Berlin is never short of surprises. Littered around the city, there are plenty of relics hinting at its past. One of them is pretty impressive, surprisingly unknown and a testament to an age where progress could not be stopped.
In Berlin, you can ride a U-Bahn train that travels through a house. Literally.
In the first days of the 20th century, Berlin was a bustling metropolis filled with great ambition. It was during those times that great building projects were undertaken. In 1903, the first of those projects emerged: Berlin’s first subway line.
To achieve this grand feat of engineering, the face of the city changed at the cost of the local population who were sometimes evicted or who had to experience never-ending construction sites. This was perhaps the most visible when the engineers decided to bore through an apartment building to let the U1 line pass through.
No one knows why this weird solution was preferred over demolishing the building completely or building underground. Historians and the BVG agree that it was probably the cheapest option.
When the line was extended later, several more buildings experienced the same fate. Sadly, almost everything was destroyed during WW2 bombings. Today, however, riders of the U1 / U3 line ride through the last remaining artefact of that project.
It’s clearly visible from the Gleisdreieck park in Berlin. Reports indicate that neighbours are used to the noise and that some of the rooms are used as rehearsal spaces, instead of living spaces.
Nonetheless, about 600 trains ride through that house every day. Insulation material prevents vibrations and noise from leaking out too much. If you stop underneath, all you will hear is a distant roar.
Next time you ride that U 1 / U3 line between U-Gleisdereick and U-Kurfürstendamm, have a little thought for the (very) temporary neighbours you are greeting on your way to work under their living room, passing through at 50 kilometres per hour.