Warsaw Railway Station (Saint Petersburg)
| Warsaw train station | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Data | |
| Design | Terminus |
| opening | 1860 |
| Conveyance | 2001 |
| Architectural data | |
| architect | Peter Salmanowitsch |
| location | |
| City / municipality | St. Petersburg |
| Place / district | Admiralty |
| City with subject status | St. Petersburg |
| Country | Russia |
| Coordinates | 59 ° 54 '26 " N , 30 ° 18' 26" E |
| List of train stations in Russia | |
The Warsaw train station ( Russian Варшавский вокзал ) is a former passenger train station (terminus) in Saint Petersburg , which has been converted into the “Warschawski-Express” ( Варшавский Экспресс ) trade and exhibition complex in recent years .
history
Construction of the Warsaw train station began in 1851 and ended in 1860. This made it the third station in St. Petersburg after Vitebsk and Moscow stations . It was the starting point for the 44.6 km long section of the Warsaw-Petersburg Railway from the Russian capital to the Tsar's residence Gatchina (Гатчина), which had opened in November 1858. The station building was built according to the designs of the architect KA Skarschinski (Скаржинский). It encompasses the platforms on three sides, which are roofed over by an arched structure made of metal and glass.
With the aim of expanding the station between 1857 and 1860, a new building was designed by the architect Peter Salmanowitsch ( Сальманович ), with the two stone houses on the side being included in the reconstruction. The steel structure made of iron and glass for roofing the platforms corresponded to the leading architectural trends of the time, but it was polluted by the smoke from the locomotives.
In 1859 the 273 km long railway line to Pskow (Псков) / Pleskau and in 1862 to Warsaw was completed. A branch line from Vilnius via Kaunas to the East Prussian border to Werschbolowo (Вержболово) / Wirballen (Russian border station) and Eydtkuhnen ( Prussian border station) connected St. Petersburg to the capitals of European countries via the Prussian Eastern Railway . The trains of the Warsaw Railway were characterized by comfortable and richly equipped wagons, which were primarily intended for first-class passengers.
architecture
The building of the Warsaw train station, which was executed in the Renaissance style, undoubtedly represented an architectural value not only for St. Petersburg, but also for the whole of Russia. During the Second World War the station suffered from artillery shelling and bombing. The restoration work was completed in 1949. A bronze sculpture of Lenin was placed in a niche in the main facade of the station . Time did not spare the Warsaw train station in the following years. Many of its unique architectural elements have been destroyed. In the course of the electrification of the Warsaw Railway in the early 1960s, the steel construction with the glass roof over the platforms was torn down.
Todays situation
In May 2001 the Warsaw train station was closed to rail traffic due to renovation work. Most of the suburban and long-distance trains were diverted to Vitebsk station . The exhibition of the Central Museum of Railway Technology was located on the open tracks of the Warsaw train station , which has since moved to its new location at the Baltic train station after the track supply to the Warsaw train station was dismantled due to construction work .
In 2005 the former station building was reopened as a shopping center.
Outdoor area of the railway museum at the Warsaw train station (2001-2007)
View of the station building from the former track field
Interior view after the renovation
Interior view after the conversion to a luxury department store
