Around the World: Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya
Feb. 8th, 2009 11:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reviews_and_ramblingsUsually when you travel, even if you use Metro, you don't specifically turn the "visit" of the Metro as part of your travel experience (unless you are in San Fracisco and take the cable car...). Instead in Moscow there are special tour to visit the old Metro stations: they are not normal station, they are almost artworks, full of marbles, gold leaf, crystal chandelier. It's also probably one of the last place in Moscow where you can still find the old depicts of the Soviet, both in the walls but also in all the opera since it's an example of Socialist Realist Art.
by Elisa, Moscow, Russia, 2001
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2001Russia.htm
This is probably the most "elegant" of the stations with almost an Nineteen century Old Europe Style, but there are also stations inspired by the flower style of the 20's and the severity of the 30's... jumping from station to station and exit from the car is a whole experience.
The Komsomolskaya (Russian: Комсомо́льская) station of the Moscow Metro is the most famous of all those on the Koltsevaya Line and of the whole system, and an icon of Moscow itself, partly due to it being located on Moscow's busiest transport hub, Komsomolskaya Square, which serves three railway terminals: Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky and Kazansky. As such the station's connotation is of a gateway to Moscow and to the rest of Russia, and its theme is of the patriotic history and inspiring future of the nation. It was opened on 30 January, 1952, as part of the second stage of the Ring line.
While the first, southern, segment of the Ring Line were dedicated to the victory over Nazi Germany, northern segment (Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya to Komsomolskaya) was dedicated to the theme of post-war labour. Komsomolskaya, however, is a clear exception: lead designer, Alexey Shchusev, designed it as an illustration of a historical speech delivered by Joseph Stalin November 7, 1941. In this speech, Stalin recalled the memories of Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy and other military leaders of the past, and all these character eventually appeared on the mosaics of Komsomolskaya.
Early roots of the station design are traced to the 1944 draft by Shchusev executed in pure Petrine baroque, a local adaptation of the 17th century Dutch Golden Age. However, after the end of World War II the drafts of 1944 were discarded and actual stations of the Ring Line were executed in mainstream late stalinist style of the period. Shchusev, who passes away in 1949, however, retained his baroque nonce order.
Komsomolskaya remained Shchusev's first and only metro station design. The station was initially planned as a traditional deep pylon type. Later, Shchusev replaced the heavy concrete pylons with narrow octagonal steel columns, riveted with marble tiles, creating the larger open space.
After Shchusev's death, the station was completed by Viktor Kokorin, A. Zabolotnaya, V. Varvarin and O. Velikoretsky and Pavel Korin, author of the mosaics. (From Wikipedia)
by Elisa, Moscow, Russia, 2001
http://www.elisarolle.com/travel/2001Russia.htm
This is probably the most "elegant" of the stations with almost an Nineteen century Old Europe Style, but there are also stations inspired by the flower style of the 20's and the severity of the 30's... jumping from station to station and exit from the car is a whole experience.
The Komsomolskaya (Russian: Комсомо́льская) station of the Moscow Metro is the most famous of all those on the Koltsevaya Line and of the whole system, and an icon of Moscow itself, partly due to it being located on Moscow's busiest transport hub, Komsomolskaya Square, which serves three railway terminals: Leningradsky, Yaroslavsky and Kazansky. As such the station's connotation is of a gateway to Moscow and to the rest of Russia, and its theme is of the patriotic history and inspiring future of the nation. It was opened on 30 January, 1952, as part of the second stage of the Ring line.
While the first, southern, segment of the Ring Line were dedicated to the victory over Nazi Germany, northern segment (Belorusskaya-Koltsevaya to Komsomolskaya) was dedicated to the theme of post-war labour. Komsomolskaya, however, is a clear exception: lead designer, Alexey Shchusev, designed it as an illustration of a historical speech delivered by Joseph Stalin November 7, 1941. In this speech, Stalin recalled the memories of Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy and other military leaders of the past, and all these character eventually appeared on the mosaics of Komsomolskaya.
Early roots of the station design are traced to the 1944 draft by Shchusev executed in pure Petrine baroque, a local adaptation of the 17th century Dutch Golden Age. However, after the end of World War II the drafts of 1944 were discarded and actual stations of the Ring Line were executed in mainstream late stalinist style of the period. Shchusev, who passes away in 1949, however, retained his baroque nonce order.
Komsomolskaya remained Shchusev's first and only metro station design. The station was initially planned as a traditional deep pylon type. Later, Shchusev replaced the heavy concrete pylons with narrow octagonal steel columns, riveted with marble tiles, creating the larger open space.
After Shchusev's death, the station was completed by Viktor Kokorin, A. Zabolotnaya, V. Varvarin and O. Velikoretsky and Pavel Korin, author of the mosaics. (From Wikipedia)
