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 the multi-million city has created a variety of new, unique museums that attract numerous tourists and guests of St. Petersburg. This article is about the Russian Metro Museum.
The first underground urban transport project dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. In 1820, the St. Petersburg engineer Togovanov proposed to Emperor Alexander I to build a tunnel under the Neva River. An underground railway will pass through it.
When the first underground railway lines appeared in London and Paris, the idea of building this type of urban transport received support from the tsarist government. But, unfortunately, for various reasonsthe start of construction was delayed.
Since 1917, the city of Moscow has become 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 the design of the construction of an underground passenger communication between the districts of the city.
Under the leadership of engineer Ivan Zubkov, who has experience in building a subway in Moscow, the Leningrad Metrostroy was created in 1941. At the same time, 18 vertical shafts were erected in the central part of the city.
From the beginning of the Second World War, work was suspended. Two years after its completion, the construction of the subway resumed. And in 1955, the first metro line (Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya line) was opened, which connected Ploshchad Vosstaniya and Avtovo and had seven stations.
Its length was 11 kilometers. Then the trains created at MMZ (Moscow Mytishchi Machine-Building Plant) consisted of four cars.
Six years later, the second metro line, Moskovsko-Petrogradskaya, was opened. According to the plan, in 1967 the third line was put into operation - Nevsko-Vasilyevskaya, 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 metro is reflected in documents that can be found by visiting the metro museum in St. Petersburg.
Museum Description
Previously, the museum expositions were located in the administrative building of the Avtovo electric urban transport repair company. And they were opened on the eve of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the St. Petersburg Metro.
Where is the metro museum now? In connection with the increase in exhibits related to the history of the metro, the city provided premises on Odoevsky Street (Vasilyevsky Island). 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 to the public daily, except Sundays and holidays, from 10:00 to 16:00. Address of the Metro Museum: st. Odoevsky, 29.
Ticket price
Management organizes excursions on certain days. At this time, visiting and examining the exhibits takes place only as part of excursion groups, and the cost of the excursion is determined - 300 rubles. For schoolchildren, students and pensioners there is a discount on the purchase of a preferential ticket (100 rubles).
How to get there?
How to get to the Metro Museum? To get to it, you can use the metro (Primorskaya station), as well as tram No. 6, trolleybus No. 10 or fixed-route taxi No. 32, 44, 120 and other minibuses in the direction of the Primorskaya metro station. Guests and visitors should take into account that the entrance to the territory of the Metro Museum is carried out only with any identification document.
Exposures in the first hall
Now the exhibits of the Metro Museum, collected by Metro veterans and a group of enthusiasts, are located in two halls. Visitors can get acquainted with documents related to history throughout time, starting from 1945. The main exhibit is a part of the railway track, on which a train with a carriage and a driver's cab is installed, open for inspection. There you can get acquainted with the principles of operation of all devices of a modern train.
In the same hall of the Metro Museum, the first vending machines for tokens, station duty booths, and the main parts of escalators from the 60s were installed. To get there, you need to go down the stairs with moving steps (escalator) of the past. All items in this room are authentic and life-size.
Exposures in the second hall
In another room there are documents on the beginning of the construction of the subway, which were classified at one time, as well as medals and cups from different years. The Metro Museum is very popular, where the organizers have created all the conditions so that, in addition to studying historical authentic documents, visitors can get acquainted with the basic technical principles of the underground transport.
Great interest is a visit to a transport company for the maintenance and repair of rolling stock. You can also take a photo with a retro staff there. In addition to the tour of the museum, sightseeing tours of the main (TOP-5) stations are organized on certain dayssubway.
Excursions to Avtovo and Pushkinskaya metro stations
Familiarization starts from the Avtovo station. It is located at a depth of 15 meters, and its design is dedicated to the heroic defense of Leningrad in 1941-1944.
A feature in the decoration is the installed 30 marble columns. Of this number, 16 look like they are made of crystal material.
This effect was achieved due to the successful solution of a number of technical problems performed under the guidance of Professor V. Gershun from Perm. The walls of the station 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 red granite slabs, and marble lamps hidden in niches create the effect of solemnity and grace. In the end part there is a monument to A. S. Pushkin. It was made by sculptor M. Anikushin.
Excursions to metro stations Vosstaniya and B altiyskaya
Next to the Moscow railway station, at the intersection of the two main avenues of the city - Nevsky and Ligovsky, the Vosstaniya station was built in 1955 in the style of Stalinist neoclassicism. The interior is dedicated to the events of 1917.
For the lining of the plinth, specially imported Ural marble was used. The architects used dazzling white arcs of light to decorate the ceiling.
The underground hall is decorated with four relief images: “V. Lenin in Razliv”, “Speech by V. Lenin at the Finnish Station”, “Shot of the Aurora” andStorming the Winter Palace.
The hall of the Kirovsky Zavod station reminds visitors of a temple of ancient Greece. Wide steps made of granite lead to it. The station is located on the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya line. And the underground hall represents the development of Soviet industry, which was decorated in 1955 with smoky Caucasian marble.
The peculiarity of the decoration lies in the fact that in this hall for the first time a new type of lighting was used - luvernoe. As a result, it is fully illuminated with soft, even light.
The station "B altiyskaya" is attached to the building of the B altic railway station. Above the entrance doors, guests of St. Petersburg pay attention to the bas-reliefs of naval admirals, which went down in the history of the B altic Fleet. At the same time, decorative lattices are decorated with the image of an anchor. The walls and ceiling are decorated with gray-blue marble and resemble the B altic Sea. It is believed that the B altiyskaya station is a symbol of the power and glory of a sea power.
Facts
Familiarization with the exposition of the museum and a sightseeing tour of the main stations of the St. Petersburg metro amazes the guests of the city with its grandeur and existing facts, which are told by friendly guides. Let's get to know them:
- 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 cars.
- Train timetabledrawn up so that the interval between them is at all stations no more than 2 minutes (during rush hour - 1 minute).
- There are 5 interchange nodes in this subway. Each of them connects 2 stations, and one - three stations of different lines.
- The St. Petersburg metro has 74 lobbies, 255 escalators of various lengths and more than 850 turnstiles.
In closing
Now you know where the institution is and how to get to the Metro Museum. We also talked about what it is, what expositions it has. We hope you found this information interesting.
