Munich is beautiful, no question about it. But even if we’ve known about it for a long time, it’s always all the better to get double confirmation. This is also the case with the Westfriedhof subway station. It is regularly ranked among the most beautiful subway stations in the world. Yet it was actually planned quite differently…
The happy coincidence
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The Westfriedhof subway station was opened in 1998 and was originally designed as a terminus. The architects opted for rough, exposed concrete walls and natural shades of gray – a sober, almost cave-like shell. Pretty boring, you think? Some other people thought so too and decided to give the station a little something extra. Luckily, from today’s perspective.
Because the lighting concept by world-famous Munich designer Ingo Maurer and his team was subsequently commissioned and installed. This was the decisive turning point that made the station famous overnight. The designer installed eleven oversized, dome-shaped lamps directly above the platform. Each of these aluminum domes has an impressive diameter of 3.80 meters. The insides of the shades are painted in bright red, yellow and blue.
A subway station shines in new splendor
The lighting design makes the Westfriedhof subway station a unique experience: the colored lamps bathe the long platform in different, warm color ranges and visually divide the plain space. The concrete walls create an atmospheric contrast. Photographers and filmmakers from all over the world are attracted by this concept.
And the work has also paid off for the designer. He designed other subway stations, such as Münchner Freiheit and Moosfeld, which earned him the “Maurer trilogy”. Today, the station is not only a transportation structure, but also a walk-in light art gallery in the public space. It is regularly used for commercials and music videos.
And if you want to carry the Westfriedhof station around with you every day, you can even do that. Because the uniqueness of the station was honored in 2024 with the issue of a special German stamp. A platform for all occasions! The choice of public transport can be so beautiful.