The first railway in Russia appeared in 1837: it connected St. Petersburg with Pavlovsk and Tsarskoye Selo. Gradually, the length of Railways grew, new stations were built. "Guide for you" tells about those buildings that have become monuments of architecture and history.
Vitebsk station in St. Petersburg
Vitebsk station (Vitebskiy vokzal) was the first in Russia — it was originally called Tsarskoselskiy. In the 1830s, its building was made of wood, then in the middle of the XIX century it was replaced by a stone structure. The modern building of the station, built in 1902-1904, is the work of the architect Stanislav Brzhozovsky and engineer SIMA Minash. They designed an unusual for that time building in the art Nouveau style: before in St. Petersburg so built only private mansions. The station was also innovative from a technical point of view: inside it were provided conveyors, elevators for Luggage and passengers.
Leningradsky railway station in Moscow and Moskovsky railway station in St. Petersburg
The first Russian railway stations after Tsarskoselskiy were two buildings-twin-in Moscow and St. Petersburg. They were designed by architect Konstantin Ton. Both stations were designed in the neo-Renaissance style: in the center of each of them towered a two-tier tower, and the facades were decorated with large Venetian Windows. Inside the building were also identical: on the first floor there were lobbies, waiting rooms and Imperial apartments, on the second — the service apartments of the railway employees. The station in St. Petersburg was opened in 1847, and in Moscow — two years later.
Baltic station in St. Petersburg
The suburban railway station from which trains were sent to Peterhof appeared on the embankment of the Obvodny canal in 1857. The railway itself was built at the private expense of Baron Alexander Stieglitz, who hoped that later it will be able to buy the government. The station was designed by architect Alexander Krakau. The building was divided inside into three parts: one housed cash desks and Luggage compartments, the other — the premises for the Imperial family, and the third — a room for the other passengers. Basically, the station was used by St. Petersburg summer residents who went to the city suburbs for the summer.
New Peterhof Station (Novyy Peterhof)
The station building in Peterhof was built in 1855-1857 by architect Nikolai Benois, who decided its architectural appearance in the neo-Gothic style. The Western side was located a four-storey tower with pointed arches and decorative spear-shaped turrets-pinnacles. The inspiration for Benois was the Cathedral in the Italian city of Orvieto: previously, the architect took part in its restoration. On the facade of the station was the coat of arms of Baron Alexander Stieglitz — the founder of the Peterhof railway.
Yaroslavl station in Moscow
The first building of the Yaroslavl station appeared in the middle of the XIX century. In 1895-1896 it was rebuilt by Lev Kekushev: he reconstructed the Eastern wing of the building and the apron. The station acquired its modern look after perestroika in 1902-1904 under the leadership of Fyodor Shekhtel. The architect designed the facade of the building in the neo-Russian style with elements of art Nouveau, decorated it with decorative floral ornaments, images of Northern animals and ceramic panels with the coats of arms of Moscow, Yaroslavl and Arkhangelsk. The interior of the building was complemented by picturesque panels of Mikhail Vrubel and Konstantin Korovin. When designing the station Shekhtel was inspired by the architecture of the Moscow Kremlin and the Spassky monastery in Yaroslavl.
Paveletsky railway station in Moscow
The Paveletsky railway station building was built in 1900 according to the project of Alexander Krasovsky. It was a symmetrical structure in an eclectic style. The facade was faced with decorative brick and hewn stone. Inside the building there were special Royal rooms, operating room, waiting rooms, Luggage compartment, Telegraph. In the 1980s, the building was seriously reconstructed, increasing it six times, but the historical appearance of the facade remained unchanged.
Riga station in Moscow
The building of the Riga railway station was built in 1897-1901 by the architect Stanislav Brzhozovsky-the author of the Vitebsk railway station in St. Petersburg. The monumental building in pseudo-Russian style consisted of a kind of towers connected by passages. The facades of the building were decorated with traditional Russian architecture of the XVII century decorative columns and kokoshniks.
The current name of the Riga station was only in 1946 — before it was called Vindavsky, Baltic and Rzhevsky. Today it is one of the most underloaded stations in the capital: with the exception of commuter trains, trains from it all year round go only to Riga, Pskov and Velikie Luki.
Belorussky railway station in Moscow
The modern Belorussky railway station was built in 1912, and then it was Alexander's — in honor of Emperor Alexander I. the Author of the project was the architect Ivan Strukov. The entrance to the building was framed by the Central tower arch, on both sides of it there were two domed pavilions. Sculptural cartouches served as decoration of facades. A separate part of the station was called "Tsar's corner" (Tsarskiy ugol) and was intended exclusively for the Imperial family. During the two world wars, the station had the status of a frontline: it was from here that the echelons were sent to the combat zone.
Kazan railway station in Moscow
In 1913, the architect Alexei Shchusev was commissioned to build a new building of the Kazan railway station. The project was not easy, its implementation was delayed-the construction was completed only in 1940. The architectural appearance of the station stood in neo-Russian and Oriental styles: it was an asymmetric building with a multi-tiered corner tower, built in the spirit of the tower Syuyumbike Kazan Kremlin.
The Kazan railway station became a significant project for Tsarskoye at first, and then for the Soviet government, so serious money and the best specialists were sent for its implementation. In particular, Nicholas Roerich, Boris Kustodiev and Zinaida Serebryakova worked on the interiors of the station.
Kievsky railway station in Moscow
Kiev station was built in 1914-1918. The project of the building was developed by Vyacheslav Oltarzhevsky and Ivan Rerberg. The station was built in the neoclassical style-with a high tower in the center and a lower main building with a colonnade. The facade of the building was decorated with sculptures and arched Windows. The space above the platforms-the landing stage-was covered with glazed steel arches, which resembled a metal dome. The project of the landing stage was prepared by engineer Vladimir Shukhov.
