodeship and to Gdańsk Voivodeship . The latter counted in 1950 689,000 inhabitants, 22.6% of them coming from areas annexed by the Soviet Union, 10% Ukrainians, and 18.5% of them pre-war inhabitants. It was dissolved in 1975 to form three smaller units:
5950-478: The backdrop of the Polish-Soviet War in which the Second Polish Republic appeared to be on the brink of defeat, the East Prussian plebiscite in eastern West Prussia and southern East Prussia was held under Allied supervision to determine if the areas should join Poland or remain in the Weimar Germany Province of East Prussia. 96.7% of the people voted to remain within Germany (97.89% in the East Prussian plebiscite district). The Klaipėda Territory (Memelland),
6069-441: The border between Kaliningrad Oblast and Lithuania . The Klaipėda Region ( German : Memelland ) was a portion of the province to the north of the Neman river. Adjacent to the Curonian Lagoon and the lower reaches of the Neman river could be found the Elchniederung [ de ] , a vast partially-drained bog , much of it below sea-level. Further south, the region becomes more hilly, with fewer bogs and more lakes. To
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#17328693502786188-435: The border station at Chernyshevskoye because Nesterov station did not provide sufficient capacity. The section from Mamonovo ( Heiligenbeil ) until shortly before Kaliningrad has a main track in Russian broad gauge and formerly had a standard gauge track. While the broad gauge track follows the traditional route from the west to Kaliningrad South Station (formerly Königsberg Hauptbahnhof ), the other track diverted south around
6307-452: The border then called Virbalis in Lithuanian (German: Wirballen, Russian: Verzhbolovo, Вержболово, Polish: Wierzbałowo), now called Kybartai . Later the gauge-conversion of carriages on through trains to the broad gauge tracks of the Russian Railways was carried out there. In 1871, the 34 km shorter Schneidemühl–Konitz–Dirschau line was built parallel, bypassing Bromberg. After the completion of these sections work began with duplicating
6426-417: The bridge over the Vistula to the south of Danzig near Dirschau Conflicts over the use of the railway during the interwar period were declared by Nazi Germany as part of the causes of World War II . By contrast, the over 1,000 metre-long steel bridge built between 1905 and 1909 over the Vistula near Münsterwalde (Polish: Most w Opaleniu) was dismantled from 1927 to 1929, because the Poles had no use for
6545-415: The capital, Berlin , with the cities of Danzig (now Gdańsk , Poland) and Königsberg (now Kaliningrad , Russia). At Eydtkuhnen (now Chernyshevskoye , Russia) it reached the German Empire 's border with the Russian Empire . The first part of the line opened in 1851, reaching Eydtkuhnen in 1860. By March 1880 the total route length reached 2,210 kilometers (1,370 mi), with a main parallel route in
6664-430: The central portion of the province. In the southernmost regions, the rivers flow to the south, emptying into the Narew and Vistula rivers. The highest elevation of East Prussia at 312 meters above sea level was Dylewska Góra ( German : Kernsdorfer Höhe ), found in the southwest near the border with West Prussia. At the instigation of Duke Konrad I of Masovia , the Teutonic Knights took possession of Prussia in
6783-508: The cession on 30 September 1772, whereafter Frederick officially went on to call himself a King "of" Prussia. The former Ducal Prussian districts of Eylau (Iława), Marienwerder, Riesenburg (Prabuty) and Schönberg (Szymbark) passed to West Prussia. Until the Prussian reforms of 1808, the administration in East Prussia was transferred to the General War and Finance Directorate in Berlin , represented by two local chamber departments: On 31 January 1773, King Frederick II announced that
6902-589: The cities of Ciechanów , Ostrołęka , Płock and Suwałki . Hitler's top-secret Eastern front headquarters during the war, the Wolf's Lair , was located in the village of Gierłoż . The Polish resistance was active in the province, both in the annexed pre-war territory of Poland, and in the pre-war territory of East Prussia, with activities in the latter including distribution of Polish underground press , sabotage actions, executions of Nazis, theft of German weapons, ammunition and equipment, and organization of transports of POWs who escaped German POW camps via
