The Underground Tour. the Plans to Build the Subway First Appeared As Early As 1820S, but They Were Dismissed by Alexander I
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The underground tour. The plans to build the subway first appeared as early as 1820s, but they were dismissed by Alexander I. The issue was raised again in the early 20th century but it was soon dropped due to beginning of the First World War. The decision to build the subway was made in January 1941, but due to the Second World War the actual construction began just in 1950s. Some of the tunnels were ready though and served as dry and cool storage for the bodies of those starved to death during the Siege of Leningrad. Interesting facts about our subway: The average daily distance traveled by a passenger is 11 km. The average speed is 35-40 km/h and the maximum speed is 90 km/h. St.Petersburg’s subway, with the average depth of 57 metres, is the deepest in the world. Admiralteyskaya station with its 102 meters is the deepest station in Russia. It was the most northern subway until Helsinki opened its subway in 1982. To build a subway in Leningrad was a serious engineering challenge due to unstable soil, ground water, unknown underground rivers and streams, boulders left by the ice age and the depth of the Neva. There were three churches that had to be destroyed in order to build more stations: the Church of the Holy Sign, the Savior on Haymarket (Sennaya), and Cosmo and Damien. Ploshad Vosstania, Sennaya and Chernyshevskaya ground pavilions were built instead. Red Line The longest (almost 30km) and oldest line built in 1955 for transporting workers to the Kirov plant famous for it’s tractors. It can accommodate 7-car trains. Most of the stations have classic three- aisled outlay and the décor is pure Stalin’s Barocco. Ploshad Vosstania On both sides of the station there are the only images of Stalin still to be found in St.Petersburg (on brass bas-relief). The station is decorated with red Ural marble and light arcs on the ceiling. Narvskaya, until the 60s Stalinskaya In the ground lobby above the entrance to the escalators there is a sculptural composition with the missing central figure. The crowd’s eyes are focused on an empty space and urban legend has it that it was Stalin who was portrayed there. There is also a panel with Stalin’s portrait but it is now hidden behind a fake wall. Kirovsky Zavod The pavilion is designed in the manner of an antic pantheon, with grand granite stairs. The 44 Doric columns with cannelures form the rectangular shape of the building. Inside the main theme is the development of social industrialism. Light grey Caucasian marble and aluminium panels that look like silver and, of course, the bust of Lenin. Technologichesky Institute Different light shades of Ural marble and bas-reliefs of famous scientists: Lomonosov, Popov, Timiryazev, Pavlov, Vavilov and others. Decorated with wreaths of palm and laurel to celebrate the power of Russian science. Avtovo It is quite shallow - just 12 meters deep. Decorated with massive portico and a skylight; famous crystal columns. Only 16 columns out of 46 have crystal décor because others were not ready by the deadline and later Khrushchev expressed his negative opinion of the architectural excesses. The mosaic panel with “Soviet Madonna” symbolises peace. Dachnoye Does not exist anymore. It was the only above-ground station. The remains of it are still visible. Nowadays it houses a GIBDD station. Leninsky Prospekt The design is tightly connected with those of the Lenin’s Mausoleum. The red Karelian granite columns widen at the top and the walls are made of white unpolished marmor. This type of open-floor plan station is called «The centipede» because of the number of columns. Grazhdansky Prospekt At the end of the hall is the USSR coat of arms with inscription “Workers of the world unite” in 15 languages of the former USSR. Akademicheskaya It owes its name to a number of scientific research institutes surrounding the station. The underground hall design glorifies the Soviet science. At the end of the station there is a quotation by Lenin: “Now all the miracles of technology and cultural breakthroughs will be nationalized and from now on the human mind and genius will never serve the violence”. The station resembles Mayakovskaya station of the Moscow subway: the columns are decorated with aluminum. Ploshad Muzhestva The name perpetuates the memory of the Siege of Leningrad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Siege_of_Leningrad. Piskarevsky Memorial Cemetery is nearby. The south end of the hall has the words inscribed “Glory to heroes who saved you Leningrad”. Lesnaya Different shades of green ceramic tiles reminiscent of the woods and the Forest Academy nearby. The end of the platform features the brass image of the sun. Chernyshevskaya It represents a transition from Stalin’s