District

Bahnstadt

Heidelberg's newest district on the former freight yard: a passive-house quarter with a science campus, a long water basin at Langer Anger and a tram link to the main station.

The Bahnstadt is Heidelberg's 15th and newest district. It has been built since 2010 on the site of the former freight and marshalling yard behind the main station, and the first residents moved in in 2012. Every building, from homes and laboratories to schools and the cinema, follows the passive-house standard, which makes the Bahnstadt one of the largest passive-house developments in the world. Around 22 hectares are set aside as the Bahnstadt campus for science and business.

The Bahnstadt has been a district in its own right since 2011, when the city council confirmed it as the 15th district. At the end of 2021, 5,658 people lived here on 1.09 square kilometres; its neighbours are the Weststadt, Bergheim, Wieblingen, Pfaffengrund and Kirchheim. Its centre is Gadamerplatz, with the primary school (open since 2017) and the stop for tram lines 22 and 26, which reach the main station and Bismarckplatz in a few minutes.

For visitors, the Bahnstadt is the counterpoint to the Old Town: wide streets, light facades and plenty of water and green space. At Langer Anger a long water basin runs through the quarter, and on hot days children cool their feet in it. Halle02, one of the city's best-known concert and club venues, stands at Zollhofgarten. Heating comes as district heat from a wood-fired power plant in neighbouring Pfaffengrund.