Place Archive

Berlin

Photography from Berlin documents the city’s extensive public transportation infrastructure, focusing on key sites such as Berlin Hauptbahnhof with its multi-level platforms serving regional and long-distance trains. Images include the functional design of the Wedding U-Bahn station, the U55 shuttle line connecting to the government district, and trams operating on wet city streets amid growing cycling traffic.

37 photos

Photo Sets

Photos from Berlin

A red and white Thalys high-speed train sits beneath the glass and steel canopy at Köln Hauptbahnhof in Cologne.
Thalys trains have linked Cologne to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam since the service launched in 1996, running on the PBKA route named for its four endpoint cities. The trains in Cologne's fleet use the PBA/PBKA variant of the TGV-derived trainset, capable of speeds up to 300 km/h on high-speed lines in France and Belgium. Köln Hauptbahnhof, the station serving these trains, opened in its current form in 1894 and sits adjacent to Cologne Cathedral in the city center. The station's steel-and-glass train shed, supported by its distinctive arched trusses, was designed by Georg Frentzen and remains one of the largest surviving 19th-century railway roofs in Germany. Thalys merged into the Eurostar brand in 2023, though trains bearing the original livery continued to operate on existing routes during the transition.
Elevated railway tracks at Berlin Friedrichstraße Station run beside the Aerztezentrum building and surrounding office architecture along Georgenstraße.
Berlin Friedrichstraße Station in Berlin has elevated tracks running beside Georgenstraße. The view looks past the station structure toward the Aerztezentrum at No. 147 and nearby office buildings along the street.
Elevated S-Bahn tracks at Berlin Friedrichstraße station extend eastward between brick and modern office buildings with the Fernsehturm visible in the distance.
Berlin Friedrichstraße station in Berlin looks east along the elevated S-Bahn tracks. The Fernsehturm rises in the distance beyond the rail corridor, which runs through a dense mix of office and older industrial buildings.
Elevated S-Bahn platforms at Berlin Friedrichstraße Station sit beneath a steel-and-glass canopy with multiple railway tracks visible below.
Berlin Friedrichstraße Station in Berlin, Germany, has elevated S-Bahn platforms under a large steel-and-glass canopy. The station opened in 1882 and serves as a major interchange for S-Bahn, regional, and long-distance rail services.
Berlin Friedrichstraße Station platform with curved S-Bahn and regional rail tracks, Fernsehturm visible in the distance, and surrounding urban architecture.
Berlin Friedrichstraße Station in Berlin shows S-Bahn and regional rail tracks curving eastward past the platforms. The Fernsehturm rises in the distance above the station approach, and the Eurostars Berlin hotel stands beside the tracks.
Deutsche Bahn ICE 3 high-speed train passes beneath overhead catenary lines on an electrified Berlin rail line.
A Deutsche Bahn ICE 3 train runs past electrified tracks in Berlin. The high-speed train is shown under the overhead catenary system used on Germany’s mainline rail network.
Symmetrical brick stairwell with timber ceiling and metal handrails ascending through a Berlin train station underpass.
A stairway inside a Berlin train station rises between yellow brick walls beneath a timber roof structure. Metal handrails flank the steps, and small platform signs hang near the top of the stairwell.
Olympiastadion and Reuter power plant complex in Berlin's Westend district, with the 1936 Olympic stadium and industrial facilities visible.
The Olympiastadion was built for the 1936 Summer Olympics and designed by architect Werner March, replacing an earlier stadium on the same grounds. A 2004 renovation gave the structure a translucent roof and reduced capacity to roughly 74,000 seats; it now serves as the home ground of Hertha BSC and hosts the annual DFB-Pokal final. Behind it, the Reuter West plant generates combined heat and power for western Berlin, operated by Vattenfall on a site in Siemensstadt first developed with the original Kraftwerk Reuter in 1931. Reuter West itself was built in stages between 1987 and 1990 to supply district heating alongside electricity, a dual role reflected in the plant's cooling tower and chimney stack.
Hotel room bed with view of a yellow Gründerzeit building across the street in Berlin Mitte.
Gründerzeit buildings like this one take their name from Germany's "founders' era," the rapid industrial and urban expansion that followed unification in 1871. Berlin saw entire districts built in this style through the 1880s and 1890s, with stucco facades, bay windows, and brick detailing marking apartment blocks for the city's growing middle class. Many of these buildings in Mitte survived Allied bombing in World War II only to fall into disrepair under East German administration, when maintenance budgets for private housing stock were scarce. Since reunification in 1990, large-scale restoration projects have returned facades across Mitte to something close to their original color schemes and ornamentation, a process that has made the neighborhood one of the most sought-after residential areas in the city.
Kurt-Schumacher-Platz U-Bahn platform in Berlin displays light tile walls with gray bands and red station lettering typical of 1950s West Berlin transit design.
Kurt-Schumacher-Platz station in Berlin’s Reinickendorf district is a U6 U-Bahn stop. The platform has light tile walls with gray bands and red station lettering, a design typical of mid-1950s West Berlin transit architecture.
Rehberge U-Bahn station platform in Berlin's Wedding district displays mint-green tiled walls with photographic murals of park landscapes and sculptures.
