Architect	Schmitt and Schneider - 1957 Busmann + Haberer - 2000
Location	Beside Cologne Cathedral
Description
The original Hauptbahnhof opened in Cologne in 1859.  The building was designed by Hermann Otto Pflaume for the Rheinische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (Rhenish Railway Company RhE).  That station was modified several times over the years, but during World War II it was damaged by Allied bombing of the city.  Apparently, after the war there was a discussion about relocating the station, but in the end a new station was erected on the same site.  Work began in 1953 and in 1957 the new station hall, designed by Schmitt and Schneider, was opened on September 23. Further development of the station occurred in 2000 when a shopping mall, the Colonaden, was added.  It features 70 shops and restaurants with over 11,500 square metres of retail space and 700 employees.  The architectural practice of Busmann and Harberer also added an elegant roof structure above the platforms at the southern end of the station.  They describe the design as tree like supports for a delicate lattice roof. Cologne's Hauptbahnhof serves more than a quarter of a million passengers every day making it the fifth busiest station in the country.

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