The Lindentunnel is a partially filled tunnel under the boulevard Unter den Linden in the Berlin district of Mitte. Built from 1914 and opened on December 17 and 19, 1916, the tunnel was used by the tramway as an underpass under the boulevard, replacing an at-grade crossing at the same location that had been put into operation in 1894. The tramway used the structure until 1951, after which it was used as a prop warehouse for the Berlin State Opera and as a parking lot for vehicles of the East German People's Police. After German reunification, performance artist Ben Wagin used parts of the tunnel as an exhibition space, while other parts have been used since the 1990s to store props for the Maxim Gorki Theater. Complete demolition of the tunnel is planned in the medium term.
Previous history
Linden crossroads The boulevard Unter den Linden was a special legal feature of Berlin's street network. The streets, squares and bridges built in Berlin before 1837 became the property of the city on January 1, 1876, according to the law of December 1875. Exceptions were made for the chaussee and the street Unter den Linden. In addition, the German Emperor and the Prussian King had the right to have the final say in matters of urban planning.Rüdiger Hachtmann, Peter Strehlau: Der Straßenbahntunnel „Unter den Linden“. In: Berliner Verkehrsblätter. No. 12, 1994, p. 139–244.
Founded in 1871, the Great Berlin Horse Railway (GBPfE) opened its first line from Rosenthaler Tor to Gesundbrunnen in 1873. Over the next few years, other lines followed from the former gates of the Akzisemauer to the suburbs. The individual lines were connected by a circle route, later known as Line 1 - Stadtring, which followed the approximate course of the Wall. It was the first north-south connection in Berlin. A second connection via Spandauer Strasse was opened in 1883. The 2.2 kilometer section between Spandauer Strasse and the Brandenburg Gate, where Unter den Linden is located, was left out. In 1875, the GBPfE made a first attempt to cross the Linden via Charlottenstrasse, which was rejected by the Berlin Police Commissioner due to the narrow width of the street.Hans-Joachim Pohl: Der Lindentunnel. In: Verkehrsgeschichtliche Blätter. No. 7, 1980, p. 134–136.
From the 1880s on, the GBPfE concentrated on the further expansion of its network. Since the central north-south connection was still missing, the management of the horse-drawn railway, with the support of the Berlin magistrate, approached the police authorities again in 1885. The magistrate again rejected the project, suggesting instead a crossing at the level of the Schlossbrücke over Schinkelplatz and Am Kupfergraben. In 1888, the city submitted an immediate application to the Kaiser, pointing out the urgent need for a north-south tramway connection. It proposed that the line should run through Friedrichstrasse, which should be sufficiently widened between Behrenstrasse and Dorotheenstrasse. The Kaiser recognized the urgency of the project, but rejected the city's plan. There were further negotiations about the location of the intersection; the parties agreed on a connection at the level of Hinter der Katholischen Kirche, Platz am Opernhause1910–1947: Kaiser-Franz-Joseph-Platz, since 1947: Bebelplatz and Kastanienwäldchen (between the Palais des Prinzen Heinrich, Neue Wache and Sing-AkademieSince 1952: Maxim-Gorki-Theater). The connection was put into operation on September 22, 1894.Der Straßenbahn-Tunnel unter den Linden in Berlin. In: Deutsche Bauzeitung. No. 30. Berlin April 12, 1916, pp. 157-159.
The company paid a lump sum of one million marks to the city for the construction of the connection. This relieved the company of the cost of acquiring the land. The city, for its part, became embroiled in a 20-year legal dispute with the university, which owned the chestnut grove. The university demanded an annual rent of five percent of 1,526,800 marks for the use of the grove, which had been given to it by Frederick William III in 1810. This sum corresponded to the value of the land as building land. The city saw the chestnut grove only as a green space and wanted to reduce the price. The dispute ended with a settlement in 1914 under the rectorate of Max Planck. By that time, World War I had broken out and the construction of the Lindentunnel was a foregone conclusion. The city paid the university the sum of 1,069,250.86 marks (about 6.88 million euros in today's currency). By order of the Prussian Minister of Finance August Lentze, the university had to spend the money on a war bond.
In 1896, the GBPfE began electrifying its network, which was renamed the "Great Berlin Tramway"(GBS) in 1898. Electricity was supplied via overhead lines and roller pantographs. In prestigious locations, such as the Lindenkreuzung, overhead lines were prohibited for aesthetic reasons. The GBS therefore initially used accumulator railcars, and on October 7, 1901, equipped the Lindenkreuzung with an overhead line (slotted tube contact line). This type of power supply was not satisfactory, as the cable ducts quickly became clogged with leaves and slush, and the pantographs broke off at the slightest obstacle. In the winter of 1906/1907, the authorities ordered the installation of emergency overhead lines, which were replaced by permanent installations in 1907. Due to the enormous width of the roadway, the cables were stretched over a length of 60 meters at street level without intermediate suspension.
