page_title: Gerstungen station
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Gerstungen station / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Railroad and stations near Gerstungen in 1860. Deutsch: Bahnlinie und Bahnstationen nahe Gerstungen um 1860.
context_page_description: Gerstungen station is located in the town of Gerstungen on the western border of the German state of Thuringia on the Halle–Bebra railway. The station has been particularly notable for its history as a border station between different states and railway administrations.
context_section_description: Gerstungen received a rail connection in September 1849. The Thuringian Railway opened the last part of its trunk line from Eisenach to Gerstungen on 25 September 1849, three days before the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Nordbahn-Gesellschaft (Frederick William Northern Railway Company) opened its line from Bebra to Gerstungen.
  The Thuringian Railway ended at the Thüringer Bahnhof (Thuringian station) and the Frederick William Northern Railway ended in Hessischer Bahnhof (Hessian station). These two stations were barely 100 metres apart from each other and were connected by a railway line, but treaties prevented unrestricted rail operations. Travellers had to change trains or were even forced to look for a lodging in Gerstungen. There were hostels and a highly frequented eatery near the station. Freight traffic was also affected by this separation. Freight had to be transferred between wagons, causing unnecessary loss of time and often also damage. The railway companies’ rolling stock could not be mixed. Only military transports and special trains were given exemptions. Since the change of traction and the transshipment of goods required a lot of staff, numerous railway workers settled near the station, so that with the influx of railway staff and their families, the population of Gerstungen increased by over 500 persons.
  With the founding of the German Empire in 1871, the Prussian state railways were commissioned to ensure a unification of the railway networks of the Empire. This soon led to the takeover of the small state railways on the rail network. In 1882, both railway companies were bought up by the Prussian state railways, and the Hessian station was closed. Gerstungen acquired a special operational importance in 1898 with the opening of the main marshalling yard between Kassel and Weißenfels. Since the opening of the Gerstungen–Berka line on 1 October 1903, which was extended in stages to Vacha in 1905, Gerstungen station became a junction station. During the Second World War, the station was identified as a strategic destination and bombed in 1944. During this raid, adjacent houses were also hit and several inhabitants were killed. Trains running on the Gerstungen–Eisenach section were also attacked from the air.
caption: Map of the Gerstungen rail facilities in about 1860
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