Hermsdorf-Klosterlausnitz station

Hermsdorf-Klosterlausnitz
Through station
Hermsdorf-Klosterlausnitz station (2003), former entrance building on the right
Location	Bahnhofstr. 1, Hermsdorf-Klosterlausnitz, Thuringia Germany
Coordinates	50°54′13″N 11°51′30″E / 50.903611°N 11.858333°E / 50.903611; 11.858333Coordinates: 50°54′13″N 11°51′30″E / 50.903611°N 11.858333°E / 50.903611; 11.858333
Line(s)	Weimar–Gera Hbf (km 48.3)
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	2721
DS100 code	UHK
IBNR	8011862
Category	5
Website	www.bahnhof.de
History
Opened	29 July 1876

Hermsdorf-Klosterlausnitz station is a station on the Weimar–Gera railway, which forms part of the Mid-Germany Railway (Mitte-Deutschland-Verbindung), in the German state of Thuringia.

The station is located in the town of Hermsdorf and the tracks separate the old and new town. During the modernisation of the Mid-Germany Railway, the station received a new island platform and was reduced to two through tracks. The "house" platform next to the former entrance building was demolished.

The station is located in the north of the town of Hermsdorf. The town centre of Bad Klosterlausnitz, which the station is also named after, is located about one and a half kilometres away. The adjacent streets are Am Bahnhof and Eisenberger Straße. The next station to the west is Papiermühle, which is about five kilometres away. To the east, it is Kraftsdorf, which is about seven kilometres away.

The station’s opening ceremony took place on 28 July 1876. Public passenger services commenced the next day. The station building included a post office and telegraph office at the time of its opening and a restaurant was added later. Postcards and tickets could be purchased at the same counter.

In 1903, 72 wagons with 700 hundredweight (Zentner) of ladders were dispatched at the station. A large exercise of the Hermsdorf health colony took place on the grounds of Hermsdorf station under the direction of the colony’s physician, Dr. Schuster, on 25 July 1932. The freight yard was expanded in July 1936.

An ammunition train was hit and bombed during an air raid on the morning of 11 April 1945. The forest in the area around the signal box was largely destroyed. Even the houses near it were badly damaged. Large amounts of this ammunition were simply left in a crater and were only cleared when the bus station was renovated years later. The salvage of this material required much effort.

The street that had previously been called Bahnhofstraße (station street) was renamed Josef-Stalin-Straße after Joseph Stalin on 21 December 1951. The station forecourt was rebuilt to a new design in 1952. A small park was built at the station in 1964. Another reconstruction of the forecourt took place a year later, including the building of the bus station. A secondary building at the station, which had served to supply water for toilets and for the steam locomotives, was demolished in 1974. In the same year there were extensions to the entrance building. Celebrations were held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Weimar–Gera railway on 3 July 1976, with many people gathering at Hermsdorf station. All construction work was completed in 1977. The Mitropa restaurant returned to service on 3 April 1978. A new crane system was purchased in 1986.