Just the ticket: Berlin U-Bahn Architecture and Design Map
You can’t class yourself as a truly global city unless you have an extensive metro system. And Berlin has one of the best.
Now a new and highly detailed map celebrates the best of the German capital’s U-Bahn, focusing on the architecture that makes it such a magnet for intrepid subway enthusiasts.
Berliner U-Bahn Architekturkarte by Verena Pfeiffer-Klossm, with photography by Nigel Green, is part-map/part-architecture guidebook that pays particular attention to 50 of the most noteworthy stations.
According to the publishers, “This map invites readers on an architecture and design journey across Berlin’s U-Bahn network from 1902 to 2009. The station network tells a remarkable story of the social and economic history of Berlin in the 20th century.”
“The station network tells a remarkable story of the social and economic history of Berlin in the 20th century”
Today, Berlin has 173 U-Bahn stations, around half of which were built before 1930. After the war, and during the partition of the city, a further 70 were constructed in the West, with 10 in communist, Trabant-clogged East Berlin.
The map, written in both English and German, takes a deep dive into the history of the network, blending fact-heavy text with gorgeous photography.
“From Rosenthaler Platz to Richard Wagner Platz, a plethora of stories lie at each highly stylised station,” say the publishers. “The map guides readers from the ‘ghost stations’ of East Berlin, to history lessons at Heidelberger Platz, fairy tales at Paulsternstraße, and to the colourful glazed ceramic tiles of stations such as Jungfernheide.”
“Today, Berlin has 173 U-Bahn stations, around half of which were built before 1930”
Berlin is one of the most fascinating cities on earth, so if you’re planning a trip, the guide should be a shoo-in for your hand-luggage.
And even if you’re staying put, it’ll give you hours of tastefully designed pleasure.
Berlin U-Bahn Architecture and Design Map is published by Blue Crow Media, available now.