Imagine a scene from a Marvel movie where Hulk grabs a tram and throws it against the sidewalk.
The result, exactly as it would be, is what can be seen at the entrance to the Bockenheimer Warte subway station, in Frankfurt (Frankfurt am Main), Germany.
The stop of Bockenheimer Warte Subway is a major interchange station in the western part of Frankfurt. It is easy to see, because its input is a tram car swallowed by the earth.
The entrance to the station was created according to the idea of the architect Zbigniew Peter Pininski. Years ago, local residents were extremely concerned about the expansion of the city’s transportation network, and any new construction was actively discussed and often met with all kinds of resistance. Therefore, Pininski decided to create something that would bring a smile to the faces of concerned Frankfurters..
Inspired by a work by the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte, Pininski designed an entrance to the subway simulating a tram crashing to the ground. Local authorities gave the green light to his picturesque project, which was completed in 1986 along with levels B and C of the same metro station.
For quite some time, the locals continued to “gumble” about Frankfurt’s transport network, however, Bockenheimer Warte station managed to make them smile. Later, when the station underwent a significant expansion in 2001, the option of changing the entrance was raised. But thanks to public resistance, the tram crashed into the sidewalk remained intact.
Nowadays many people, and especially tourists, make a special stop at the Bockenheimer Warte station just to see its unique design. The subway station is located at Bockenheimer Landstraße, west of Frankfurt’s city center.
