SIEMENS, MUCH LIKE AEG and Daimler, is a present-day German company with roots stretching back to the 19th century. Founded in an office on Kreuzberg’s Schöneberger Straße in 1847, the company had offices in 13 countries by the time of founder Werner von Siemens’ death in 1892.
By 1900, Siemens had expanded their operations in Berlin, and bought a huge swath of land in eastern Spandau bordering Tegel, Reinickendorf, and Charlottenburg-Nord. This would become Siemensstadt, home to numerous factories owned by the company, along with new residential buildings capable of housing thousands of workers.
Abandoned flower store at the street-level entrance to the former Wernerwerk station.
The riveted ironwork of the tracks and stairway under the platform of the former Bahnhof Wernerwerk.
In order to connect this new mini-metropolis to greater Berlin, the Siemensbahn, a new railway line, was constructed between 1927 and 1929. Comprising three stations along 4.5 kilometers of track, the line extended northwest from Jungfernheide, with three stations (Wernerwerk, Siemensstadt, and Gartenfeld) offering S-Bahn service to the Hauptstadt.
With the S-Bahn strike of 1980, though, the line was shuttered, and has been abandoned ever since. The elevated line, which borders parks and residential buildings, has been gradually taken back by the surrounding nature, with trees and flowering vines sprouting from tracks and station platforms.
The decaying sign on the west-facing wall of the former Bahnhof Siemenssdadt.
The platform of Bahnhof Siemensstadt. Photo: Matthias Manske via Wikimedia Commons
In 2018, Siemens, alongside members of the “Red-Red-Green” coalition, announced plans for “Siemensstadt 2.0”, an initiative to bring new residential buildings, schools, startups, and hotels to the district. Whether it pans out, and whether it could mean the resuscitation of the Siemensbahn, remains to be seen.
A former signal post on the tracks between Siemensstadt and Gartenfeld stations, now rusted and surrounded by trees.
An abandoned wheelbarrow on the tracks between Siemensstadt and Gartenfeld stations.
Debris on the tracks between Siemensstadt and Gartenfeld
Trees growing on the abandoned tracks near the former Wernerwerk station, visible from street level.
Wernerwerk, named after the company’s founder, with its distinctive clock tower and red neon sign.
Siemensdamm meets some resistance at Ohmstraße.
The fading façade of Bahnhof Wernerwerk, the southernmost of the three stations on the former Siemensbahn.
Abandoned shops under the tracks at Bahnhof Wernerwerk.
Detail of sign, abandoned shop, Bahnhof Wernerwerk.
The riveted ironwork of a support beam under the former Wernerwerk station.
Access: The exit of U-Siemensdamm (U7) is one block west of the elevated tracks, which proceed from southeast to northwest through the district.
All stations and tracks are closed to the public, and while entering the stretch between the former Siemensstadt and Gartenfeld stations is relatively easy, it is done at one’s own risk, as is proceeding along the tracks, which are unmaintained. For an excellent guide to the entire Siemensbahn, along with numerous photos of the platforms and tracks, see this Abandoned Berlin article from several years ago.
