Salzburg Hauptbahnhof

Salzburg's main railway station was completely rebuilt between 2008 and 2014, and the result is one of the most elegant modern train stations in Central Europe. The original station dated to 1860, when the Empress Elisabeth Railway connected Salzburg to Vienna, and was expanded several times before Allied bombing damaged it severely in 1944. Post-war repairs were functional rather than beautiful, and by the 2000s, the station was outdated and overwhelmed by the fifteen million passengers passing through annually.

The redesign, by the Viennese architecture firm kadawittfeldarchitektur, kept the station operational throughout construction — no small feat when you're essentially rebuilding a house while people are living in it. The new canopy structure is the signature element: flowing, white, tent-like roof forms that float above the platforms, providing cover without enclosure. The design references both Alpine snow landscapes and the Baroque curves of the old town, and it manages to feel both contemporary and contextually appropriate.

Below the platforms, a new underground shopping concourse connects the station to the surrounding neighbourhood, and the forecourt on Südtiroler Platz was redesigned as a public space. Architecturally, the station won multiple design awards and demonstrated that a transport hub could be a genuine piece of civic architecture rather than just a building you pass through.

For travellers, the station is a gateway in multiple directions. Direct trains connect Salzburg to Vienna in two and a half hours, Munich in ninety minutes, and Zurich in five hours. The proximity to the German border — just five kilometres away — means the station serves as a de facto international hub. If you arrive in Salzburg by train, the station itself provides the first impression, and it's a good one: a building that says this city cares about how things look.