141-662: The Karlsruhe–Mühlacker railway is a railway line in the west of the German state of Baden-Württemberg . It was built between 1859 and 1863 and is one of the oldest railways in Germany . It was built as the second connection between the networks of the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railway and the Royal Württemberg State Railways and it still constitutes an important east–west route in southern Germany. The starting point at
282-424: 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")
423-675: A bill of eleven billion Goldmarks to be paid to the Allied powers, while its original capital was valued at fifteen billion Goldmarks. These terms were later amended in the Young Plan . Nevertheless, the Great Depression and the regular payment of war reparations (about 660 million Reichsmarks annually) put a considerable strain on the Reichsbahn. Not until the Lausanne Conference of 1932
564-456: A law was enacted providing for the establishment of a state-owned Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft ("German Imperial Railway Company", DRG) as a public holding company to operate the national railways. The aim was to earn profits which, under the Dawes Plan, were to be used to contribute to Germany's war reparations. At the same time as the Reichsbahn law was enacted, the company was handed
705-501: 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
846-571: 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
987-616: 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
1128-427: 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
1269-507: A rolling memorial to the thousands of youth and children who were deported from all over Europe, many via the Reichsbahn , to the camps. A certain amount of controversy has surrounded the train's tour through Germany, in part because of the apparent lack of cooperation on the part of Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG) concerning such matters as compensation for the use of the DB AG's right of way (during
1410-590: A self-declared socialist state, the German Democratic Republic (commonly known as East Germany), on 7 October 1949. One month prior, on 7 September 1949, the railway systems in the three western zones (the Federal Republic of Germany ), were reunified and renamed the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB – German Federal Railways). On the formation of East Germany on 7 October 1949, the railway system in
1551-613: A very different purpose. Taking lead from the German Labor Front, the Deutsche Reichsbahn took part in the conflict of intermarriage in Germany. In August 1933 Robert Ley, leader of Reich Labor, demanded that those administrators working for the German Labor Front be married only to German individuals. The Deutsche Reichsbahn took the lead in discriminating against intermarried workers, firing German employees married to Jews and forbidding intermarried Germans from working there in
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#17330846763481692-546: Is called Remchingen by the Karlsruhe Transport Association ( Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund ) for Stadtbahn services, while Deutsche Bahn uses the old name for its services. The Stadtbahn track between Grötzingen and Söllingen is operated by AVG as a single-track branch line. There are passing loops at Krappmühlenweg and Berghausen. In Söllingen a two-track terminus has been built. In Grötzingen station and north of Söllingen Reetzstraße station there are crossovers to
1833-579: Is included in the Pforzheim-Enz District Transport Association ( Verkehrsverbund Pforzheim-Enzkreis ). The line is also used for freight, including complete trains running from the Karlsruhe refinery to Ingolstadt. Of the intermediate stations, freight traffic only serves Pforzheim station. However, freight wagons are sometimes parked at Wilferdingen-Singen station. German state The Federal Republic of Germany , as
1974-429: 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,
2115-650: 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
2256-404: 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
2397-606: The Polnischen Staatsbahnen (PKP) , but from November 1939 by the Ostbahn (Generalgouvernement). In the campaigns against Poland , Denmark , France, Yugoslavia , Greece etc. the newly acquired standard gauge networks could be used without difficulty. By contrast, after the start of the invasion of Russia on 22 June 1941, the problem arose of transferring troops and materiel to Soviet broad gauge lines or converting them to German standard gauge. Confounding German plans,
2538-626: The Schienenzeppelin in its record run on 21 June 1931 when it reached a top speed of 230.2 km/h (143.0 mph). Before the Second World War the most important railway lines ran in an east–west direction. The high-speed lines at that time were on the Prussian Eastern Railway which ran through the Polish corridor (albeit slower there due to the poor state of the tracks),
2679-543: The Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft was placed under Reich sovereignty and was given the name Deutsche Reichsbahn . The Reichsbahn had an important logistic role in supporting the rapid movement of the troops of the Wehrmacht , for example: In all the occupied lands the Reichsbahn endeavoured to incorporate the captured railways (rolling stock and infrastructure) into their system. Even towards
