On the Neva River in 1703, Emperor Peter I founded the future masterpiece of the Russian Empire, and then the federation, the city of St. Petersburg. Now, thanks to its unique architectural monuments and famous museums located on its territory, it is under the protection of UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
In recent years, the leadership of a multi-million city creates a variety of new, unique museums that attract many tourists and visitors of St. Petersburg. This article talks about the Russian Metro Museum.
The first underground urban transport project dates back to the early 19th century. In 1820, Petersburg engineer Togovanov proposed to Emperor Alexander I to build a tunnel under the Neva River. An underground railway will run along it.
When the first lines of the underground railway appeared in London and Paris, the idea of constructing this type of urban transport was supported by the tsarist government. But, unfortunately, for various reasons, the start of construction was delayed.
Since 1917, Moscow became the capital of Russia, in which 18 years later the first line of the Moscow metro was built and began to function.
At that time, A. Kosygin was the Chairman of the Leningrad Executive Committee. He took up the organization of designing the construction of an underground passenger service between the districts of the city.
Under the guidance of engineer Ivan Zubkov, who has experience in the construction of a subway in Moscow, the Leningrad metro building was created in 1941. At that time, 18 vertical trunks were erected in the central part of the city.
From the beginning of the Second World War, work was suspended. Two years after the end of its construction, the metro resumed. And in 1955, the opening of the first metro line (the Kirov-Vyborg line), which connected the Uprising Square and Avtovo, and had seven stations, took place.
Its length was 11 kilometers. Then the trains created at the MMZ (Moscow Mytishchi Engineering Plant) consisted of four wagons.
Six years later, the opening of the second metro line - Moscow-Petrograd. According to the plan, in 1967 the third line was put into operation - Nevsko-Vasilievskaya, then Pravoberezhnaya in 1985.
In order to connect the Primorsky and Frunzensky districts with an underground transport hub, a fifth line was built in 2009. The entire seventy-year history of the subway is reflected in documents that can be found by visiting the metro museum in St. Petersburg.
Museum Description
Previously, museum expositions were located in the administrative building of the Avtovo electric city transport repair enterprise. And they were opened on the eve of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the St. Petersburg metro.
And now where is the metro museum? Due to the increase in exhibits related to the history of the subway, the city provided premises on Odoevsky Street (Vasilievsky Island). St. Petersburg, opened in a new building in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the metro, is considered the only metro museum in the world.
Expositions are open for visitors every day, except Sunday and public holidays, from 10:00 to 16:00. Metro Museum Address: ul. Odoevsky, 29.
Ticket price
The guide organizes excursions on certain days. At this time, visiting and viewing exhibits takes place only as part of tour groups, and the cost of the tour is determined - 300 rubles. For schoolchildren, students and senior citizens there is a discount on the purchase of a reduced ticket (100 rubles).
How to get there?
How to get to the metro museum? To get into it, you can use the subway (station "Primorskaya"), as well as tram number 6, trolley bus number 10 or minibus number 32, 44, 120 and other minibuses in the direction of the metro station "Primorskaya". Guests and visitors should keep in mind that the entrance to the territory of the metro museum is carried out only if there is any identification document.
Expositions in the first hall
Now the exhibits of the metro museum, collected by veterans of the metro and a group of enthusiasts, are located in two rooms. Visitors can familiarize themselves with documents related to history throughout the entire period, starting in 1945. The main exhibit is a part of the railway track, on which a train with a wagon and a driver’s cab is installed, open for inspection. There you can familiarize yourself with the principles of operation of all devices of a modern train.
In the same hall of the metro museum, the first automatic machines for the sale of tokens, cabs for station attendants, and the main details of the 60s escalators were installed. To get there, you need to go down the stairs with the moving steps (escalator) of the past. All exhibits in this room are genuine and life-size.
Expositions in the second hall
In another room there are documents of the beginning of the construction of the subway, which at one time were classified, as well as medals and cups of different years. The metro museum is very popular, where the organizers have created all the conditions so that visitors, besides studying historical authentic documents, can get acquainted with the basic technical principles of underground transport.
Of great interest is a visit to a transport enterprise for maintenance and repair of rolling stock. Also there you can take pictures in retro-composition. In addition to tours of the museum, organized on certain days and sightseeing tours of the main (TOP-5) metro stations.
Tours at the metro stations "Avtovo" and "Pushkinskaya"
Acquaintance begins from the Avtovo station. It is located at a depth of 15 meters, and its design is dedicated to the heroic defense of Leningrad 1941-1944.
A feature in the decoration is the installed 30 columns of marble. Of this number, 16 look as if made of crystal material.
This effect is achieved due to the successful solution of a number of technical tasks performed under the guidance of a professor from Perm V. Gershun. The station walls and lamps are decorated with bronze elements of military glory.
"Pushkinskaya" is considered the most beautiful station of the St. Petersburg metro. It is a hall lined with white marble. The floor there is covered with plates of red granite, and marble lamps hidden in niches create the effect of solemnity and grace. A monument to A.S. Pushkin. It is made by sculptor M. Anikushin.
Excursions to the metro stations Vosstaniya and Baltiyskaya
Near the Moscow station, at the intersection of the two main avenues of the city - Nevsky and Ligovsky, the Uprising station was built in 1955 in the style of Stalinist neoclassicism. The interior is dedicated to the events of 1917.
The Ural marble introduced specially for this was used for facing the basement. To decorate the ceiling, the architects used light arcs of dazzling white.
The underground hall is decorated with four relief images: "V. Lenin at Razliv ”, “ Speech by V. Lenin at the Finnish Station ”, “ Shot of Aurora ”and“ Storming of the Winter Palace ”.
The hall of the Kirovsky Zavod station reminds visitors of the temple of Ancient Greece. Wide steps built of granite lead to it. The station is located in the Kirov-Vyborg line. And the underground hall represents the development of Soviet industry, the design of which in 1955 was used smoky Caucasian marble.
The peculiarity in the decoration lies in the fact that for the first time a new type of lighting was used in this room - the hinged lighting. Due to this, it is fully illuminated by a soft uniform light.
The Baltiyskaya station is attached to the building of the Baltic Station. Over the front doors, guests of St. Petersburg pay attention to the bas-reliefs of naval admirals that went down in the history of the Baltic Fleet. At the same time, decorative grilles are decorated with an image of an anchor. The walls and ceiling are decorated with blue-gray marble and resemble the Baltic Sea. It is believed that the Baltiyskaya station is a symbol of the power and glory of a sea power.
Data
Acquaintance with the exposition of the museum and a sightseeing tour of the main stations of the St. Petersburg metro amazes visitors to the city with its grandeur and existing facts, which are told by friendly guides. Let's get acquainted with them:
- The metro in the Northern capital is the deepest in the world.
- The subway consists of five lines. Their total length is 114 km. And passengers are served by rolling stock with a total number of more than 1, 500 wagons.
- The train schedule is designed so that the gap between them is no more than 2 minutes at all stations (at rush hour - 1 minute).
- There are 5 interchange nodes in this metro. Each of them connects 2 stations, and one - three stations of different lines.
- There are 74 vestibules, 255 escalators of various lengths and more than 850 turnstiles in the St. Petersburg metro.