Tunnel plans of the Great Berlin Tramway and the City of Berlin
As the Linden crossing, opened in 1894, quickly reached its capacity, the city applied in vain for permission to build a second crossing on Charlottenstraße in 1897. The chief of police, however, proposed an extension of KanonierstrasseSince 1951: Glinkastraße to Neustädtische Kirchstrasse with a street opening between Behrenstrasse and Linden. The city then drew up plans to implement the proposal. In April 1901, however, Kaiser Wilhelm II prohibited any further above-ground crossing of the boulevard. He is said to have added the remark "No, will be made underground!" to the project documents, but the authenticity of this sentence cannot be verified.Hans-Joachim Pohl: Der Lindentunnel. In: Verkehrsgeschichtliche Blätter. No. 7, 1980, p. 136–140. Alternatively, the emperor is said to have uttered the phrase " Under, not over",Lindentunnel. In: berliner-unterwelten.de. Berliner Unterwelten, archived from the original (no longer available online) on April 17, 2016; retrieved on April 24, 2016. which, according to other sources, was also intended for the construction of a suspension railway based on the Wuppertal model. The period before the construction of the tunnel was characterized by a strong disagreement between the city of Berlin and the Great Berlin Tramway. The conflict was triggered by the extension of the concession period until December 31, 1949, requested by the GBS and approved by the Chief of Police on May 4, 1900. The concession agreement with the city, which regulated the use of the streets, expired on December 31, 1919. However, the GBS generally derived the right to operate the tramway beyond 1919 from the extension of the concession. Several legal disputes ensued, with one party winning and the other losing. Both sides went their own ways when it came to organizing the traffic. In 1900, the city decided to build its own tram lines, and both sides drew up different plans for the Lindenkreuzung intersection, including a tunnel under the street at the Opera House. The morning edition of the Berlin Volks-Zeitung of December 11, 1904, presented the four variants - one by the city and three by GBS.Die Untertunnelung der „Linden“. In: Berliner Volks-Zeitung. Zweites Beiblatt. No. 581, December 11, 1904. Under the leadership of Friedrich Krause, the city revised its design and shortly thereafter presented two options for a Lindentunnel. The existing intersection was chosen as the site because the ramps could not be built elsewhere or the cost of land acquisition was too high. The tunnel roadway was to have four tracks to accommodate the lines of the SSB and BESTAG trams acquired by the city, as well as the lines of GBS and its subsidiaries. In both designs, the northern ramp was located at the level of the chestnut grove. In the first design, the southern ramp was to be located to the east between the Opera House and the Princess's Palace; in the second design, it was to be located to the west between the Opera House and the Alte Bibliothek ("Commode").
At the same time, GBS expanded its plans and, together with its subsidiary Berlin-Charlottenburg Tramway, presented an extensive system of tunnel routes in 1905. These included two tunnels running east-west, a southern tunnel under Leipziger Strasse and Potsdamer Strasse, and a northern tunnel from the Opera House to behind Siegesallee in Tiergarten. The city criticized the plans as inadequate, and GBS modified them several times. The 1907 version of the northern tunnel included two loops under the Platz der Oper and the Brandenburg Gate to accommodate north-south traffic. The city administration, however, did not back down from its criticism, relying on the findings of several experts, including Gustav Kemmann and Otto Blum. City planning officer Friedrich Krause countered the GBS design with a memorandum proposing several short tunnels instead of two long ones, including at the Opera and the Brandenburg Gate, as well as numerous street breakthroughs. At a transportation conference on April 9, 1908, chaired by the Prussian Minister of Public Works, Paul von Breitenbach, he stated that the experts' reservations about the GBS designs were justified and attested to the great advantages of the urban designs. In an audience with the Kaiser, the mayor of Berlin, Martin Kirschner, finally decided that the northern tunnel - with the exception of the north-south crossings - was unnecessary. However, further studies were to be conducted for the south tunnel. The tunnel projects were effectively shelved.Peter C. Lenke: Viel diskutierte, aber nie verwirklichte Verkehrsprojekte: Die Tunnelprojekte der Großen Berliner Straßenbahn von 1905–1908. In: Verkehrsgeschichtliche Blätter. No. 2, 2004, p. 30–36. However, GBS continued to pursue legal action until a settlement was reached with the city in 1911. This became the basis for a new consent decree. The agreement was entered into on August 18, 1911. The city extended its franchise until December 31, 1939, and granted the company additional rights with respect to the streets to be used and the fare structure. In return, the city secured the right to purchase the company at certain times. An agreement was also reached on the tunnel issue.Die Große Berliner Straßenbahn und ihre Nebenbahnen 1902–1911. Unchanged reprint 1982, Hans Feulner, Berlin 1911, pp. 11-20.
Construction
Authorization