7021-448: The city and reached the station from the east. An important branch of the line was the 290 km long line between Thorn and Insterburg created in 1871–1873 after Thorn was connected with Bromberg in 1861. Founded in 1846, the Stargard-Posen Railway Company ( Stargard-Posener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , SPE) built a 170 km-long single-track main line, which connected the two provincial capitals of Stettin and Posen. The route crossed
7140-451: The city and region. The Brandenburg Elector and his army, however, entered the city and abducted and imprisoned the leader of the city's anti-Elector opposition Hieronymus Roth . In 1663, the city burghers, forced by Elector Frederick William, swore an oath of allegiance to him, however, in the same ceremony they still also pledged allegiance to Poland. The absolutist elector also subdued the noble estates of Prussia. Although Brandenburg
7259-465: The civilians. Thousands lost their lives during the sinkings (by Soviet submarine) of the evacuation ships Wilhelm Gustloff , the Goya , and the General von Steuben . Königsberg surrendered on 9 April 1945, following the desperate four-day Battle of Königsberg . An estimated 300,000 died either in wartime bombing raids, in the battles to defend the province, or through mistreatment by the Red Army or from hunger, cold and disease. However, most of
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#17328693502787378-447: The company name was still used in July 1886. Other important lines of the Eastern Railroad were: While the traffic to the east was limited mostly to long-distance services, upgrading of the line began in Berlin. First, the tracks of the Berlin Ringbahn (the circular railway, the eastern section of which opened in 1871), the Lower Silesian-Märkische Railway ( Niederschlesisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft ) from Frankfurt (Oder) and
7497-415: The completion of the railway bridges over the Vistula in September 1857 and over the Nogat on 12 October 1857, the 18 km long Dirschau–Malbork line was completed. At the same time, the 29 km long direct line from Frankfurt (Oder) via Lebus to Küstrin as well as the 105 km line from Küstrin via Landsberg an der Warthe to Kreuz was opened. Berlin was therefore reached by a shorter route via
7616-414: The direct line between Berlin and Königsberg was opened from Gusow to Berlin East station ( Berlin Ostbahnhof ) via Strausberg . The line was extended from Königsberg on 6 June 1860 to Insterburg via Gumbinnen , Trakehnen and Stalluponen and extended to Eydtkuhnen on the Russian frontier on 15 August 1860, a total distance of 153 km. Transhipments and transfers took place at the station over
7735-407: The duchy was outside of the core Holy Roman Empire , the prince-electors of Brandenburg were able to proclaim themselves King beginning in 1701. After the annexation of most of western Royal Prussia in the First Partition of Poland in 1772, eastern (ducal) Prussia was connected by land with the rest of the Prussian state and was reorganized as a province the following year. Between 1829 and 1878,
7854-404: The early years as a means of developing the underdeveloped areas of East Prussia and Pomerania . A lack of interest from the private sector led King Frederick William IV to initiate in 1845 preparatory work for the construction of the Eastern Railway. Construction was stopped, as the members of the provincial diet ( Provinziallandtag ) of East Prussia refused consent for the king to borrow for
7973-453: The east, near the modern Polish-Russian border, was the Romincka Forest ( German : Rominter Heide ), a famous hunting-ground for Prussian nobility. On the eastern end of the forest is Lake Vištytis ( German : Wystiter See ), and to the south are the Szeskie Hills [ pl ] ( German : Seesker Höhen ). The Angrapa river ( German : Angerapp ), a tributary of the Pregel, flows out Lake Mamry ( German : Mauersee ) on
8092-408: The extension necessary was the need to ensure adequate space to base the burgeoning Eastern Railway Headquarters in Bydgoszcz, which managed the construction, operation and maintenance of railway traffic in the eastern provinces of Prussia (east of Berlin). The station was rebuilt in 1861 and 1870, the latter providing the station with increased passenger processing facilities. In 1888, the station