2820-556: The Reichsbahn were crucial to the conduct of Germany's military offensives. The preparations for the invasion of Russia saw the greatest troop deployment by rail in history. Characteristic of the first six and a half years of this period was the exponential growth of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , which was almost exclusively due to the takeover of other national railways. This affected both parts of foreign state railways (in Austria
2961-819: The Reichsbahn-Generaldirektion in the British Zone under Director General Max Leibbrand in Bielefeld. In the French Occupation Zone, the railways were grouped into the Operating Association of the Southwest German Railways ( Betriebsvereinigung der Südwestdeutschen Eisenbahnen ) with its headquarters in Speyer. The Operating Association included the railway divisions of Karlsruhe (in
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#17330846763483102-642: The Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (Alb Valley Transport Company, AVG) began running between Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof and Pforzheim in 1991. Full Stadtbahn operations commenced on 31 May 1997. This service switches between the single track Stadtbahn line and the double-track main line operated by Deutsche Bahn in Söllingen. The operation of local services on the Karlsruhe–Pforzheim line in is now carried out as Stadtbahn line S5, but it no longer runs to
3243-673: The Baden end was originally Durlach , where it connects with the Rhine Valley Railway . The line was later extended to the old Karlsruhe station. From Durlach the line runs through the Pfinz and Kämpfelbach valleys, passing over the watershed between the Rhine and Neckar in a tunnel near Pforzheim , and follows the Enz river east of Pforzheim to Mühlacker . Since the end of 2010, Deutsche Bahn has called
3384-586: The Bundesrat . In the wake of the stipulations of the Weimar Constitution of 11 August 1919, the state treaty on the foundation of the Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen ("German Reich Railways") came into force on 1 April 1920. This resulted in the merger of the existing state railways ( Länderbahnen ) of Prussia , Bavaria , Saxony , Württemberg , Baden , Mecklenburg and Oldenburg under
3525-635: 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
3666-662: 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
3807-735: 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
3948-580: 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
4089-661: 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
4230-631: The Red Army and Soviet railways managed to withdraw or destroy the majority of its rolling stock during its retreat . As a result, German standard gauge rolling stock had to be used for an additional logistic role within Russia; this required the laying of standard gauge track . The price was high: Reichsbahn railway staff and the railway troops of the Wehrmacht had to convert a total of 16,148 kilometres (10,034 mi) of Soviet trackage to German standard gauge track between 22 June and 8 October 1941. During
4371-657: 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
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4512-503: The Rhine Valley Railway had been completed from Mannheim to Basel in 1855, Baden could turn to its previously deferred construction project. An additional boost was given to the project by an agreement in 1857 on the construction of a railway bridge over the Rhine at Kehl , connecting the Baden and French railway networks. This was completed in 1861, producing an east–west connection. In 1856
4653-528: 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
4794-553: 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
4935-582: 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
5076-544: 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
5217-528: 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
5358-560: 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
5499-485: The Baden parliament initially rejected the agreement, but construction of the Baden section of the line was finally approved. The section between Durlach and Wilferdingen was opened on 10 August 1859 and it was completed to Pforzheim on 7 July 1861. In Durlach the line connected with the Baden–Karlsruhe main railway. The originally proposed route between Pforzheim and Wilferdingen via Nöttingen, Ellmendingen and Dietlingen
5640-480: 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
5781-656: The DRG's company regulations. It was responsible for the electrification of many lines, following the commencement of electric power generation to the railways at the Walchensee Power Plant , and for the independent trialling and procurement of locomotives and passenger coaches. The Group Administration introduced, for example, the Class E ;32 locomotive and Class ET 85 railcar into service. Bavaria also continued to use its own signalling system for many years after
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5922-778: The Deutsche Bahn main line. In long-distance transport, the Karlsruhe–Mühlacker–Stuttgart line is served every two hours by InterCity trains, stopping in Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof, Pforzheim, Mühlacker , Vaihingen (Enz) and in the off-peak in Durlach. On 14 December 2008 the Orient Express was replaced by a EuroNight train between Strasbourg and Vienna due to the opening of the LGV Est . In December 2009 this service
6063-403: 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
6204-399: 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 ,
6345-438: 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
