Breakdown of Die Gegend um den Bahnhof ist sehr ruhig.
sein
to be
sehr
very
der Bahnhof
the train station
ruhig
quiet, calm
Questions & Answers about Die Gegend um den Bahnhof ist sehr ruhig.
Why is it den Bahnhof (accusative) here? Doesn't the sentence describe a fixed location, which usually takes the dative case?
While it is true that some prepositions change their case based on location versus movement (the two-way prepositions), the preposition um is strictly an accusative preposition. It always forces the following noun into the accusative case, regardless of whether there is movement or a fixed location. Because of this, the masculine noun der Bahnhof becomes den Bahnhof.
Could I use das Gebiet instead of die Gegend to mean "the area"?
You could, but die Gegend sounds much more natural for this context. Die Gegend refers to a general neighborhood, vicinity, or surrounding area. Das Gebiet sounds more official, like a specific demarcated zone or territory (such as a commercial zone or a disaster area). Another good option for a city neighborhood would be das Viertel.
I have sometimes seen "around" translated as um ... herum. Do I need to add herum after the station?
No, it is not strictly necessary. Using just um works perfectly well to say "around" in a general sense. Adding herum to make it um den Bahnhof herum would just put a little more emphasis on the physical circle or perimeter immediately surrounding the train station.
How is the word Bahnhof built?