8211-427: The feeble-minded Albert Frederick . The Administrator of Prussia, the grandmaster of the Teutonic Order Maximilian III , son of emperor Maximilian II died in 1618. When Maximilian died, Albert's line died out, and the Duchy of Prussia passed to the Electors of Brandenburg, forming Brandenburg-Prussia . Taking advantage of the Swedish invasion of Poland in 1655 , and instead of fulfilling his vassal's duties towards
8330-403: The first duke of the Duchy of Prussia and a vassal of the Polish crown by the Prussian Homage . Walter von Cronberg , the next Grand Master, was enfeoffed with the title to Prussia after the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, but the Order never regained possession of the territory. In 1569 the Hohenzollern prince-electors of the Margraviate of Brandenburg became co-regents with Albert's son,
8449-450: The first section via Dirschau to Danzig (161 km) was completed on 6 August 1852. During this time, trains between Kreuz and Berlin ran via the Berlin-Stettin railway and the Stargard–Posen line. Beyond the Nogat and Vistula rivers, the railway continued to be built from Marienburg via Elbing to Braunsberg (83.75 km); it was opened on 19 October 1852. It was extended to Königsberg (62 km) on 2 August 1853. After
8568-615: The headquarters of the SA, which used the house to imprison and torture its opponents. Walter Schütz , a communist member of the Reichstag , was murdered here. This period was characterized by efforts to collectivize the local agriculture and ruthlessness in dealing with his critics inside and outside the Nazi Party . He also had long-term plans for mass-scale industrialization of the largely agricultural province. These actions made him unpopular among
8687-495: The junction of the Lower Silesian-Märkische railway and the Eastern Railway led to increasing congestion. The location of the intersection with the Ringbahn had insufficient space, so a new grade-separated junction was built on the main line from Frankfurt (Oder) 2 km away at Rummelsburg depot . From there a line ran to the northeast to connect with the main line just to the west of Kaulsdorf . An additional platform
8806-500: The last speakers of Old Prussian . The plague, probably brought by foreign troops during the Great Northern War , killed 250,000 East Prussians, especially in the province's eastern regions. Crown Prince Frederick William I led the rebuilding of East Prussia, founding numerous towns. In 1724, Frederick William I prohibited Poles , Samogitians and Jews from settling in Lithuania Minor, and initiated German colonization to change
8925-529: The line and since 1849 he had been in the technical management of the Railway division of the Eastern Railway. One of his successors was Albert von Maybach (1863–1867), previously Chairman of the Board of the Upper Silesian Railway ( Oberschlesische Eisenbahn ). On 1 October 1866, an 18 km of the line was opened towards Berlin from Küstrin to Gusow and, on 1 October 1867, the last 64 km section of
9044-462: The line from Küstrin east. The route from Berlin to Kustrin however, was already duplicated. In addition, there were several sections of line built parallel with the main line over short sections. In 1882, the Silesian station ( Schlesischer Bahnhof ) was opened as the new terminus for the line in Berlin and the old East Station was closed. Once completed to the east, the Eastern Railway line opened up
9163-643: The local peasants. In 1932 the local paramilitary SA had already started to terrorise their political opponents. On the night of 31 July 1932 there was a bomb attack on the headquarters of the Social Democrats in Königsberg, the Otto-Braun-House . The Communist politician Gustav Sauf was killed; the executive editor of the Social Democratic newspaper "Königsberger Volkszeitung" , Otto Wyrgatsch ; and
9282-599: The main line of the Eastern Railway at Kreuz station. Because the company's revenue in the early days did not meet expectations, the government took over the SPE in 1851 and placed it in the Royal Railway Division of the Eastern Railroad in Bromberg, then in 1857 it was also temporarily managed by the state-owned Upper Silesian Railway ( Oberschlesischen Eisenbahn ). It was formally nationalised on 1 January 1883, although
9401-555: The majority of the civilian population fled westwards, while several thousand remaining civilians were deported to Russia. Treatment of civilians by both armies was mostly disciplined, although 74 civilians were killed by Russian troops in the Abschwangen massacre . The region had to be rebuilt because of damage caused by the war. With the forced abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 , Germany became
