page_title: Central station
section_title: Germany
hierarchical_section_title: Central station / Examples of central stations / Europe / Germany
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Centralbahnhof und Post in der Schloßstraße in Stuttgart (Postkarte)
context_page_description: Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the city centres themselves. As a result, "Central Station" is often, but not always, part of the proper name for a railway station that is the central or primary railway hub for a city.
context_section_description: The German words for "central station" are Centralbahnhof and Zentralbahnhof. Geographically central stations may be named Mitte or Stadtmitte ("city centre"), e.g. Koblenz Stadtmitte station. In most German cities with more than one passenger station, the principal station is called Hauptbahnhof meaning "main railway station"; some German sources translate this as "central station" although stations named Hauptbahnhof may not be centrally located.
  While using Hauptbahnhof in its journey planner and passenger information, in English-language publications Deutsche Bahn uses variously Hauptbahnhof, Main and Central.
  In Germany, Hauptbahnhof is abbreviated to Hbf.
  The following stations historically bore the name Centralbahnhof or Zentralbahnhof as part of their proper name:
  Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof
  Köln Hauptbahnhof
  Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof
  Hamburg Dammtor station: documents from around the time of the opening of the station refer to Centralbahnhof. or Zentral-Bahnhof.
  Ingolstadt Hauptbahnhof
  Magdeburg Hauptbahnhof
  Mainz Hauptbahnhof
  München Hauptbahnhof until 1 May 1904.
  Oldenburg Hauptbahnhof (called Centralbahnhof Oldenburg from 1879 to 1911)
  Osnabrück Hauptbahnhof
  Stuttgart Zentralbahnhof (or Centralbahnhof) was a centrally located station on the Zentralbahn (replaced by Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, which opened on a new site east of the centre in 1922).
caption: The former Stuttgart Zentralbahnhof
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