Vitebsk Railway Station in May 2005.

Vitebsk Rail Terminal (Russian: Витебский вокзал), formerly known as the Tsarskoe Selo Station, was the first railway station to be built in Saint Petersburg and the whole of the Russian Empire. Image File history File linksMetadata Vitebsky_vokzal. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Vitebsky_vokzal. ... Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street Station in 1865. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Official language Russian Official Religion Russian Orthodox Christianity Capital Saint Petersburg (Petrograd 1914-1925) Area Approx. ...

Early history

The station, located at the crossing of the Zagorodny Avenue and the now-vanished Vvedensky Canal, was inaugurated in the presence of Nicholas I of Russia on 30 October 1837 when the first Russian train, named Provorny, departed from its platform for the imperial residence at Tsarskoe Selo. A replica of this train may be seen as a permanent exhibit at the modern station. Nikolai I Pavlovich (Russian: Николай I Павлович), July 6 (June 25, Old Style), 1796–March 2 (February 18, Old Style), 1855), also Nicholas, was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 and king of Poland from 1825 until 1831. ... October 30 is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 62 days remaining. ... | Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Tsarskoye Selo (Царское Село in Russian, may be translated as “Tsar’s Village”), a former residence of the royal families and visiting nobility 24 km south of St. ...

The first building of the Petersburg Station (as it was then known) was constructed in timber in August and September of the same year to a design by Konstantin Thon. Since it proved to be too small, it was demolished within twelve years and a much larger structure was erected under Thon's supervision between 1849 and 1852. There were further expansions in the 1870s. Annunciation church in St. ...

Architecture

A postcard from the 1900s

The station became increasingly ramshackle and cluttered as the 19th century went on, until the decision was taken to tear the whole thing down and begin again. Construction started in 1901 and lasted for three years. Stanislaw Brzozowski gave the new two-storey station an ornate frontage in an assortment of historical styles, with decorative reliefs, floriated Jugendstil detailing, outsize semicircular windows and two regular features of 19th-century train stations – a pseudo-Renaissance cupola and a square clocktower. Image File history File links Sp-viteb. ... Image File history File links Sp-viteb. ... Jugendstil is defined as a style of architecture or decorative art similar to Art Nouveau, popular in German-speaking areas of Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...

However, it was Sima Minash's opulent Art Nouveau interior that established the building as the most ornate of St. Petersburg stations. Minash was responsible for the sweeping staircases, foyer with stained glass and spacious halls boasting a series of painted panels that chronicle the history of Russia's first railway. The building's soaring arches and expanses of glass proclaimed the architect's familiarity with advanced construction techniques of the West. Art nouveau /É‘Ê€ nuvo/ (French for new art) is a style in art, architecture and design that peaked in popularity at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

Recent history

A photograph from the 1900s

In a departure from normal practice of the Soviet years, the Vitebsk Rail Terminal preserved its elevated train shed, five platforms and luggage elevators almost intact, making it an ideal location for filming Soviet adaptations of Anna Karenina, Sherlock Holmes stories, and other 19th-century classics. Image File history File links Витебский.jpg‎ Vitebsk Railway Station in St. ... Image File history File links Витебский.jpg‎ Vitebsk Railway Station in St. ... Anna Karenina (Анна Каренина) is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy first published in 1877. ... Sherlock Holmes as imagined by the seminal Holmesian artist, Sidney Edward Paget, in The Strand magazine. ...

On the other hand, much architectural detail was removed from the facade and halls during insensitive Soviet renovations. Just prior to the tercentenary celebrations of 2003, the station underwent a painstaking restoration of its original interior and Jugendstil decor. Apart from the replica of the first Russian train, curiosities of the Vitebsk Station include a detached pavilion for the Tsar and his family and a marble bust of Nicholas I.

Services from the station run to Central Europe, Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus and the southern suburbs of St. Petersburg, such as Pushkin and Pavlovsk. The terminal is connected to the Pushkinskaya Station of the Saint Petersburg Metro. Regions of Europe Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Baltic states and the Baltic Sea The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a term which nowadays refers to three countries in Northern Europe: Estonia Latvia Lithuania Prior to World War II, Finland was sometimes considered, particularly by the Soviet Union, a fourth Baltic state. ... Pushkin is a town in Russia that is located 24 kilometres south of Saint Petersburg, at 59°44′N 30°23′E. The town was founded in the 18th century as the summer residence of the Russian tsars under the name Tsarskoye Selo (Royal Village). ... Pavlovsk (Russian: Павловск) is a town situated in the Leningrad oblast, Russia, 30 km from St. ... Official map The Saint Petersburg Metro (Russian: ) is an underground rapid transit system in Saint Petersburg, Russia. ...

References

• Богданов И.А. Витебский вокзал и Царскосельская железная дорога. // Новый журнал. 2002. № 2. Pages 157-192.

External links

• Views of the Vitebsk Station: exterior
• Views of the Vitebsk Station: interior

Saint Petersburg Rail Terminals

Moskovsky | Vitebsky | Finlyandsky | Varshavsky | Baltiysky | Ladozhsky Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 211 KB) Summary Baltic Railway Station in Saint-Petersburg (Russia,2005) Ru: Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Finland Rail Terminal Template:Petersburg Rail Terminals... View on the terminal from Uprising Square. ... The statue of Lenin in front of Finland Rail Terminal. ... Warsaw Railway Station prior to the Russian Revolution. ... Baltic Railway Station in 2005. ... Ladoga Rail Terminal (Russian: ) is the newest and most modern passenger rail station in Saint Petersburg, Russia. ...