Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company

The Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company (German: Berlin-Anhaltische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, BAE) was a railway company in Prussia. The railway connection between Berlin and Köthen, built by the BAE, was one of the first long-distance railways in Germany.

The Berlin-Anhalt Railway Company was one of the most important railway companies in Germany for about four decades in the 19th century. In addition to the main Anhalt Railway, the BAE built a network of important railway connections between Berlin and the northern parts of the Kingdom of Saxony, the Prussian Province of Saxony, and the duchy of Anhalt, with a total length of 430 kilometers at its apex.

An initial plan to build a railway between Berlin and Riesa, which would have connected to the Leipzig–Dresden railway, failed due to the railway politics of the state of Prussia. Therefore, in 1836 the company decided to pursue an alternative route in the direction of the duchy of Anhalt, and in 1839 changed its name from Berlin-Sächsische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft to Berlin-Anhaltische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft.

The first railway constructed by the BAE was the 21-kilometer-long line between Köthen and the ducal residency of Dessau, which opened on 1 September 1840. In mid-August 1841, this line was then extended by another 37 kilometers to Wittenberg, made famous by Martin Luther.

On 1 July 1841, the railway ran from the northern terminus of the line, at the Anhalter Bahnhof in Berlin, for a distance of 63 kilometers to Jüterbog. The 32-kilometer-long gap between Jüterbog and Wittenberg was closed on 10 September 1841. This meant that Köthen became the first railway node in Germany, where the new BAE line met with the Magdeburg-Leipzig Railway, which had opened for service on 9 June 1840.

...
Wikipedia