6486-424: 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
6627-399: 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
6768-457: The German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regional railways of the individual states of the German Empire . The Deutsche Reichsbahn has been described as "the largest enterprise in the capitalist world in the years between 1920 and 1932"; nevertheless, its importance "arises primarily from
6909-470: 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
7050-524: The Hauptbahnhof, instead it runs to central Karlsruhe over tram lines. In 1999, Stadtbahn operations were extended from Pforzheim to Bietigheim-Bissingen . The main line is operated by Deutsche Bahn, as a double-track electrified main line. In 1941, a connecting curve was built in Mühlacker from the former terminus of the Baden State Railways on track 50 to the Western Railway towards Bretten so that direct trains between Pforzheim and Bruchsal would not have to reverse in Mühlacker. Wilferdingen-Singen station
7191-443: The Karlsruhe–Stuttgart– Nuremberg route. In the 1980s, the city of Karlsruhe developed plans to build a Stadtbahn ( tram-train ) system, including regional rail services, which later became known as the Karlsruhe model . It was envisaged at the outset that the line between Durlach and Wilferdingen would be included in order to stimulate transport between Karlsruhe and the communities of Pfinztal and Remchingen . In 1992 planning of
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#17330846763487332-443: 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
7473-438: The Orient Express and five services per day from west to east and seven express services from east to west between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. The intercity trains took 85 to 90 minutes on the route from Karlsruhe to Stuttgart. After the Second World War services at first were less than before the war: the age of luxury train was over, and thus the Orient Express was replaced by a regular express train, but it continued to be called
7614-437: The Orient Express. From 1954, the service was replaced by the Mozart Express between Paris and Salzburg (from 1964 continuing to Vienna). Express or EuroCity trains continued on the line to 2003. In 1991 the D-trains on the line were replaced by InterRegio and InterCity services at two-hour intervals, significantly improving services. Thanks to the opening of the Mannheim–Stuttgart high-speed line long-distance trains on
7755-480: 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
7896-422: The Railways of the American and British Occupation Regions ( Hauptverwaltung der Eisenbahnen des amerikanischen und britischen Besatzungsgebiets ) was created. In 1947 it moved its headquarters to Offenbach am Main and called itself the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the United Economic Region ( Deutsche Reichsbahn im Vereinigten Wirtschaftsgebiet ). Following the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany , it
8037-401: 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,
8178-409: The Soviet Zone retained the name Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR), despite the connotations of the word "Reich". This was due to the designation of the Reichsbahn in postwar treaties and military protocols as the railway operator in West Berlin , a role it retained until the creation of the unified DBAG at the beginning of 1994. To conform to the formation of the Bizone in 1946 the Head Office of
8319-414: The US Zone), Mainz and Saarbrücken. After the Saarland was transferred from the French Zone and was given its own state railway – the Railways of the Saarland ( Eisenbahnen des Saarlandes ) – the rest of the network of the Saarbrücken division went into the new Trier division. After the Deutsche Bundesbahn was formed this Operating Association was merged with it. The Soviet zone of occupation became
8460-550: The West German Deutsche Bundesbahn to form Germany's new national carrier, Deutsche Bahn AG ("German Rail", DBAG), technically no longer a government agency but still a 100% state-owned joint stock company . The first railways to be owned by the German Empire , which was founded in 1871, were the Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine , whose Imperial General Division of Railways in Alsace-Lorraine ( Kaiserliche General-Direktion der Eisenbahnen in Elsass-Lothringen ) had its headquarters in Straßburg (now Strasbourg). It
8601-414: 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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#17330846763488742-440: The Wurttemberg government asked if it should take over the building of the Mühlacker–Pforzheim line. Construction of this line was necessary before the Enz Valley Railway and the Nagold Valley Railway could be built. These two valleys in the northern Black Forest were mostly in Württemberg, but could only be accessed from Pforzheim in Baden for topographical reasons. Baden, however, insisted on its right, agreed in 1850, to build
8883-607: The Württemberg Railway's through station and the Baden State Railways’ terminus. Trains continuing through Mühlacker changed locomotives until 1890 when the first trains ran from Karlsruhe to Stuttgart without locomotive changes. Mühlacker did not completely lose its role as a border station until the founding of Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1920. The line soon won substantial traffic. Therefore, it two sections were soon duplicated: in 1867 between Wilferdingen and Pforzheim and in 1869 between Durlach and Wilferdingen and between Pforzheim and Mühlacker. Two additional tracks were built to eliminate
