Zürich Hauptbahnhof

Zürich Hauptbahnhof, also known as Zürich HB, is the main railway station in Zürich and the largest railway station in Switzerland. The present station building opened in 1871 and was designed by Jakob Friedrich Wanner. It stands at the northern end of Bahnhofstrasse, close to the Limmat, Bahnhofplatz and the historic centre of the city. The station is known for its large main hall, extensive platforms, underground levels, tram connections and constant passenger movement, making it one of the busiest transport hubs in Europe. On screen, it is often used to establish Zürich through travel, banking, international movement and the city’s role as a major Swiss transport centre.

Zürich Hauptbahnhof has appeared in Kohlhiesels Töchter (1962), Assignment to Kill (1968), The Bourne Identity (1988) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). The station should not be confused with The Bourne Identity (2002), where the Zürich-set railway and street scenes were filmed elsewhere, including Prague and Paris.

In Kohlhiesels Töchter (1962), Zürich Hauptbahnhof appears as part of the film’s Swiss location work. The station is used as a recognisable urban railway setting, placing the story within Zürich’s public transport and arrival geography rather than in a purely studio-created environment.

In Assignment to Kill (1968), Zürich Hauptbahnhof appears in a night-time station scene. Dominique leads Richard Cutting through the station concourse towards the platforms, where Walter Green is expected to appear. The film uses the real Zürich main station as a late-night meeting point, connecting the thriller plot to international travel, surveillance and the movement of passengers through the city.

In The Bourne Identity (1988), Zürich Hauptbahnhof appears at the beginning of the story. Jason Bourne arrives in Zürich by train, which pulls into the station at track 14 A. He then walks out of the station onto Bahnhofplatz. The scene first shows the upper part of the station building before the camera moves down to Bourne outside the entrance. The Alfred Escher Monument is visible on Bahnhofplatz, including one of the dragon figures spraying water from the monument’s fountain. The scene uses the real Zürich main station as Bourne’s first point of arrival in the city, before the story continues into the banking and identity mystery that drives the plot.

In The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Zürich Hauptbahnhof appears during Lisbeth Salander’s Zürich section near the end of the film. After carrying out her financial operation in the city, Lisbeth is seen leaving by train. The station is used as part of the film’s Swiss banking and escape geography, linking Zürich’s financial world with Lisbeth’s controlled disappearance from the city.

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