9520-475: The network to 4,833 route kilometers in 1895. At this time Berlin was served by seven daily long-distance freight trains from eastern Germany and, in long-distance passenger traffic, fifteen trains ran daily to East Prussia. Since 1892, “D-trains” ( D-Züge : long-distance expresses) also ran on the Eastern Railway. After the First World War the Prussian state railways, including the Eastern Railway, along with
9639-679: The newly annexed lands were to be known as the Province of West Prussia , while the former Duchy of Prussia and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia became the Province of East Prussia . After the disastrous defeat of the Royal Prussian Army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806, Napoleon occupied Berlin and had the officials of the Prussian General Directorate swear an oath of allegiance to him, while King Frederick William III and his consort Louise fled via Königsberg and
9758-658: The northeast in ( Lithuania Minor ). The Old Prussian ethnic group became completely Germanized over time and the Old Prussian language died out in the 18th century. At the German entry into World War I , East Prussia became a theatre of war when the Russian Empire invaded the country. The Imperial Russian Army encountered at first little resistance because the bulk of the Imperial German Army had been directed towards
9877-434: The northeast. Most German East Prussians, Masurians, Kursieniki, and Lietuvininkai were Lutheran, while the population of Warmia was mainly Roman Catholic due to the history of its bishopric. The East Prussian Jewish Congregation declined from about 9,000 in 1933 to 3,000 in 1939, as most fled from Nazi rule. During World War II , the Polish ethnic minorities of Catholic Warmians and Lutheran Masurians were persecuted by
9996-540: The northern end of the Masurian Lake District . The largest lake in the province was Śniardwy ( German : Spirdingsee ), at 113.8 square kilometers in area. The headwaters of the Pregel's numerous tributaries were found in southern East Prussia, with the longest, the Łyna ( German : Alle ), extending almost to the southern border with Congress Poland , winding its course northward through southern Warmia and
10115-622: The northwesternmost coastal parts approached an oceanic climate . In the northwest, the province bordered the Baltic Sea , with the Vistula Spit and Curonian Spit separating the sea itself from the Vistula Lagoon and Curonian Lagoon , respectively. The Sambia Peninsula ( German : Samland ) juts into the Baltic Sea between these two lagoons. Most of the rivers of East Prussia emptied into
10234-512: The only part of the former Eastern Railway to remain in Germany is the section from Berlin to the Oder River near Küstrin. This, along with the sections now located on Polish or Russian territory, is mostly operated as a single-track branch line. Some formerly important international stations, such as Eydtkuhnen, no longer exist or have only a very minor role. The only international long-distance train on
10353-459: The other German state railways were incorporated into the newly created Deutsche Reichsbahn . Under the Treaty of Versailles the Polish Corridor was created in 1919, separating the Free City of Danzig and East Prussia from Germany , leaving East Prussia as an exclave . The Eastern Railway line became a major transit link between East Prussia and the rest of Germany. This caused a bottleneck at
10472-540: The ports of Gdańsk and Gdynia to neutral Sweden . East Prussia was only slightly affected by the war until January 1945, when it was devastated during the East Prussian Offensive . Most of its inhabitants became refugees in bitterly cold weather during the Evacuation of East Prussia . In 1944 the medieval city of Königsberg , which had never been severely damaged by warfare in its 700 years of existence,
10591-478: The process of Germanization . The Polish-speaking population concentrated in the south of the province ( Masuria and Warmia) and all German geographic atlases at the start of 20th century showed the southern part of East Prussia as Polish with the number of Polish-speakers estimated at the time to be 300,000. Kursenieki inhabited the areas around the Curonian lagoon, while Lithuanian-speaking Prussians concentrated in