9024-402: 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
9165-534: The basic key – price controlled key – was that Jews were going to be shipped to Treblinka , were going to be shipped to Auschwitz , Sobibor ... so long as the railroads were paid by the track kilometer, so many pfennigs per mile. The rate was the same throughout the war, with children under ten going at half-fare and children under four going free. Payment had to be made for only one way. The guards of course had to have return fare paid for them because they were going back to their place of origin ... Conditions in
9306-423: The bottleneck between Karlsruhe and Durlach, which was used by both the Karlsruhe–Mühlacker and the Baden Main Line in the first decades; as a result the Karlsruhe–Mühlacker line now began in Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof (central station). With the construction of Durlach station in 1911 the route to Pforzheim took a slightly different route in this area. On 1 June 1958 the Karlsruhe–Mühlacker line was electrified, closing
9447-407: 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:
9588-454: 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
9729-468: 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
9870-419: 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
10011-401: 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
10152-416: 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
10293-432: 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
10434-702: The director general of the Reichsbahn by his office. Dorpmüller, who since 1937 was also in charge of the Reich Ministry of Transport , continued in office as the director general after 1939 under this new legal framework. With the Act for the New Regulation of the Conditions of the Reichsbank and the Deutsche Reichsbahn ( Gesetz zur Neuregelung der Verhältnisse der Reichsbank und der Deutschen Reichsbahn ) of 10 February 1937
10575-464: 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
10716-562: The end of the 1930s. They included, for example, the Prussian P ;8 (BR 38.10-40), Prussian P 10 (BR 39), Prussian G 12 (BR 58.10) and the Prussian T ;20 (BR 95). The Bavarian S 3/6 (BR 18.5) express locomotive even continued in production until 1930. Not until the procurement programme for the wartime Kriegslokomotiven were new goods locomotives built in large numbers, but of course now for
10857-659: The end of the war the Reichsbahn continued to move military formations. For example, in the last great offensive, the Battle of the Bulge (from 16 December 1944), tank formations were transported from Hungary to the Ardennes . The railways managed by the "Eastern Railway Division" ( Generaldirektion der Ostbahn ) were initially run from that part of the Polish State Railways within the so-called General Government -assigned part of
10998-565: The entire state railway ) in the countries annexed by the Deutsche Reich, as well as private railways in Germany and in other countries: The logistics of the Reichsbahn were also an important factor during the Holocaust . Jews were transported like cattle to the concentration and extermination camps by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in trains of covered goods wagons , now known as Holocaust trains . These movements using cattle wagons from
11139-622: 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
11280-443: The fact that the Reichsbahn was at the center of events in a period of great turmoil in German history". The company was founded on 1 April 1920 as the Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen ("German Imperial Railways") when the Weimar Republic , which still used the nation-state term of the previous monarchy, Deutsches Reich (German Reich, hence the usage of the Reich in the name of
11421-451: 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
11562-487: 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
11703-412: 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
11844-412: 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,
11985-446: 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
12126-409: 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
12267-457: The future, starting in November 1933. In 1935 the railway network had a total of 68,728 kilometres (42,706 mi) of line, of which 30,330 km (18,850 mi) was main line railway , 27,209 km (16,907 mi) were branch lines and 10,496 km (6,522 mi) were light railways . In the latter part of the 1930s, the development of high-speed trains like the "Flying Hamburger"
12408-706: The gap in the electrical network between the already electrified Rhine Valley Railway and the Württemberg Western Railway. Over time, several railway lines of mainly local importance connected with the Karlsruhe–Mühlacker line: A short walk from Pforzheim Hauptbahnhof to Leopoldplatz was the station of the Pforzheim Light Railway ( Pforzheimer Kleinbahn ), which operated to Ittersbach from 1901 to 1968. The line has always been an important link for international east–west traffic as part of
12549-456: The goods station of the great Frankfurt Market Hall , for example, thus played a significant role in the genocide within the extermination machinery of the Holocaust . In 1997, the market erected a memorial plaque in recognition of this dark period of history. The following is an excerpt from the testimony of Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg : The Reichsbahn was ready to ship in principle any cargo in return for payment. And therefore,
