Wolfsburg

Volkswagen factory

Wolfsburg is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony most known for hosting the headquarters of Volkswagen Group. While the castle that gave the city its name is as old as 1302, the city has been essentially created only in the 20th century around the original Volkswagen factory, and became a major tourist destination in the 21st, with the creation of Volkswagen AutoStadt, the Phaeno science museum and the opening of a high-speed railway line to Berlin.

Understand

Wolfsburg hosts the worldwide headquarters of the car manufacturer Volkswagen. It was built and founded in the 1930s as a place to live for the employees of Volkswagen (literally: People's car) and the factory still dominates the scenery. While it was founded by the Nazis and Hitler personally loved all symbolism associated with wolves (he interpreted his first name to be related to the word "wolf"), the town only officially got its name after the war being called "Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben" (city of the strength through joy car near Fallersleben) during the Nazi-era. Wolfsburg is a rare case of a German town that was founded in the 20th century (other examples include Salzgitter and Eisenhüttenstadt) and as such it is often ridiculed as bland, generic and without history, however the suburb of Fallersleben (the author of Germany's national anthem, Hoffmann von Fallersleben is originally from that town) used to be an independent town and there is a castle, that gave Wolfsburg (literally castle of the wolf) its name. During the 50s and 60s Wolfsburg attracted many immigrants and most of them came from Italy, which is still visible in the city today, and some of the Italian quarters have gotten the nickname Castellupo (Italian calque of Wolfsburg) over time.

The Mittellandkanal and the railway-line (which both existed before Wolfsburg was founded) served as primary drawing factors to put Volkswagen there, and still serve as a rough dividing line with most of the plant north and most of the city south of it.

Wolfsburg's location was seen as advantageous during the 1930s as it sat pretty much in the middle of what was then Germany (albeit a bit towards the North) and had both a major railway and a major canal right next to the VW plant. However, German partition would happen to cut off much of the eastern hinterland of Wolfsburg and to this day the Autobahn connection of Wolfsburg is less than would be expected for a major center of car manufacturing. Wolfsburg also lacks a truly major airport, though VW handles corporate flights through a nearby airfield. According to a tale commonly told by VW workers, the British occupation powers that came after World War II rejected dismantling the plant and taking the patents because they thought the Käfer was a worthless design that would find few buyers and British cars were clearly superior. The Käfer would of course prove to be a major economic success and become the most sold car in the world until overtaken by the VW Golf (its indirect successor), remaining in production until 2001 in Mexico.

Get in

Wolfsburg is easily accessible by road and rail.

The Hauptbahnhof in Wolfsburg is surprisingly small

By train

The main line rail station is located at Wolfsburg Hauptbahnhof, Willy-Brandt-Platz 3, and there are regular services to many destinations. There is regular direct ICE service from/to Berlin (in fact some people use the ICE for their daily commute on that route) but for many other connections you'd have to change trains in Brunswick and/or Hanover. There are big parking lots next to the train station and you can easily leave your car there for several days.

Locomore, a private startup which served Wolfsburg on their Berlin-Stuttgart line. Tickets are usually cheaper than DB, but they can not be bought at DB ticket machines or counters. Locomore filed for bankruptcy and ended all services in May 2017. The company hopes to be able to restart services by finding new investors.

By road

By road simply take junction 5 off of the A39 and head towards Wolfsburg-Morse.

By plane

While there is an airport (BWE IATA) close by, it is mostly used by VW and thus chances are for most flights you will fly to/from Hanover (HAJ IATA) or Hamburg (HAM IATA). Frankfurt airport(FRA IATA) is also often an option worth considering.

By bus
See also: Intercity buses in Germany

Regiojet serves Wolfsburg, while Flixbus surprisingly doesn't. Flixbus does however serve many surrounding cities which are in turn served by public transit options to get to Wolfsburg itself.

Get around

Perhaps surprisingly for a city built on for and by the automobile, walking is the best option. Everything is close to each other in the city and the downtown core is largely pedestrianized. Wolfsburg has a public bus system that will get you to most suburbs and outlying parts of town. There is no light rail or tram, but regular rail service also has stops in Fallersleben (technically part of Wolfsburg, but much older) and several other places.

See
Wolfsburg Castle
The phaeno as seen from the outside - the architecture will catch your eye, no matter what you think of it

Wolfsburg is quite a modern city having been built, in the main, from 1938 on to house workers from the newly built VW factory. However, its castle dates from 1600 and today houses the Stadtmuseum. It has a rundown of the city's history from 1938, when the VW plant was founded, to the present day. There's also a small regional history museum and two art galleries that host rotating exhibitions.

  • 🌍 AutoStadt. AutoStadt is the home of Volkswagen AG. AutoStadt theme park is a city in itself and offers entertainment, dining, tours, driving, and more. Visit the website to plan your day or days at the AutoStadt in Wolfsburg. 
  • 🌍 Phaeno Science Centre, Willy Brandt Platz 1 (just south of the railway line and the canal opposite Autostadt). Tu-Fr: 9:00-17:00 Sa&Su: 10:00-18:00 open on select mondays and most holidays. A visit is an absolute must. It is a new building designed by Zaha Hadid and is a breathtaking and revolutionary space. While the architecture was a bit controversial with locals at the time of its construction, the museum - focused on science and the likes - is a good place to take the kids to but also a fun place for adults to "toy around" with their inner child, observing and exploring phenomena as diverse as fire tornadoes, brain waves or vacuum. adult: 12.50€ child: 8€ reduced 9.50€ half the price 90min. before closure. 
The fire tornado as shown in the phaeno science center
  • 🌍 Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg. 
  • 🌍 Wolfsburg Castle (Schloss Wolfsburg). (updated Apr 2016)
  • Volkswagen AutoMuseum, Dieselstraße 35. Tu-Su 10AM-5PM, closed Mondays, selected holidays and from Dec 24-Jan 1. Apart from all the attractions at the AutoStadt, including the Zeithaus, there is also a separate Volkswagen AutoMuseum in Wolfsburg situated somewhat farther afield from the Volkswagen complex. €3-6. (updated Apr 2016)
  • 🌍 Planetarium Wolfsburg, Uhlandweg 2, ☎ +49 5361 89025510. (updated Feb 2017)