imperial style to the modesty and simplicity of the Khrushchev era: the walls are still made of marble, but the floors are made of black & white ceramic tiles. Vladimirskaya The theme of the design is the growing wealth of the Soviet people: ears of wheat, cornucopias, Soviet symbolism. White Ural marble on the walls, dark granite floors, massive chandeliers. Above the escalators there is a mosaic panel “Fertility and Abundance”. Green line 6 out of 10 stations are designed as a “horizontal elevator” with steel doors opening to a single- aisled hall. This line is the shortest but features longest spans (average 4 km). It runs straight under Nevsky prospect and three of its stations are among the busiest: Gostiny Dvor, Vasileostrovskaya and Mayakovskaya. Ploshad Alexandra Nevskogo Bas-relief known as “5 men on 4 horses” – you can easily see five fairy-tale heroes but only four horses. The walls are decorated with metal discs that stand for the chainmail armor of the ancient Slavs. The enormous mosaic panel above escalators depicts the epic ice battle on Lake Chudskoye on April 5, 1242, won by Novgorod’s knight Alexander Nevsky, one of the patron saints of St.Petersburg. An equestrian monument honoring him stands on the square above. Vasileostrovskaya The ground pavilion stands on a 10m elevation to protect it from the frequent floods. The station serves St.Petersburg State University campus and a number of other huge universities, hence it is very busy. Primorskaya At the end of the hall is an installation of anchors, and between the columns are brass bas- reliefs depicting naval victories of the Russian empire. Mayakovskaya Has red mosaic walls and a portrait of poet Vladimir Mayakovsky https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Mayakovsky, well known for his abrupt poetic rhythm, invention of neologisms and tragic personal life that led to a suicide. Orange line The second youngest line with longest intervals between the trains (up to 4 min) Novocherkasskaya The theme of the station is the Revolution. The glass panel with soldiers and seamen, reddish marble in the hall, the grey granite floor looks like a pavement. If you look closely you will notice the letter Ч in the name НОВОЧЕРКАССКАЯ is very different in style from the others. When the station was renamed after the fall of the Soviet Union, they basically scratched off the old name КРАСНОГВАРДЕЙСКАЯ and made two new letters - О and Ч. Spasskaya The busiest transit/interchange station with 3 lines crossing. Two mosaic panels tell the story of St.Petersburg but a lot of names of the architects are misspelled - ДЕТОМОН, ДЕЛАМОТ, МОНФЕРАН. Dostoevskaya Closest to the last apartment of the world famous writer, it reconstructs the spirit of mid- nineteenth century St.Petersburg with wrought iron grilles between the columns and stylish benches. Blue line The busiest line. The shortest intervals between trains – 90 seconds. Comparably close to the surface: southern part is only 35-40 meters deep. The greatest subway slope in St.Petersburg: on some spans the last car is sometimes 6 m higher than the first one. Ozerki The lights are designed as molecular compounds. Gorkovskaya and Chernaya Rechka These stations are very vulnerable to floods. The last one happened in 1999. Gorkovskaya ground pavilion was built in the 1960s. After the recent renovation, which included the new neon lightning scheme, it looks a lot like UFO and is nicknamed accordingly. Frunzenskaya The phrase “Stay clear of the closing doors” southbound is being announced by different voice. The station features bas-relief of Frunze, one of greatest Red Army generals during the Civil war. He died at 40 after an allergic shock caused by anesthesia during a routine surgery. The rumors are that his death was not accidental and that Stalin himself insisted on the surgery. Moskovskye Vorota Sculpture composition of arms, guns, armor, swords and cannons. In the red marble used for the walls you can see nautilus cut in half. It is believed to belong to Cretaceous period and is at least 66 million years old. Electrosila Was dedicated to the electrification of the country. The mosaic panel reads “Communism + Soviet Rule + Electrification” Parnas The most northern subway station in Russia. Has lighted stained glass panels with motives from ancient Greek mythology. Purple line The latest addition to the subway, though in general St.Petersburg subway is 30 years behind the city’s demand. Krestovsky Ostrov The station closes when the nearby stadium is full. It is the only station decorated with mirrors. It also has panels depicting rivers and islands of St.Petersburg in mythological and allegoric manner. Sportivnaya The only two-floor station with four tracks. The only one that has no escape/survival trench between the rails. The station closes for 30 minutes after each Zenit game. Half of the station is under the Neva.