The Former Railway Embankment Feldkirchner Tangente

Discovering forgotten places.
Part of the exhibition Ecopolis München 2019: Environmental Stories of Discovery

by Anne Dietrich
Supervisor: Dr. Gesa Lüdecke and Prof. Dr. Christof Mauch

After having visited the first Ecopolis exhibition in the atrium of the LMU in 2017, I knew that I would want to participate should there be a second version of Ecopolis. I was interested in true interdisciplinary research and investigation, in collegial teamwork, and in the new perspectives and learning opportunity of helping to plan and realize an exhibition. The seminar and resulting exhibition were to be called “Environmental Stories of Discovery,” an exploration of Munich’s environmental histories. The diverse stories told in the exhibition ask: To whom does the urban world belong, and what do we want the urban environment of the future to look like? My research partner Maike and I were intrigued by the topic of the seemingly undiscovered former railway embankment Feldkirchner Tangente – we had never heard of it before and were eager to discover new corners of Munich.

Relatively wild: Although partly overgrown, the railway embankment is still clearly visible. Photo: Maike Jebasinski.

We explored the railway embankment and the surrounding area several times and scoured current and past local reports for information about it - there is surprisingly little public knowledge and information about the old railway embankment and its past and present use. In addition, we met with a number of relevant stakeholders on-site and talked to them about the importance of this place. We took a lot of photos and gathered old maps and drawings. In the following lines, you can read a part of our findings and exhibition texts.

Aerial view of the Allies between 1945 and 1949. It shows abandoned goods wagons and the old village Johanneskirchen at the bottom. Source: Geodatenservice - City of Munich.

Just past Johanneskirchen, there is an unremarkable railway embankment. Bordered by a racecourse, garden plots, and a gravel mine, the old rail line crosses the Hüllgraben canal on the way to Feldkirchen. This eight-kilometer-long stretch of track between Johanneskirchen and Feldkirchen was built during the Second World War to facilitate freight transport to Munich. Afraid that bombs would strike the central station and the connecting railway lines within the city, the German Reichsbahn planned to build a bypass route that would divert freight traffic around the outskirts of Munich. In 1941 the singletrack line was put into service. But the end of the war also meant an early end to the use of this route. By 1949 the tracks had already begun to be dismantled and the bypass became human-abandoned land. But many others have wandered along this path: endangered fauna move about undisturbed, rare plants establish themselves and in the 1980s the city declared this space to be a “protected landscape element.”

Only the ballast stones in the track bed, metal fastenings, and the stacked remains of wooden sleepers in the thicket tell of other days. Photo: Anne Dietrich.

At first glance, the former railway embankment seems wild and abandoned. In contrast to the planned and tended urban green spaces, the embankment is overgrown with trees and bushes. In places, deadwood blocks the dirt path. But is the nature in this eastern corner of Munich really so undisturbed?

For decades, the former railway embankment had been left to itself. In order to be able to use it as a habitat and as a hiking trail, human intervention was necessary. Starting in 2012, the lower nature conservation authority carries out regular maintenance measures: they cut trees and bushes, mow the grass, and document the biodiversity. Without this interference, the balance between the free spaces and the forests and bushes would not remain. Wilderness still has its place: one-third of the embankment area is being left alone.

Traces of regular visits: Over time, a trail has developed along the old track bed. Photo: Maike Jebasinski.

Today, local people go here for recreation and relaxation but at the same time, the Feldkirchner Tangente and its history have been almost completely forgotten. There are no signs recalling how it was once used. The City of Munich is planning an area of urban development in the northeast of Munich: housing for up to 30,000 people could be created. The former railway embankment would mark the northern end of this area. Will it remain undisturbed as the city continues to grow and develop?

 

Some species on the railway embankment are particularly endangered and threatened with extinction. The city regularly checks the stock. At the same time, the northeast urban development area could be created here with housing for up to 30,000 people. As a former freight line, the tangent would limit the area in the north. Photo: Anne Dietrich.

Our research, results, and materials on the Feldkirchner Tangente were part of the Ecopolis II exhibition in autumn of 2019. A virtual exhibition chapter has been published on the Environment and Society Portal. I wrote a report to round up my project and reflect on our process of researching and exhibiting as well as on unanswered questions and issues not addressed.

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