10710-573: The project. This vote was confirmed in the United Diet ( Vereinigter Landtag ), the first parliamentary body covering all of Prussia, which was convened in April 1847 and subsequently dissolved. Members voted by a two-thirds majority against authorising a government loan for the Eastern Railway project. Only the events of the March Revolution of 1848 and the appointment of banker August von der Heydt as
10829-456: The province, through mistreatment by the Red Army, or from hunger, cold and disease. The landscape of East Prussia consisted of gently rolling plains and small hills, with flatter terrain in the north and more hills in the south. The province had a humid continental climate which was most pronounced in Lithuania Minor and at higher elevations in the south in the region of Masuria , while
10948-471: The province. Pre-war Polish citizens made up the majority of forced laborers in the province, with their numbers gradually increasing, but due to the influx of forced laborers of other nationalities, their overall percentage declined from 90% in 1940 to 62% in 1944. Most Polish forced laborers in the province were deported from the pre-war Polish territories annexed into the province by Germany, with German labor offices recruiting forced laborers established in
11067-466: The region's ethnic composition. Thousands of Protestants expelled from the Archbishopric of Salzburg were allowed to settle in depleted East Prussia. In 1756 Russia decided to go to war with the Kingdom of Prussia and annex the territory, which was then to be offered to Poland as part of a territorial exchange desired by Russia, however, ultimately Russia only occupied the region for four years during
11186-656: The region. Germany operated the Soldau and Hohenbruch [ de ] concentration camps, mostly for Poles, multiple subcamps of the Stutthof concentration camp and several prisoner-of-war camps , including Stalag I-A , Stalag I-B , Stalag I-C, Stalag I-D, Stalag I-E, Stalag I-F , Stalag Luft VI , Oflag 52, Oflag 53, Oflag 60, Oflag 63 and Oflag 68 with multiple subcamps, for Polish, Belgian, French , British, Serbian, Soviet, Italian , American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander, South African, Czech and other Allied POWs in
11305-522: The reorganisation of the Prussian state railways in 1895. The Eastern Railway was at the time one of the major long-distance rail routes in Europe and one of the main axes for east–west traffic. Several international trains ran on it, including the legendary luxury train, the Nord Express , the latter in the "golden age" before the First World War. The development of the main railways and branch lines extended
11424-518: The rest of Germany), while the Memel Territory , part of the Lithuania Minor region, was detached and annexed by Lithuania in 1923. Following Nazi Germany 's defeat in World War II in 1945, war-torn East Prussia was divided at Joseph Stalin 's insistence between the Soviet Union (the Kaliningrad Oblast became part of the Russian SFSR , and the constituent counties of the Klaipėda Region in
11543-537: The rest of Poland from the Baltic coast. The territory of Warmia was incorporated into the lands of former Ducal Prussia, which, by administrative deed of 31 January 1772 were named East Prussia . The former Polish Pomerelian lands beyond the Vistula River together with Malbork and Chełmno Land formed the Province of West Prussia with its capital at Marienwerder (Kwidzyn) in 1773. The Polish Partition Sejm ratified
11662-447: The restart of the construction of the Eastern Railway with funds from the "Railway Fund". In 1848, construction had already been completed of the main line of the private Stargard-Posen Railway Company ( Stargard-Posener Eisenbahn ), between Stargard and Posen . This line is now part of the Poznań – Szczecin railway. In the middle of the line near the village of Lukatz, a railway station
11781-523: The rulers of Nazi Germany were sent to concentration camps and held prisoner there until their death or liberation. After the 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania , the Klaipėda region was integrated again into East Prussia. After the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany opening World War II, the borders of East Prussia were revised. Regierungsbezirk Westpreußen became part of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia , while Regierungsbezirk Zichenau ( Ciechanów )