12690-576: 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
12831-533: The line between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe (consisting of this line and part of the Württemberg Western Railway ) the Residenzbahn ("Royal Palace Railway"). This name was the result of a public competition. In the 1840s, the first negotiations were held on a link between the Baden and Württemberg rail networks, connecting Karlsruhe and Stuttgart via Pforzheim, but they failed due to a disagreement on
12972-601: The line is now part of Stadtbahn line S5 of the AVG on the Wörth–Karlsruhe–Pforzheim–Mühlacker–Bietigheim-Bissingen route. This provides a weekday service at 10-minute intervals between Karlsruhe and Pfinztal, at least every 30 minutes between Pfinztal and Pforzheim and at least hourly east of Pforzheim. The whole length of the line is in the common fare system of the Karlsruhe Transport Association and between Wilferdingen-Singen and Mühlacker it
13113-619: The lines from Berlin to Hamburg , via Hanover to the Ruhrgebiet , via Frankfurt am Main to southwest Germany, on which the diesel express trains ran, and the Silesian Railway from Berlin to Breslau (now Wrocław). Within the state of Bavaria , the Bavarian Group Administration ( Gruppenverwaltung Bayern ) had its head office ( Zentrales Maschinen- und Bauamt ) and was largely independent by § III 14 of
13254-599: The merger. In 1933 the Group Administration was disbanded and administration of the railways in Bavaria was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. At the head of the Reichsbahn was a director general ( Generaldirektor ). The office holders were: From 1925, the director general had a permanent deputy. These were: As a result of the Reichsbahn Act of 11 July 1939, the Reich Transport Minister became
13395-453: 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
13536-699: The new German borders laid down in the Potsdam Agreement were transferred to the ownership and administration of the states in whose territory they were situated. For example, on 27 April 1945, the Austrian railways became independent again as the Austrian State Railway ( Österreichische Staatseisenbahn or ÖStB), later renamed as the Austrian Federal Railways ( Österreichische Bundesbahnen or ÖBB ) on 5 August 1947. Operational control of
13677-589: The new line to Stuttgart were accelerated between Vaihingen and Stuttgart. These services needed just 52 minutes for the route from Karlsruhe to Stuttgart, with stops in Pforzheim, Mühlacker and Vaihingen. However the Karlsruhe–Pforzheim–Mühlacker line was also affected by the new line, as the quickest route from Karlsruhe to Stuttgart no longer ran via Pforzheim but via Bruchsal. In 2003, some InterRegio services were replaced by InterCity trains running on
13818-556: The newly formed German Reich . The state railways that merged were the: Initially called the Reichseisenbahnen or Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen , the company was formally given the name "Deutsche Reichsbahn" by decree of the Reich Minister of Transport, Wilhelm Groener , on 27 June 1921. In 1922 the old railway divisions ( Eisenbahndirektionen ) were renamed as Reich railway divisions ( Reichsbahndirektionen ). Among
13959-535: 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
14100-567: 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. Deutsche Reichsbahn The Deutsche Reichsbahn , also known as
14241-421: 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
14382-565: The permanent way or rail track. The Allied forces of Occupation were put in charge and instantly had myriad problems regarding food, lack of housing, fuel, displaced persons and people on the move. The Engineering Corps of British and American forces oversaw the partial rebuilding of the lines and cars with local labour from prisoners of war, rubble women , and de-mobilized soldiers. Temporary wooden bridges were put up over destroyed spans. Multiple tracks were disassembled into one smaller working line, equipment assessed and rebuilt. In three months,
14523-407: 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
14664-473: 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
14805-466: 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
14946-467: 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
15087-488: The provisions of the 1924 Dawes Plan was a plan to utilize the state railway completely for the payment of war reparations . Following the plan's publication, on 12 February 1924, the Reich government announced the creation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn as a state enterprise under the Reich Ministry of Transport ( German : Reichsverkehrsministerium ). As this was not enough to satisfy the reparations creditors, on 30 August 1924
15228-623: 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
15369-548: The railway was reorganised again as a state authority and given the name Deutsche Reichsbahn ("German Imperial Railway", DRB). After the Anschluss in 1938 the DR also took over the Bundesbahn Österreich ("Federal Railway of Austria", BBÖ). The East and West German states were founded in 1949. East Germany took over the control of the DR on its territory and continued to use
