Through station | |
Location |
Kempten, Bavaria Germany |
Coordinates | 47°42′42″N 10°19′04″E / 47.71167°N 10.31778°ECoordinates: 47°42′42″N 10°19′04″E / 47.71167°N 10.31778°E |
Line(s) |
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Platforms | 5 |
Other information | |
Station code | 3155 |
DS100 code | MKP |
IBNR | 8000197 |
Category | 3 |
Website | |
History | |
Opened | 1852/1969 |
Kempten (Allgäu) Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in Kempten in the German state of Bavaria. It is the most important station of Kempten and a hub for the Iller Valley Railway, the Allgäu Railway and the Ausserfern Railway. The original Kempten station was built in 1852 as a terminal station near the centre of town and was replaced by a through station in 1969.
The first Kempten station was built during the construction of the Ludwig South-North Railway, opened on 1 April 1852 between Kaufbeuren and Kempten and extended on 1 May 1853 from Kempten to Immenstadt. As, on the one hand, it was desirable for the station to be as close to the city centre as possible, and on the other hand, a crossing of the deep Iller Valley at a reasonable cost was only possible at a narrow point one kilometre south of the city, it was decided to build a terminus, used for both passengers and freight. In 1853, the station was equipped with a structure designated as the "administration building", a covered “home” platform, an entrance hall and a freight shed. The administration building had three full floors and a mezzanine, a low sloping roof supported by purlins, reflecting the traditional architecture of the Alpine foothills. The "unusual highly stilted building" was typical of many commercial buildings from the early days of the industrial revolution.
The commissioning of the Iller Valley Railway to Neu-Ulm on 1 June 1863 and a substantial increase in traffic led to the first reconstructions of the platform and track facilities in 1869. Between 1885 and 1888 much of the station was rebuilt by the Royal Bavarian State Railways. On 9 November 1888, the Renaissance revival entrance building was opened with a spacious entrance hall, three waiting rooms and a room for royalty (German: Fürstenzimmer). A luggage train connected the luggage office with the three platforms and five tracks. The wings of the entrance building, which had been part of the previous station building, were raised to three storeys, obscuring the perspective of the buildings from the station forecourt. The central building had two storeys. The opening of the Außerfern Railway to Pfronten on 1 December 1895 and the line to Isny on 15 October 1909 led to further changes to the station.