Bahnhof Zoologischer Garten

West Berlin’s Main Station at Hardenbergplatz

Zoologischer Garten station is located at Hardenbergplatz in Charlottenburg, between the Zoo, Kurfürstendamm, and Bikini-Haus. S-Bahn, U2 and U9 lines, regional trains, and a large bus station converge here, and from the forecourt, the Zoo entrance with the Elephant Gate can be reached in a few steps. Until reunification, the station was West Berlin’s most important long-distance train station; afterwards, Hauptbahnhof took over this role, and since then, it has remained a local transport hub. The hall, stairs, and forecourt have largely retained their original features and are therefore often booked as a film set if a scene is meant to evoke the seventies or eighties. The Memorial Church is also within walking distance, which facilitates filming days with multiple locations. The current building dates back to the 1930s, was rebuilt after war damage, and has been renovated several times in the years following reunification. Therefore, less of the old long-distance train hall remains than many expect, and the tracks today lie above the cobblestones of the forecourt.

Christiane F. and its Consequences

The location is primarily known through Christiane F., We Children from Bahnhof Zoo. For the 1981 film adaptation, filming took place in and around the station building, partly with amateur actors from the area, and the image of the open drug scene became firmly established worldwide as a result. A later series adaptation revisited the material, this time with different locations. For Berlin, this entry is therefore a special case: the film set has overlaid the real place, to the point where many visitors only know the station through the film. Anyone getting off here today will find little of that; instead, they’ll find a renovated station with shops, a highly frequented bus station, and an area that has thoroughly changed since the eighties. What remains is the location: from the forecourt, the Zoo, Aquarium, Kurfürstendamm, and the Memorial Church can each be reached in a few minutes, which still makes the station practical for productions today. Anyone wishing to follow the film’s footsteps would do better to focus on the forecourt and its surroundings rather than the hall itself, as that’s where the least has changed.