11900-400: The south via Bromberg (now Bydgoszcz , Poland) and Thorn (now Toruń , Poland) to Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk , Russia). The lines were the first part of the later Prussian State Railways ( German : Preußische Staatseisenbahnen ). From about 1840, the Prussian military urgently sought a railway connection to the Russian border for strategic reasons. The railway was also seen from
12019-443: The station was carried out in 1968, giving it a modern form. The steep roof of the building with its clock tower was removed, and the glazed front elevation reconstructed. A pedestrian subway was built beneath Sigismund Augustus street, and the station lawn was removed in favour of a parking lot for cars and buses. In 2013 PKP appointed Ernst & Young and WS Atkins to undertake a feasibility study for an EU-supported modernisation of
12138-460: The station, planned for 2013–2015. The station is served by the following services: 53°08′07″N 17°59′29″E / 53.13528°N 17.99139°E / 53.13528; 17.99139 Prussian Eastern Railway The Prussian Eastern Railway ( German : Preußische Ostbahn ) was a railway in the Kingdom of Prussia and later Germany until 1918. Its main route, approximately 740 kilometers (460 mi) long, connected
12257-427: The suburban services were designated as S-Bahn services as far as Mahlsdorf station . The long-distance platform was removed at Kaulsdorf station. The Germania plan of the Nazis envisioned a comprehensive upgrading of the line. The train was to be extended to Strausberg or Rüdersdorf south of the line. Another pair of long-distance tracks would have been built as far as the Berlin city limits at Mahlsdorf. Since
12376-519: The summer of 1945. Many more were prevented from returning, and the German population of East Prussia was almost completely expelled by the communist regimes. During the war and for some time thereafter 45 camps were established for about 200,000-250,000 forced labourers, the vast majority of whom were deported to the Soviet Union, including the Gulag camp system. The largest camp with about 48,000 inmates
12495-546: The timetable, but the change is considered a sign of an incipient upgrade of the Eastern Railway. The line in Poland from Kostrzyn to Piła is double track except for a short section at the eastern exit of Gorzów station. The line is single track from Piła to Gutowiec . The line is now duplicated again from Gutowiec to Bogaczewo . It is single track from Bogaczewo to the national border with Russia in Braniewo. From Elbląg to Kaliningrad,
12614-696: The two lagoons; the Pregolya ( German : Pregel ), Pasłęka ( German : Passarge ), and Prokhladnaya ( German : Frisching ) into the Vistula Lagoon, and the Neman ( German : Memel ) and Minija ( German : Minge ) into the Curonian Lagoon. In the northeast of the province, the river Šešupė ( German : Scheschuppe ), a left-tributary of the Neman, formed the border with the Russian Empire , and today forms
12733-486: Was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic 's Free State of Prussia , until 1945. Its capital city was Königsberg (present-day Kaliningrad ). East Prussia was the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast . The bulk of
12852-767: Was a part of the Holy Roman Empire , the Prussian lands were not within the Holy Roman Empire and were with the administration by the Teutonic Order grandmasters under jurisdiction of the Emperor. In return for supporting Emperor Leopold I in the War of the Spanish Succession , Elector Frederick III was allowed to crown himself " King in Prussia " in 1701. The new kingdom ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty became known as
12971-695: Was added to East Prussia. Originally part of the Zichenau region, the Sudauen ( Suwałki ) district in Sudovia was later transferred to the Gumbinnen region. In 1939 East Prussia had 2.49 million inhabitants, 85% of them ethnic Germans, the others Poles in the south who, according to Polish estimates numbered in the interwar period around 300,000-350,000, the Latvian speaking Kursenieki , and Lietuvininkai who spoke Lithuanian in
13090-399: Was almost completely destroyed by two RAF Bomber Command raids – the first on the night of 26/27 August 1944, with the second one three nights later, overnight on 29/30 August 1944. Winston Churchill ( The Second World War , Book XII) had erroneously believed it to be "a modernized heavily defended fortress " and ordered its destruction. Gauleiter Erich Koch delayed the evacuation of
