Bavarian Maximilian’s Railway
Encyclopedia
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Bayerische Maximiliansbahn) was as an east-west line built between the Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n border with Württemberg
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...
at Neu-Ulm
Neu-Ulm
Neu-Ulm is a town in Bavaria, capital of the Neu-Ulm district. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim, Nersingen and Elchingen. The population is 51,110 .-History:...
in the west via Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and Rosenheim
Rosenheim
Rosenheim is a town in Bavaria at the confluence of the rivers Inn and Mangfall. It is seat of administration of the district of Rosenheim, but is not a part of it.-Geography:...
to the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n border at Kufstein
Kufstein
Kufstein is a city in Tyrol, Austria, located along the river Inn, in the lower Inn valley, near the border with Bavaria, Germany, and is the site of a post World War II French sector United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Displaced Persons camp.Kufstein is the second largest city...
and Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
in the east as part of the Royal Bavarian State Railways
Royal Bavarian State Railways
As a nation-state, Germany did not come into being until the creation of the German Empire in 1871 from the various German-speaking states such as Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Baden and Württemberg. By then each of the major states had formed its own state railway and these continued to remain...
. The Munich–Augsburg section of the line had already been built by the Munich-Augsburg Railway Company
Munich-Augsburg Railway Company
The Munich-Augsburg Railway Company , the second private railway company in Bavaria, built the Munich–Augsburg line between 1838 and 1840...
and opened in 1840. The line was named after the reigning King of Bavaria
King of Bavaria
King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished...
from 1848 to 1864 Maximilian II
Maximilian II of Bavaria
Maximilian II of Bavaria was king of Bavaria from 1848 until 1864. He was son of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.-Crown Prince:...
.
History
States of the German Confederation
The States of the German Confederation were those member states that from June 20, 1815 were part of the German Confederation, which lasted, with some changes in the member states, until August 24, 1866, under the presidency of the Austrian imperial House of Habsburg, which was represented by an...
, Bavaria decided in around 1851 to complete its major rail links by building an east-west rail link between the German states and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
via the Brenner railway
Brenner railway
The Brenner Railway is a major line connecting the Austrian and Italian railways from Innsbruck and Verona climbing the Wipptal , passing over the Brenner Pass and descending down the Eisack Valley to Bolzano and then down the Adige Valley from Bolzano to Rovereto and from there along the...
and via Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and the Semmering railway
Semmering Railway
The Semmering railway, Austria, which starts at Gloggnitz and leads over the Semmering to Mürzzuschlag was the first mountain railway in Europe built with a standard gauge track. It is commonly referred to as the world's first true mountain railway, given the very difficult terrain and the...
. These lines were expected to be well used, particularly for the connection to the Austrian Adriatic port of Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
. Treaties agreed with the Kingdom of Württemberg
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg was a state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located in present-day Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which came into existence in 1495...
and with the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
on 25 April 1850 and ratified in 1851. The route included, the existing line between Augsburg and Munich, completed by the former private Munich-Augsburg Railway Company in 1840.
The line began at the Württemberg and Bavaria border in the middle of the newly built bridge over the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
between Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
and Neu-Ulm, and ran for about 85 km to Augsburg. In Ulm, it connected with the Württemberg Eastern railway to Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and the Southern railway
Southern Railway (Württemberg)
The Southern Railway is a non-electrified main line in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. It was built from 1846 to 1850 and doubled from 1905 to 1913. During that time many of the station buildings were rebuilt...
to Friedrichshafen
Friedrichshafen
This article is about a German town. For the Danish town, see Frederikshavn, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Friedrichshafen is a university city on the northern side of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders with Switzerland and Austria.It is the district capital of the...
.
From Munich, the line ran for over 106 km over the route now known as the Mangfall Valley line
Mangfall Valley Railway
The Mangfall Valley Railway or Mangfalltalbahn is a single-tracked, electrified railway that runs through the Mangfall valley in Bavaria, Germany, between Holzkirchen and Rosenheim. It is exclusively used by regional services...
via Großhesselohe and Rosenheim
Rosenheim station
Rosenheim station is the largest railway station between Munich and Salzburg / Innsbruck and is located in the centre of the city of Rosenheim in Upper Bavaria, Germany.- Description, Location, Importance and History:...
to Kufstein
Kufstein
Kufstein is a city in Tyrol, Austria, located along the river Inn, in the lower Inn valley, near the border with Bavaria, Germany, and is the site of a post World War II French sector United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration Displaced Persons camp.Kufstein is the second largest city...
, where it connected with the Austrian Lower Inn Valley line
Lower Inn Valley railway
The Lower Inn Valley Railway is a two-track, electrified railway line that is one of the major lines of the Austrian railways. It was originally opened as the k.k. Nordtiroler Staatsbahn . It begins at the national border at Kufstein as a continuation of the Rosenheim–Kufstein line and runs...
. The Salzburg line
Munich–Salzburg railway
The Munich–Salzburg railway is a 153 kilometre-long double-track main line of the German railways. It connects Munich with the line to Vienna at Salzburg. At Rosenheim station, it connects with the line to Kufstein. which continues to Innsbruck and the Brenner line to Italy...
branched off in Rosenheim and ran for 83 km via Traunstein
Traunstein
Traunstein is a town in the south-eastern part of Bavaria, Germany, and is the administrative center of a district by the same name. It is situated at the heart of a region called Chiemgau, approximately 11 km east of Lake Chiemsee between Munich and Salzburg, 15 km north of the Alps, and...
to the border near Salzburg.
Construction
Under a Bavarian law of 4 May 1851 work started on the western section. The 83.7 km long line opened in four sections:| Date | Route | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1854 | Centre of the Danube bridge in Ulm–Neu-Ulm | 1.3 km |
| 26 September 1853 | Neu-Ulm–Burgau | 38.1 km |
| 1 May 1854 | Burgau–Dinkelscherben | 17.9 km |
| 26 September 1853 | Dinkelscherben–Augsburg | 26.4 km |
Construction of the eastern section was regulated by the Bavarian Law of 7 May 1852. The 188 km long line opened in five sections:
| Date | Route | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 24 June 1854 | München–Großhesselohe | 10.7 km |
| 31 October 1857 | Großhesselohe–Rosenheim | 62.9 km |
| 5 August 1858 | Rosenheim–Border at Kufstein | 31.9 km |
| 7 May 1860 | Rosenheim–Traunstein | 53.3 km |
| 1 August 1860 | Traunstein–Border at Salzburg | 29.5 km |
The three years delay in continuing the line from Großhesselohe to Rosenheim was due to the complicated construction of the great 300-metre bridge over the Isar
Isar
The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria and Bavaria, Germany. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald, and flows through Bad Tölz, Munich, and Landshut before reaching the Danube near Deggendorf. At 295 km in length, it is the fourth largest river...
valley there. The foundation work for the bridge foundations and its three 30-meter piers started in 1852. The heavy traffic on the first section led to building of a second track in 1862. From 1871, this section of the line lost its long distance services after the opening of the shorter route
Munich–Salzburg railway
The Munich–Salzburg railway is a 153 kilometre-long double-track main line of the German railways. It connects Munich with the line to Vienna at Salzburg. At Rosenheim station, it connects with the line to Kufstein. which continues to Innsbruck and the Brenner line to Italy...
via Grafing
Grafing
Grafing bei München is a town in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg. In 2003, the town marked its 50th anniversary of being raised to town .-Geography:...
.