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The Bolzano Train Station
Hello everyone! Today we're talking about the Bolzano train station, the main station located in Trentino-Alto Adige. It's a very important station, with a huge amount of people passing through thanks to its strategic location on the Brenner railway and also being the southern terminus of the Bolzano-Merano railway. Did you know that until 1971 it was also the northern terminus of the now ceased Bolzano-Caldaro railway? Let's take a look at some history together!
History
The Bolzano train station, previously known as "Bozen-Gries", was inaugurated way back in 1859 under the management of the Südbahn railway company. At that time, it was part of the territory of the Austrian Empire and the passenger building was designed by the architect Sebastian Altmann, an employee of the city of Bolzano. During that period, the station served as the temporary terminus of the Brenner railway, which connected the Verona Porta Nuova station and the Trento station. However, this role did not last long as the line was extended to the Brenner station on August 24, 1867.
In 1881, it was the turn of the Bolzano-Merano railway, which was first managed by the Bozen-Meraner Bahn and then by the Kaiserlich-königliche österreichische Staatsbahnen, making the Bolzano station an even more important junction. But the real breakthrough came in 1898 when the Eisenbahn Tirols inaugurated the Bolzano-Caldaro railway, which was fully electrified in 1911 at a continuous voltage of 1200 V.
After the First World War, the transfer of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano from Austria to Italy led to the complete transfer of the lines and the station to the Ferrovie dello Stato. However, under the auspices of the fascist administration, the name of the station was Italianized (fascism) to "Bolzano-Gries" and the passenger building was heavily renovated. From 1927 to 1929, the architect Angiolo Mazzoni reworked the main facade in a monumental, neoclassical, and rationalist style.
The Passenger Building
The passenger building perfectly reflects the architectural style of the fascist period and is very interesting to visit. In fact, Angiolo Mazzoni's renovation project gave rise to a very imposing and majestic main facade, characterized by a large square pediment, semicolumns, and two niches that house two statues representing electric and steam traction, the works of the Austrian artist Franz Ehrenhöfer. Decorative elements abound and the Baroque style stands out both with the masks on the cornices of the complex and with the fountain depicting St. Christopher and an allegory of the Alto Adige rivers, placed above the entrance of the clock tower erected to the east of the main body.
Electrification of the Line to Merano
In 1935, the FS switched to the electrification of the line to Merano with a three-phase system at 3600 volts, while the tracks for trains to and from Caldaro, which were still using a different traction standard with direct current at 1100 V, were equipped with a third rail.
In short, the Bolzano train station has a very interesting history and represents one of the most important infrastructure points in the city, not to mention the incredible beauty of the passenger building. If you're in Bolzano, you can't miss a visit to the station!