13209-632: Was also a significant economic factor. Its construction during an economic crisis created jobs on a large scale. At the height of its construction in June 1851, 12,000 workers were employed on building its track. The Royal Railway division of the Eastern Railway in Bromberg ( Bydgoszcz ) established ten operating offices in Berlin, Schneidemühl, Stolp , Danzig, Königsberg , Allenstein , Thorn , Bromberg, Stettin, and Posen. In 1880, its rolling stock included 265 passenger and express locomotives, 320 freight locomotives and 93 tank locomotives . A local railway industry
13328-479: Was created at a junction of a line to Küstrin . From this same station, the first 145 km long section of the Eastern Railway was built via Schneidemühl to Bromberg ; this was opened on 27 July 1851. The station near Lukatz was later called Kreuz (cross), which, from 1936, was the official name of the town. It became an important railway junction. It is now called Krzyż Wielkopolski in Polish . The continuation of
13447-557: Was established at Deutsch Eylau (Iława). Orphaned children who were left behind in the zone occupied by the Soviet Union were referred to as Wolf children . Representatives of the Polish government officially took over the civilian administration of the southern part of East Prussia on 23 May 1945. Subsequently, Polish expatriates from Polish lands annexed by the Soviet Union as well as Ukrainians and Lemkos from southern Poland, expelled in Operation Vistula , were settled in
13566-541: Was established to supply the Eastern Railway. In 1855, the Union-Gießerei (foundry) Königsberg began to build locomotives; the Schichau-Werke (works) of Ferdinand Schichau of Elbing followed its example in 1860. The Königsberg agricultural equipment manufacturer L. Steinfurt built freight wagons and passenger carriages. Further independent railway divisions were created in Bromberg, Danzig, Königsberg and Posen under
13685-483: Was formalised in the Second Peace of Toruń in 1466 ending the Thirteen Years' War . The restoration of Pomerania/ Pomerelia to Poland was confirmed, and Warmia also was confirmed part of Poland, with both co-forming the larger Polish provinces of Royal Prussia and Greater Poland . The remainder of historic Prussia also became a part of "one and indivisible" Kingdom of Poland as a fief and protectorate held by
13804-488: Was linked with the centre of the city by trams, initially using horse traction, and then, from 1896, using a new electrically operated and powered generation of trams . In 1889 officials of the Directorate of Railways left the station premises and moved to a newly built building on Dworcowa Street. In 1910, after a fire at the station, work began on an entirely new building. This was completed in 1915. The new station building
13923-452: Was of massive construction with a hipped roof and square tower in the middle of which was a large clock. On the square in front of the station the decorative lawn was retained, for the use of city residents and visitors; this was then replanted in 1926 in a more ornate form. The railway station building survived the whole interwar period in that design, sustaining only minor damage during the course of World War II. The final reconstruction of
14042-444: Was opened at Kaulsdorf station in 1901 for the traffic on this line, known as the VnK line . “Vn” may have stood for Verbindung nach (connection to) or von und nach (from and to) while K probably stood for Kaulsdorf or Küstrin. The old platform was left on the original line for suburban services to the Ringbahn. To the west of this was the link with the Stadtbahn suburban tracks. In 1903,
14161-553: Was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. Most of the German population of the province had left during the evacuation at the end of the war, but several hundreds of thousands died during the years 1944–46 and the remainder were subsequently expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement . Shortly after the end of the war in May 1945, Germans who had fled in early 1945 tried to return to their homes in East Prussia. An estimated number of 800,000 Germans were living in East Prussia during
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