The name recalls the Schlesisches Tor, the city gate closest to Silesia.
The gate was the easternmost opening in the part of the customs and excise wall south of the Spree, and the one geographically closest to Silesia; it was also called the Wendisches Tor. It stood here until the middle of the 19th century. The elevated station opened in 1902; from 1961 it was the end of the line, as the Berlin Wall blocked the route over the Oberbaumbrücke.