Vitebsk railway station (Pushkinskaya metro station): a journey through the years

One of the central avenues of St. Petersburg is called Zagorodny, because in the XVIII century, when the street got its name, it really was outside the city. In the house 52 along Zagorodny Prospekt, Vitebsky Railway Station of St. Petersburg is located - the purpose of today's virtual trip.

The fastest way to any of the five St. Petersburg railway stations is by underground transport. Vitebsk railway station is not an exception. Metro will drive you to the right place, but in order to get into the station building, you will have to come to the surface.

Vitebsk railway station (Pushkinskaya metro station) is the first station built in Russia in 1837 as the terminal station of the railway that appeared in the empire. The first railway branch connected the then capital with a royal residence in Tsarskoye Selo. It was planned that the train stop would be on Fontanka, but the money was enough only to the outskirts - Zagorodnaya street. Therefore, the building of the first railway station in Russia was temporary, wooden.

Later built a stone structure, which was repeatedly rebuilt and expanded. The modern building was built in the beginning of the 20th century according to the project of the experienced railway architect Stanislav Antonovich Brzhozovsky in co-authorship with the young civil architect Sima Isaakovich Minash. Vitebsk railway station (metro Pushkinskaya) is an architectural monument in the Art Nouveau style.

During the construction of the station, many technical innovations were used. The presence of passenger and freight elevators, conveyors, a control room between the ways delighted contemporaries. In the decoration of the building, metal structures, stucco molding, paintings were widely used. The top of the building is decorated with a dome and a clock tower. In 1904 the first train departed from the station by the message St. Petersburg - Vitebsk, and the former Tsarskoselsky (and later the Detskoselsky) railway station was named Vitebsk railway station.

The metro station "Pushkinskaya" was built in 1956. The name of the station is connected with the fact that there was a railway station nearby that connected the city with Tsarskoe Selo, where the great Russian poet studied in the famous Lyceum.

Vitebsk railway station is used for suburban communication, intercity and international transportation. Thousands of passengers travel every day from here to the cities of Russia (Smolensk, Pskov, Kaliningrad), the Baltic States (Riga, Vilnius), Ukraine (Odessa, Lviv, Kiev, Mariupol), Belarus (Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk, Brest) and Moldova (Chisinau ). At the station arriving trains from Warsaw and Berlin, Prague and Budapest. Electric trains carry passengers to Tsarskoe Selo (now Pushkin), Pavlovsk, Veliky Novgorod and other suburbs of St. Petersburg.

10 years ago the station was reconstructed. Pre-booking offices are located on the first floor of the building. There are also automatic and manual storage rooms, a paid toilet and a "Tsarskoye Selo Buffet". The second floor accommodates the main station services, waiting room and access to the stopping platforms.

In the building of Vitebsk railway station you can buy all the necessary goods: souvenirs, products, stationery, books and magazines. In the premises there is a pharmacy, salons of cellular communication, ATMs.

If necessary, passengers can take advantage of one and two-bed rest rooms located on the third floor.

Since 2009, in the picturesque hall of the station an interesting cultural project is being realized - the "Music Station". All those who wish can arrive at the appointed time at the Vitebsk railway station (Pushkinskaya metro station) and listen to a concert of classical music or choral singing for free. During the existence of the project, about 200 charity concerts of different genres for 50 thousand listeners passed.