
Architect Rainer G. Rümmler designed some of the city’s colorful metro stations. At Bayerischer Platz (Bavarian Square) station, he used blue and white to reference the flag of Bavaria, the region in Germany’s south. (You can see color photos here.) © Berlinische Galerie, courtesy Anja Elisabeth Witte
Berlin’s subway system is eclectic, to say the least. From Futurist to Brutalist and downright bizarre, the system—known as the U-Bahn—runs the architectural gamut. Some of its wildest stations are now presented as part of the exhibition Underground Architecture: Berlin Metro Stations 1953–1994, on view at the Berlinische Galerie in the capital’s Kreuzberg neighborhood until May 20.
The U-Bahn stations’ strange admixture of conventional and peculiar is largely thanks to a few architects who weren’t afraid to impart their own aesthetic to the transit system. One was Rainer G. Rümmler, who designed most of the subway’s postwar stations and livened up some of them with bold mosaics and platform murals. Meanwhile, Bruno Grimmek—a practicing architect who also designed office buildings, memorials, and universities—brought a Bauhaus-esque orderliness to many U-Bahn stations.
Berlin’s history is also recorded in many of the stations’ design. Just as the city was divided between East and West until 1989, so are the styles of its 170 stations. West Berlin’s were designed using bold colors and with individual touches that reflected their respective neighborhoods, while East Berlin stations were designed more minimally and with uniform, muted colors.
Ursula Müller and Kati Renner, the show’s curators, sought to highlight these factors in the exhibition, which focuses on U-Bahn stations realized between 1953 and 1994, a period that runs approximately from the subway’s postwar expansion to its unification. “The metro stations here illustrate Berlin’s unique role as a theater of the enduring East and West conflict, as it affected even metro design,” says Müller. “These 70 metro stations built between 1953 and 1994 with their distinctive postwar and Postmodernist feel are still a defining feature in the daily lives of Berlin’s residents.”
-
Bruno Grimmek designed 19 stations in West Berlin between 1956 and 1961, including Spichernstraße (1961). It's one of 30 postwar U-Bahn stations that are now historically-protected by the city, says Kati Renner, cocurator of a current exhibition.
© Rudolf Foto-Kessler
Bruno Grimmek designed 19 stations in West Berlin between 1956 and 1961, including Spichernstraße (1961). It's one of 30 postwar U-Bahn stations that are now historically-protected by the city, says Kati Renner, cocurator of a current exhibition.
© Rudolf Foto-Kessler
-
Rainer G. Rümmler’s design of Fehrbelliner Platz station (1971). Rümmler designed over 30 stations between 1966 and 1994 in West Berlin.
© Berlinische Galerie
Rainer G. Rümmler’s design of Fehrbelliner Platz station (1971). Rümmler designed over 30 stations between 1966 and 1994 in West Berlin.
© Berlinische Galerie
-
Since several of Berlin’s U-Bahn stations were destroyed during the Second World War, there was a need for a massive rebuilding effort, which began in 1953 and included “radically modern” designs, says exhibition cocurator Ursula Müller, that were similar to this Turmstraße station, designed by Bruno Grimmek.
© Berlinische Galerie, courtesy Foto-Kessler
Since several of Berlin’s U-Bahn stations were destroyed during the Second World War, there was a need for a massive rebuilding effort, which began in 1953 and included “radically modern” designs, says exhibition cocurator Ursula Müller, that were similar to this Turmstraße station, designed by Bruno Grimmek.
© Berlinische Galerie, courtesy Foto-Kessler
-
Bruno Grimmek designed the Holzhauser Straße station in 1957. Shortly after, the Berlin Wall divided the city and its U-Bahn. As West Berliners approached East Berlin, train loudspeakers gave warnings to prepare for border security checks.
© Rudolf Foto-Kessler
Bruno Grimmek designed the Holzhauser Straße station in 1957. Shortly after, the Berlin Wall divided the city and its U-Bahn. As West Berliners approached East Berlin, train loudspeakers gave warnings to prepare for border security checks.
© Rudolf Foto-Kessler
-
An undated drawing by Rainer G. Rümmler as part of designs for the Rathaus Spandau station. The “U” in the U-Bahn sign was to be a beacon to help passengers find the station on street level.
© Landesarchiv Berlin
An undated drawing by Rainer G. Rümmler as part of designs for the Rathaus Spandau station. The “U” in the U-Bahn sign was to be a beacon to help passengers find the station on street level.
© Landesarchiv Berlin
-
Richard-Wagner-Platz station was designed by Rainer G. Rümmler in 1978. The colorful tiles were reused when a nearby hotel was demolished. Scenes from Wagner’s operas (framed on the walls but not visible in this photo) pay homage to the German composer.
© Chris M Forsyth
Richard-Wagner-Platz station was designed by Rainer G. Rümmler in 1978. The colorful tiles were reused when a nearby hotel was demolished. Scenes from Wagner’s operas (framed on the walls but not visible in this photo) pay homage to the German composer.
© Chris M Forsyth
-
Designed by Rainer G. Rümmler, the Rathaus Steglitz station (1974) has a Space Age vibe. “The architecture of Berlin’s postwar metro stations are under pressure to change,” says Renner. “They’re important relics from this period of architecture, threatened with demolition today.”
© Verena Pfeiffer-Kloss
Designed by Rainer G. Rümmler, the Rathaus Steglitz station (1974) has a Space Age vibe. “The architecture of Berlin’s postwar metro stations are under pressure to change,” says Renner. “They’re important relics from this period of architecture, threatened with demolition today.”
© Verena Pfeiffer-Kloss
-
Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte were independent architects (with their own practice) who were hired to design the Schloßstraße station. They selected red, blue, and yellow colors and “the result was ‘pop architecture’ with a highlight on structural functions,” says Müller. Here it’s photographed in 1974.
© Berlinische Galerie
Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte were independent architects (with their own practice) who were hired to design the Schloßstraße station. They selected red, blue, and yellow colors and “the result was ‘pop architecture’ with a highlight on structural functions,” says Müller. Here it’s photographed in 1974.
© Berlinische Galerie
You may also enjoy “Liven Up Your Feed: 12 Architecture Instagram Accounts We Love.”
Would you like to comment on this article? Send your thoughts to: comments@metropolismag.com