(Hiking) Werdohl Train Station

About the station and the station building:
The Werdohl station is a passenger station located on the Ruhr-Sieg line between Hagen and Siegen. The station building was constructed shortly before World War I (1914) in the Neo-Baroque style. It is a large, two-story, symmetrically structured building with a mansard roof and a central projection. The structure along the eaves has two side wings resembling projections. The ground-floor porch in front of the central section, which houses the main entrance, features columns or column bases between the windows, topped with Neo-Baroque capitals.

The central projection contains a large basket-arched window, with the station clock situated above it on the roof. On the right side facade is a stair tower under a conical roof. The building is plastered except for the rear; the rear and the base are of ashlar masonry; the roof is covered with paper shingles; the dormers and gables are clad in slate; the wooden-mullioned windows are largely preserved; the entrance doors have been modernized.

The Werdohl train station is located on the Bergisch–Märkische Railway line (part of the Prussian State Railway from 1882), which opened on August 6, 1861, running from Altena via Finnentrop toward Siegen. For the town of Werdohl, the station building serves as a unique testament to the development of its transportation and economic history, which was significantly shaped by the construction of the Ruhr–Siegen Railway and gave a particular boost to the local metal, wire, and small goods industries. The building is also a vivid testament to prestigious railway station architecture from before World War I and, in turn, provides insight into the city’s economic significance. Constructed with an urban design oriented toward Bahnhofsstraße, the building also plays a particularly prominent role in shaping the cityscape. There are both scholarly and urban planning reasons for its preservation and use.

With state funding from the “Stadtumbau West” program, exterior renovation of the building will begin in 2011, followed immediately by interior renovation. Starting in late 2012/2013, the train station—including its annex—is scheduled to house the City Museum, the City Archives, a children’s art school, the administrative offices of the housing association WOGE, and a restaurant.