Gazing at the ehem. Postbahnhof, do you sense a story etched in its very walls? This place was once a vital hub for mail in central Germany. The ehem. Postbahnhof operated from 1912 to 1994. It played a crucial role in Leipzig’s transportation network. Today, the historic buildings are part of the Mariannen-Campus in the Schönefeld district.
Let’s step back to the 1840s. The railway between Leipzig and Dresden began carrying mail. The Saxon Postal Authority even opened a special office near Dresden Station for this purpose. Initially, regular train cars carried the mail. A postal worker would accompany the deliveries. The idea of loading stagecoaches onto trains proved impractical. Around 1850, they started using dedicated train cars for mail transport. These allowed postal workers to sort mail during the journey. In 1851, the first such train cars appeared on the Leipzig to Hof route. By 1867, the Royal Saxon Post had 25 of these specially designed cars. They were known for their smooth ride, good ventilation, and reliable lighting even when stationary.
By the early 20th century, Leipzig’s old postal facilities were struggling to handle the increasing volume. So, a new central post office and train station was planned. The chosen site was north of the Leipzig-Dresden railway line, in southern Schönefeld. This area included fields, meadows, and Schmalbruch’s Pond, a former swimming spot.
The pond was filled, and the fields were covered. In total, the project transformed 58,000 square meters. The construction cost five million marks, including land acquisition. The ehem. Postbahnhof opened on February 1, 1912, nearly three years before Leipzig Central Station was fully operational. The main building is 200 meters long. The covered area of the entire facility spans 16,000 square meters. The eight-section hall had 29 tracks with 16 platforms. It could accommodate up to 90 mail train cars, making it the largest facility of its kind at the time. Extensive land elevation was needed to create the fan-shaped track layout.
Two signal boxes, later named R18 and W19, controlled the rail traffic. The railway administration maintained these. Postal employees staffed signal box 19, even though it managed train movements through traffic tunnels. The ehem. Postbahnhof had its own water and electricity supply. A power plant with two 120-horsepower and one 250-horsepower diesel engine provided power.
In 1913, the ehem. Postbahnhof processed 10.4 million outgoing and 4.8 million incoming packages. It also handled 36 million items in transit. Locomotives from the main station moved the mail cars. To avoid crossing main tracks, the postal administration built traffic tunnels I and II. In 1929, mail cars regularly ran on routes such as Leipzig to Chemnitz, Leipzig to Frankfurt, and Leipzig to Dresden.
Over time, the ehem. Postbahnhof expanded. In 1936, a large extension was completed on Rohrteichstrasse. This extension met operational needs until the facility closed in 1994. At the time, the office was known as “Post Office 18.” When Deutsche Bundespost became Deutsche Post AG, it discontinued mail transport by rail nationwide. It shifted postal transport to roads and air. The Radefeld Freight Center now handles some of the tasks previously assigned to the Leipzig ehem. Postbahnhof.
The listed buildings of the Leipzig ehem. Postbahnhof have stood empty since its closure. In 2014, the CG Group acquired the property. Plans included a football stadium for 3,000 spectators. The existing training facilities were to be renovated. Halls for production and storage were also planned. As of 2024, part of the ehem. Postbahnhof site, now called Mariannen-Campus, belongs to CG Mariannen-Campus Nord GmbH & Co. KG. This company is part of Christoph Gröner’s real estate group, which filed for insolvency in early November 2024.
The ehem. Postbahnhof stands as a testament to Leipzig’s industrial past. Its architecture and history provide a fascinating glimpse into the city’s evolution.