15510-469: The railway was working again in a rudimentary form. The Armies of Occupation needed the railways to move coal and the soon to be gathered agricultural harvest. Deutschebahn had a critical shortage of wagons, carriages and locomotives, so much so that the US gave war surplus engines to ensure the movement of freight. With the end of the Second World War in 1945 those parts of the Deutsche Reichsbahn that were outside
15651-472: The railway; the monarchical term was Deutsches Kaiserreich ), took national control of the German railways, which had previously been run by the German states ( Länderbahnen ). In 1924 it was reorganised under the aegis of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft ("German Imperial Railway Company", DRG), a nominally private railway company, which was 100% owned by the German state. In 1937
15792-531: 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
15933-775: The rest of the DR was devolved to the respective zones of occupation so that the Reichsbahn legally existed in four parts until 1949. In the American Zone the Reichsbahn divisions of Augsburg, Frankfurt am Main, Kassel, Munich, Regensburg and Stuttgart (for the railways in Württemberg-Baden ) were subordinated to the Senior Control Office US Zone ( Oberbetriebsleitung United States Zone ) in Frankfurt. The Reichsbahn divisions of Essen, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Münster (Westfalen) and Wuppertal were grouped into
16074-497: The route was extended to include Pforzheim. However, since the proposed service frequency could not be executed on the existing tracks, additional infrastructure was added between Grötzingen and Söllingen, including an additional track which is served only by the Stadtbahn. Seven new Stadtbahn stops were also opened between Pforzheim and Grötzingen. Even before the construction of the additional track, dual-system light rail vehicles of
16215-543: The route. Baden saw the line as having two important tasks: on the one hand, connecting the industrial town of Pforzheim to the rail network, on the other hand, the creation of a possible direct connection between France, southern Germany and the Austrian Empire . A treaty signed in 1850 incorporated a compromise solution that provided for the construction of the Western Railway from Stuttgart to Bruchsal, while allowing
16356-538: 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
16497-648: The shortest route between Paris and Vienna. From 1883 services of the Orient Express ran on this line from Paris to Istanbul . By 1939 the line was used by ten long distance "D-trains" ( D-Zug , express trains using carriages with corridors) every day from west to east and seven D-trains from east to west. Five pairs of trains ran to/from Paris and three pairs of trains to/from Vienna . Pairs of trains ran to/from Prague and Warsaw (via Nuremberg ) and to/from Wuppertal (via Neustadt an der Weinstrasse and Bad Kreuznach ). Added to this were three services per week of
16638-533: The state of Baden to build a branch line via Pforzheim to Karlsruhe. For this reason, the Western Railway ran slightly further south that it might have in order that a junction station could be built at Eckenweiher Hof in the district of Dürrmenz . After Baden's difficult financial and political situation following the Revolution in Baden in 1848–49 had eased and the main project of the Baden State Railways,
16779-458: 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
16920-481: 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
17061-484: 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
17202-519: The tour) and the stationing of the train, during its visit to Berlin , at the Ostbahnhof station instead of the more centrally located Hauptbahnhof main railway station. The tour was scheduled to end on 8 May 2008 (the 63rd anniversary of the end of the European portion of World War II) when the train arrived at Auschwitz. However, it continued to make appearances through 2009, and as of January 2010
17343-550: The track itself. On 17 December 1857 an international treaty was concluded that regulated the construction of the line. This provided for Baden to build the railway to Mühlacker and for Württemberg in return to build branch lines up the Enz and Nagold valleys from Pforzheim. Moreover, the Durlach–Mühlacker line would be free of Württemberg taxes, as would the Western Railway on Baden territory be free of Baden taxes. The lower chamber of
17484-536: The traditional name Deutsche Reichsbahn , while the railway in West Germany became the Deutsche Bundesbahn ("German Federal Railway", DB). The Austrian Österreichische Bundesbahnen ("Austrian Federal Railways", ÖBB) was founded in 1945, and was given its present name in 1947. In January 1994, following German reunification , the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn merged with
17625-452: The various state railways and comprised a great number of designs, many of them quite old. In fact, the DRG was unable to procure new stock in the numbers it wanted to both for financial reasons and due to delays in upgrading the lines to carry higher axle loads . The locomotive classes taken over from the old state railways, especially those from the Prussia, continued to dominate the scene until
17766-448: The wagons were inhumane because no water or food was provided, and sanitary arrangements were minimal, usually a bucket in a corner of the wagon. Although each wagon was intended to hold about 50 people, they were frequently overcrowded and holding 100 to 150 people. No heating was provided, so people could freeze in winter and overheat in summer. Deaths in the wagons were frequent among the young, old, sick, and disabled, especially as travel