Rehberge U-Bahn Station, located in Berlin's Wedding district, opened in 1956 as part of the postwar expansion of the U6 line. The station's platform features mint-green tiled walls adorned with large photographic murals depicting local park landscapes and public sculptures, including a piece titled "Der Ringer" in Volkspark Rehberge. These visual elements connect the transit space to its surrounding urban environment and history. Serving as a vital link for commuters, the station continues to function as a key component of Berlin's public transportation network operated by BVG.
Seestraße U-Bahn station platform in Berlin features a central kiosk with yellow storefront beneath fluorescent lighting.
Seestraße U-Bahn station in Berlin’s Wedding district, with a central kiosk on the platform. The station opened in 1923 and served as the northern terminus of the U6 line until the late 1950s.
Seestraße U-Bahn station platform in Berlin's Wedding district features bright yellow tiled walls and metal bench seating.
Seestraße U-Bahn station in Berlin’s Wedding district has twin side platforms with bright yellow tile walls and metal benches. The station opened in 1923 and is served by the U6 line.
Commuter walking through a yellow-tiled underground passageway at Wedding U-Bahn station in Berlin connecting stairs and escalators.
Wedding U-Bahn station in Berlin has a tiled underground passageway connecting stairways and an escalator to street exits. A commuter passes through the corridor, which is signed for nearby streets and bus connections.
Leopoldplatz U-Bahn station platform in Berlin displays pale yellow ceramic wall tiles with blue and ochre accent bands.
Leopoldplatz U-Bahn Station in Berlin has pale yellow ceramic wall tiles with blue and ochre accents. The station is served by the U6 and U9 lines and sits beneath Leopoldplatz in the Wedding district.
Leopoldplatz U-Bahn station platform on Berlin's U9 line features yellow tiled walls, green support columns, and metal bench seating.
Leopoldplatz U-Bahn station in Berlin includes a lower-level platform on the U9 line. The platform features pale yellow wall tiles, green-painted support columns, and bench seating along the wall.
Wedding U-Bahn platform in Berlin displays yellow advertising panels and orange tiled walls along the U6 underground train line.
Berlin Wedding U-Bahn station in Berlin features an orange-tiled platform wall and large advertising murals along track 1. An electronic sign above the platform shows U6 trains toward Alt-Mariendorf.
Wedding U-Bahn platform in Berlin features orange tiled walls and yellow service panels along the U6 line underground station.
Wedding U-Bahn station in Berlin has an underground platform lined with orange tiles and yellow service panels. The station is served by the U6 line, which runs through central Berlin to Alt-Tegel.
Yellow U6 train passes through Wedding station on Berlin's U-Bahn subway network.
A Berlin U6 train passes through Wedding station on the city’s U-Bahn network. Wedding opened in 1923 and remains a stop on the U6 line in northern Berlin.
White sign reading "Wedding" mounted on orange tiled wall at Berlin U-Bahn station.
Wedding Station in Berlin, Germany, is identified by a white sign on an orange tiled wall. The station is served by the Berlin U-Bahn and connects with the adjacent S-Bahn station.
Intersection of Invalidenstraße and Friedrichstraße in Berlin's Mitte district, with postwar apartment blocks and a construction crane above the streets.
Friedrichstraße has anchored Berlin's Mitte district since the late 17th century, when Friedrich I ordered its development as a central thoroughfare. The street became the city's premier shopping and entertainment corridor by the early 20th century, lined with department stores, theaters, and cafés. Cold War division cut Friedrichstraße in two, and Checkpoint Charlie, the former Allied crossing point, sits along its southern stretch. Invalidenstraße takes its name from the Invalidenhaus, a home for disabled soldiers built nearby in the 1700s, and today the street runs east-west through Mitte toward Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Reconstruction has continued in this part of the city since reunification, filling gaps left by wartime destruction and Cold War-era clearance.
Brandenburger Tor U-Bahn station platform under construction with building materials staged along the tunnel and gold lettering on dark tiled walls.
Brandenburger Tor station serves Berlin's U55/U5 line, linking the area near the Brandenburg Gate with Alexanderplatz since the line's 2020 extension. Its dark tiled walls and gold lettering are consistent with the design used throughout the newly built U5 stations. At the time of this photo, the platform remained under construction, with building materials and equipment staged along its length. Work lighting illuminates the tunnel bore beyond the platform edge, where finishing work was still underway.
Brandenburger Tor U-Bahn station platform displays a digital exhibit titled "Symbol der Teilung" beneath Berlin's U55 line.
Brandenburger Tor station on Berlin’s U5 line features a digital exhibit titled “Symbol der Teilung.” The display appears on the platform beneath Pariser Platz, where the station connects to the Hauptbahnhof–Bundestag–Brandenburger Tor route.
Brandenburger Tor U-Bahn station platform in Berlin displays illuminated historical photo panels on dark walls beneath the U55 line.
Brandenburger Tor U-Bahn station is beneath Pariser Platz in central Berlin. Opened in 2009 on the U55 line, it became part of the U5 in 2020. The station walls feature illuminated panels with historical images and dates related to Berlin and the Brandenburg Gate.

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