Do
  • Volkswagen Factory Tour, ☎ +49 5361 400, e-mail: . 9AM-4PM, English tour at 12:10PM, tour lasts 50 min. Factory tours are organized for customers picking up cars directly from the factory, but participation is possible for the general public availability permitting. Tours are only organized during factory work days (Mo-Fr) and may be unavailable due to various circumstances. Contact AutoStadt customer care in advance to book, or if already on location, the welcome desk on the Piazza. Guests are transported from the AutoStadt to the factory by boat, departing where the Maritime PanoramaTour does. 
  • 🌍 Maritime PanoramaTour. Five times a day, a canal boat departs for an hour's tour of the canals around some of the most prominent buildings on the Volkswagen campus, including the power plant and factory itself. € 4-6. 
  • 🌍 VfL Wolfsburg (soccer club Wolfsburg), Volkswagen Arena, ☎ +49 5361 8903903 (ticket hotline). The town's first division soccer club that has enjoyed some success in recent years both for their male (German champion 2008/2009) and their female (winner of the UEFA champions league, the German cup and the German championship in 2012/2013) side. Unlike many other German soccer clubs, Wolfsburg does not boast a lot of tradition in fact, the city itself is younger than many other clubs. € 15-70, children € 6-35. (updated Apr 2015)
  • Economy Training. Learn to drive economically with Volkswagen's on-site experts, using less fuel and putting less wear on your car while at the same time becoming more environmentally-friendly. Vehicles are provided for participants on the training course. € 17. (updated Apr 2016)
  • Safety Training. A special course featuring obstacles simulating various hazards on the road is located within the AutoStadt, and various courses are offered with professional instructors teaching participants how to handle those dangers in Volkswagen-provided cars. From €28. (updated Apr 2016)

Buy

Porschestraße is the principal commercial street of the town and was pedestrianized after serving as one of the prime traffic axes in the earlier years of Wolfsburg's history. There are several chains and malls along this road as well as some regular events such as farmer's markets.

  • 🌍 Designer Outlets Wolfsburg, An Der Vorburg 1, ☎ +49 5361 893 500. M-Sa 10:00-19:00 Sun 13:00-18:00. Wolfsburg Outlet Shopping Centre is a place to find designer discount brands. They have brand shops such as Diesel, Adidas, Fossil, Nike, Puma, Clinque, Calvin Klein and others. 
  • 🌍 Brandgehaege retail area. Includes REAL supermarket which is open from 7am to 11pm (has free WLAN), MediaMarkt and a number of other out-of-town goods and food chains. (updated Jan 2017)
  • 🌍 City-Galerie Wolfsburg, Porschestraße 45. Shopping Mall with the usual cloths chains and a number of budget food outlets. (updated Jan 2017)

Eat

Generally speaking, Wolfsburg has what you'd expect in food for a city of its size. However, due to its sizable Italian descendant population, Italian restaurants and pizzerias are cheap, plentiful and often of amazing quality.

  • 🌍 Sausalitos, Porschestraße 32, ☎ +49 5361 8670310. M-Th 12:00-01:00, F 12:00-02:00, Sa 17:00-02-00, Su 17:00-01:00. Mexican chain restaurant and cocktail bar. (updated Feb 2017)
  • 🌍 Trattoria Incontri, Goethestraße 53, Wolfsburg, ☎ +49 5361 437254. M-Sa 11:30-23:00, Su 16:00-23:00. Good pizzeria. (updated Apr 2015)
  • 🌍 Restaurant Aqua, Parkstraße 1, Wolfsburg, ☎ +49 5361 607091. Gourmet food on offer from the multi-Michelin star chefs at the Ritz-Carlton. Expect to pay handsomely for the experience. Splurge. 
  • 🌍 Brackstedter Mühle, Zum Kühlen Grunde 2, ☎ +49 5366 900. 
  • 🌍 La Rotonda, Schillerpassage 7, ☎ +49 5361 291809. small cosy Italian with reasonable priced tasty food. (updated Jan 2017)
  • 🌍 BellaItallia, Berliner Ring 12 (Parking Lot of the Edeka), ☎ +49 1573 6938668. This streetfood style cart might not look like much, but the pizza (made to order with Italian ingredients that the owner imports himself) is certainly worth it. (updated Apr 2017)

Drink

Wolfsburg is not a university town and as such nightlife is nothing to write home about. There are a few bars, but Braunschweig is where the party's at for the most part.

Sleep
The open-air pool of the Ritz-Carlton "floats" in the canal surrounding the AutoStadt

Go next
  • Gifhorn
  • Helmstedt
  • Königslutter
  • Brunswick close enough for some to commute daily, this town's historical center is a welcome refreshment after the bland architecture of Wolfsburg.
  • Quedlinburg is just a short ride on the Autobahn away and can be done in a day trip. Quedlinburg was an important royal residence as early as the 10th century and thankfully survived later centuries pretty much intact.


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