17907-463: The war, locomotives in the war zones were sometimes given camouflage livery. In addition, locomotives were painted with the Hoheitsadler symbol (the eagle, Germany's traditional symbol of national sovereignty ) holding a swastika . On goods wagons the name " Deutsche Reichsbahn " was replaced by the letters "DR". Postal coaches continued to bear the name " Deutsche Reichspost ". The logistics of
18048-611: The website requests visitors to look for further travel plans at the end of February. German railways were heavily bombed by Allied RAF and USAAF bombers. Marshalling yards, bridges, repair shops, and service facilities were all destroyed. Fighter-bombers targeted locomotives and bombed them. As a result, trains were at a standstill in the spring of 1945. The cities of Hamburg, Munich, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden and others were affected. Stations were completely destroyed and wagons and carriage set on fire and destroyed. Bomb craters and blast seriously damaged
18189-533: 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
18330-545: Was abandoned. InterCity service run every two hours alternating with Interregio-Express services every two hours between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, with stops in Durlach, Pforzheim, Mühlacker and Vaihingen (Enz). In addition, Regional-Express services run every two hours via Bietigheim-Bissingen with an additional stop in Wilferdingen-Singen, then stopping at all stations between Pforzheim and Bietigheim-Bissingen and at Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart. In regional transport,
18471-466: Was accelerated. Before that streamlined steam engines had been built, but they were not as economical as the high-speed diesel and electric railcars. Although the Borsig streamlined steam engine, the no. 05 002 reached a speed of 200.4 km/h (124.5 mph) during a demonstration run, the Reichsbahn preferred fast railcars on its high speed network. The potential of these express trains was demonstrated by
18612-625: Was carried out in the 1950s. Gradually, however, they were replaced by the more economical and easier-to-maintain diesel and electric classes. In general this happened rather later than in the West. In 1970, the DR renumbered its locomotives in order to conform to new computerised data standards. On 3 October 1990, the GDR states acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. Initially the two railway administrations continued to operate separately, albeit with increasing cooperation, and in 1994 they were merged to form
18753-585: 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
18894-666: 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
19035-411: 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
19176-554: Was dropped due to the negative attitude of the communities affected and the route via Ellmendingen and Dietlingen was replaced by a route along the Kämpfelbach Valley via Königsbach, Ersingen and Ispringen. The agreement with Württemberg was renegotiated, leading to a new treaty being signed on 6 November 1860. The Pforzheim–Mühlacker section was opened on 1 June 1863. For a long time there were two stations side by side in Mühlacker,
19317-610: Was formed after France had ceded the territory of Alsace-Lorraine in 1871 to the German Empire and the newly created Third French Republic had formally purchased the French Eastern Railway Company ( French : Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est or German : Französische Ostbahn-Gesellschaft ) and then sold it again to the German Empire. After the end of the First World War this national "imperial railway"
19458-656: Was renamed Deutsche Bundesbahn . In the post-war years, the DR in East Germany continued to develop independently of the DB, but very much in parallel. The locomotive classification scheme , based on that of the DRG , was extended. The production, conversion and development of steam locomotives initially continued in earnest; older, especially ex- Länderbahn classes being rationalised and withdrawn from service. A major conversion ( Rekonstruktion ) programme to update steam locomotives and rectify flawed, mainly wartime austerity , classes
19599-421: Was slow and often lasted many days since the trains had low priority on the tracks. Their small amount of luggage was stored separately, sometimes at the station and never left with the train, but examined for valuables which were stolen or resold for profit. Beginning in November 2007, a museum train, the "Train of Commemoration" ( Zug der Erinnerung ), began a 3,000 km (1,900 mi) tour of Germany as
19740-465: Was taken back by France. In the remaining German states, by contrast, the existing state railways continued to be subject to their respective sovereigns, despite the fact that Otto von Bismarck had tried in vain to purchase the main railway lines for the Empire. A similar attempt failed in 1875 as a result of opposition from the middle powers when Albert von Maybach presented a draft Reich Railway Act to
19881-441: Was the Reichsbahn released from its financial obligations. In total, about 3.87 billion Goldmarks was paid in reparations to the Allied powers. During the DRG period the following milestones occurred: The beginning of the DRG was characterised by the acquisition of new rolling stock built to standard types, such as the standard steam locomotives ( Einheitsdampflokomotiven ). The stock already in use had been inherited from
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