Stadtbahnbögen, 19th century viaduct arches in Berlin, Germany

The Stadtbahnbögen is a viaduct made of 731 brick arches that carries elevated railway tracks through central Berlin, extending from Schlesischer Bahnhof to Savignyplatz. The spaces inside function as commercial areas, with businesses identifying their locations by arch numbers rather than traditional street addresses.

The brick viaduct was built between 1872 and 1882 to plans by Ernst Dircksen. Of the original 731 arches, 597 were usable for commercial purposes, but only 58 were rented when the Stadtbahn opened in 1882; by 1885 the figure was 148 and by 1896 it had reached 392. The continuous numbering ran from Schlesischer Bahnhof to Savignyplatz, just before Bleibtreustraße.

Businesses in the arches often rent two or more neighbouring vaults, and the combination "Stadtbahnbogen (Stbbg.) + number + postcode + district" can replace the street address entirely. Near the stations, restaurateurs and small shops lived off passing travellers; by the street overpasses, horse stables were common before giving way to garages and motor-vehicle firms.

The network of arches is spread across much of the city and is easily accessible on foot, especially when walking along the major stations. Most entrances are straightforward to find, and many businesses and venues are open during daytime hours.

The arches were not all rented at first: of 453 offered when the line opened in 1882, only 58 found tenants. Numbers run from Schlesischer Bahnhof to Savignyplatz, and some are reused with letter suffixes such as 410A, 410B and 410C. Today 456 surviving arches are listed with coordinates in Berlin's geoportal, numbered from 041 to 591.