Hamburg Central Station: The Atlas Returns
Restored sculpture unveiled and exhibited in the Wandelhalle – DB Chairman of the Board Station&Service Bernd Koch: “Important piece of railroad history returns to its original place”. – Installation on the roof of the station planned for fall.
A landmark of Hamburg’s main train station is returning to its original home: the Atlas sculpture, around 2.8 meters tall and weighing 270 kilograms, which once stood on the station’s roof. Until the fall, the figure from Greek mythology will be on display in the Wandelhalle so that travelers and guests can view it up close. In September, it will then be returned to the gable of the station at the Glockengießerwall exit after almost 80 years.
Most recently, the atlas stood on a small pedestal in a pond in a former railroad housing estate in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, which now belongs to the housing company Vonovia.
Extensive research revealed that it was a historically special monument. Vonovia then decided to have the sculpture extensively restored and returned to Deutsche Bahn (DB). Thus was born the joint project of its return as a landmark of the main station. Today the atlas was officially handed over.
Bernd Koch, Chairman of the Management Board of DB Station&Service AG, unveiled the sculpture in the station’s Wandelhalle together with Hamburg’s Senator for Culture Dr. Carsten Brosda, Vonovia Management Board member Arnd Fittkau and Daniel Martens, Managing Director of Wandelhalle Centermanagement.
Those interested in learning more about the sculpture and its long journey can find more information and a film at:
