Steintor Busstop — Alessandro Mendini, Hannover
Alessandro Mendini · Bus stop, BUSSTOPS project, 1994 · Steintor, Kurt-Schumacher-Straße · Hannover, Germany
Photograph by GeorgDerReisende, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 30 April 2021, camera date. Full photograph shown; resized for display.
Black-and-yellow checkerboard tiles and golden cone towers mark Alessandro Mendini’s stop at Steintor in central Hannover, built for the city’s BUSSTOPS design project in 1994. hannover.de · Architectuul · Map of Architecture · Üstra Fahrtenbuch Checked It was taken down in 2017 for the rebuilding of the D-Linie tram route and put back together in October 2018 beside Kurt-Schumacher-Straße, where buses have stopped since December 2018. hannover.de · hannover.de (photo spots) · Wikipedia (de) · Üstra Fahrtenbuch Checked
5 things to know
- Part of BUSSTOPSBUSSTOPS was the last project of Stiftung Niedersachsen’s “Kunst im öffentlichen Raum” programme, led by Lothar Romain and carried out by Peter Ruthenberg from 1990 to 1994, with the transit operator Üstra and Toto-Lotto Niedersachsen. Hannover’s collection of designer stops has been in service since 10 April 1994. hannover.de · Wikipedia (de) Checked
- A traffic sign 20 metres longThe city describes two long, facing waiting areas in a stretched gate form, about 20 metres long, solid, with golden cone towers on the corners and black-and-yellow checkerboard tiling. Early drafts even included a hall with a vaulted glass roof. hannover.de · Architectuul Reported
- 27 sketches, one designAccording to the city, Mendini sketched 27 different motifs, cut them to four and then chose the design that was built. hannover.de Reported
- Taken apart tile by tileFor the rebuilding of the D-Linie (tram lines 10 and 17) the stop was dismantled in 2017. Staff of Infra, the company in charge of the works, catalogued the tiles, which come in 38 variants, before they were removed and stored, so the work could be reassembled correctly after the new high platform was finished. hannover.de · hannover.de (photo spots) Reported
- From tram stop to bus stopTrams on lines 10 and 17 stopped here until the move. The shelters were rebuilt in October 2018, slightly offset on the side of Kurt-Schumacher-Straße; buses 128 and 134 have stopped there since December 2018, while the trams run through the middle. hannover.de · hannover.de (photo spots) · Üstra Fahrtenbuch Checked
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 34, 30159 Hannover, at Steintor, across from the Anzeiger-Hochhaus; buses 128 and 134. hannover.de · hannover.de (photo spots) · Architectuul · Wikimedia Commons Checked
- 📷
- The city’s photo-spot guide recommends long exposures after dark, shot from the east end of the stop so the passing trams leave light trails, and says to bring a tripod. hannover.de (photo spots) Reported
Sightings
- 199410 Apr
BUSSTOPS open · hannover.de
- 20156 Jan
City photo, old site
- 2017
Dismantled · hannover.de
- 2018Oct
Rebuilt · hannover.de
- 201927 Jan
Fahrenhorst photo · camera date
- 202130 Apr
GeorgDerReisende photo · camera date
- 202618 Apr
Nielsen photo · camera date
Every stamp links to its source. Green stamps are dated photographs: the city’s photo-spot example of 6 January 2015, taken at the old site, and three photographs on Wikimedia Commons at Kurt-Schumacher-Straße: Gerd Fahrenhorst’s of 27 January 2019, GeorgDerReisende’s of 30 April 2021 and Thomas Dahlstrøm Nielsen’s of 18 April 2026. Amber stamps are the opening of BUSSTOPS, the 2017 dismantling and the October 2018 rebuilding, as recorded by the city. The status stamp follows the photograph of 18 April 2026.
On the record
Hard to miss
“20 Meter lang, massiv, mit goldenen Kegeltürmen auf den Ecken.”
“Twenty metres long, solid, with golden cone towers on the corners.” The city on the traffic sign Mendini set at Steintor.
38 kinds of tile
“Mitarbeiter der Infra […] haben die Kacheln, von denen es 38 verschiedene Varianten gibt, vor dem Abbau katalogisiert.”
“Staff of Infra […] catalogued the tiles, of which there are 38 different variants, before dismantling.” How the stop survived the 2017 works.
Why it was hard
“jeder Quadratmeter öffentlichen Bodens, und will man auch der Stadt ein bleibendes Geschenk darauf machen, ist mit mehreren Gesetzen und Bestimmungen beschrieben”
“Every square metre of public ground, even if you want to give the city a lasting gift on it, is covered by several laws and regulations.” Project leader Lothar Romain, as quoted by the city.
The facts
- Work
- Bus and former tram stop at Steintor, one of the nine BUSSTOPS. hannover.de · hannover.de · Architectuul · Wikipedia (de) Checked The city’s page calls it “Die Lego-Landschaft” (The Lego Landscape). hannover.de Reported
- Designer
- Alessandro Mendini. hannover.de · Architectuul · Map of Architecture · Üstra Fahrtenbuch Checked Born 1931 in Milan, died there on 18 February 2019, aged 87. hannover.de Reported
- Medium
- Solid structure faced with black-and-yellow tiles in 38 variants, with golden cone towers. hannover.de · Architectuul Reported Exact materials not published. Unconfirmed
- Date
- 1994, for the BUSSTOPS collection opened on 10 April 1994. Architectuul · Map of Architecture · hannover.de Checked
- Commissioner
- BUSSTOPS project of Stiftung Niedersachsen with Üstra and Toto-Lotto Niedersachsen; Map of Architecture names Üstra as client. hannover.de · Wikipedia (de) · Map of Architecture Checked
- Location
- Kurt-Schumacher-Straße 34, 30159 Hannover, rebuilt there in October 2018 and served by buses since December 2018; before that at the Steintor surface stop of tram lines 10 and 17. hannover.de · hannover.de (photo spots) · Wikimedia Commons Checked
- Status
- Standing at Kurt-Schumacher-Straße in a photograph dated 18 April 2026. Wikimedia Commons Checked
- Our photo
- GeorgDerReisende on Wikimedia Commons, camera date 30 April 2021, the stop in Kurt-Schumacher-Straße for the Goseriede direction. Wikimedia Commons Checked
Related
- I Wouldn’t Mind Missing the Bus (8 Photos): the Street Art Utopia collection with this photo, 17 October 2026
All sources (10)
Official records
- hannover.de: “Steintor: Die Lego-Landschaft”, the city’s page on the stop. Design, 27 sketches, Mendini’s dates, 2017 dismantling, 38 tile variants, October 2018 rebuilding, buses since December 2018.
- hannover.de: “BUSSTOP Steintor” (10 places to photograph), updated 29 July 2019. Photo of 6 January 2015, the 2017–2018 move, address.
- hannover.de: “1994: Als in Hannover aus Wartehäuschen Busstops wurden”, the official portal of the city and region of Hannover. The nine stops, the opening on 10 April 1994, the initiators and Lothar Romain’s quote.
- Üstra Fahrtenbuch: “Die D-Strecke: Wo Star-Architekten und Expo-Maskottchen sich treffen”, the transit operator’s blog, about 2020. Mendini’s checkerboard stop moved during the D-Linie works and now serves buses.
Reference
- Architectuul: Steintor Tram and Bus Stop. Mendini, 1994, yellow and black with golden turrets, in front of the Anzeiger-Hochhaus.
- Map of Architecture: Busstopps Steintor. Mendini, completed 1994, client ÜSTRA.
- Wikipedia (de): BUSSTOPS. Overview of the project with references to the 1992 and 1994 BUSSTOPS catalogues (Hirmer; Th. Schäfer), the Stadtlexikon Hannover and Üstra and HAZ reports. Used for descriptions and dates, not counted as an independent source.
Dated photographs
- Gerd Fahrenhorst: Bushaltestelle Steintor in der Kurt-Schumacher-Straße, Januar 2019.jpg, camera date 27 January 2019, own work, CC BY 4.0. Used here only as a dated sighting.
- GeorgDerReisende: Bushaltestelle Steintor, 1, Mitte, Hannover.jpg, camera date 30 April 2021, own work, CC BY-SA 4.0. The hero; the share image places it on a blurred background at 16:9.
- Thomas Dahlstrøm Nielsen: Haltestelle Steintor (Kurt-Schumacher-Straße).jpg, camera date 18 April 2026, own work, CC BY 4.0. The status photograph.
Artwork File · Last checked 17 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files