Metro "Ploshchad Lenina" - a magnificent transport interchange of a huge city

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Probably no one will be surprised by the assertion that Lenin Square was, and at the moment still exists in almost every city in the post-Soviet space.

Before, it was always one of the central ones, and a monument to the leader was necessarily erected on it, in whose honor, in fact, the geographical object itself was called. Shops, cafes and restaurants located in the neighborhood have always been considered one of the most respectable, and the metro station, if available, turned into a real monument of architecture.

General description of Ploshad Lenina metro station in St. Petersburg

Not everyone knows that it was originally planned to call this transport hub differently - “Finlyandsky Station”, since it is located in close proximity to the Finlandsky Railway Station. In the cash hall, one of the walls is decorated with a thematic panel, onwhich depicts V. I. Lenin speaking to workers and soldiers in April 1917. From the Finland Station in St. Petersburg, trains depart in the northeast and northwest directions. In order to go to Helsinki from St. Petersburg, you also need to arrive at this station.

The second ground exit from the Ploshchad Lenina station is located near the public garden on Botkinskaya Street. The round lobby, decorated with a wall of corrugated glass, is exactly the design solution that was implemented when creating this exit. The escalators that both directions are equipped with were once the highest in the world at that time: the height of the lift is 65.8 m, the number of steps is 755, the length of the inclined part is 131.6 m. This station is not a transfer hub.

Any modern map of "Lenin Square" in St. Petersburg shows without any problems, so, as a rule, there are no difficulties with orientation on the ground.

A bit of history

Ploshchad Lenina metro station was commissioned in 1958. It is located on the Kirovsko-Vyborg line.

This transport hub, like the square itself, got its name in connection with the well-known historical events that took place in Petrograd in June 1917.

By its type, the metro is a deep pylon facility (the station is located at a depth of 71 m - the St. Petersburg metro is one of the deepest in terms of levelstation locations). There are three halls at the Ploshchad Lenina station, separated by rows of pylons. Such stations were built in cases where it was necessary to avoid the destructive effect of rock pressure. There are narrow passages between the pylons that limit the capacity of the flow of people at the station.

Architectural features

The creation of Ploshchad Lenina station and its environs was characterized by a struggle against architectural excesses. Today, of course, it may seem that her appearance is not expressive enough. Underground halls are visually perceived as equal in width. Cornice lighting at a height of about 2 m, after replacing mercury lamps with sodium lamps, made it possible to increase the level of illumination. The passages between the pylons are illuminated with white lamps, and the station halls with yellow ones. The walls are tiled (bottom - black, and top - white). Granite was used for the flooring of the aprons.

Station "Lenin Square" for a long time connected the railway stations of the city. It took more than 10 years to complete such a task, and for the first time such a need arose even before the war. Another feature of the object we are considering is that the span connecting it with the Chernyshevskaya station was the first one laid under the Neva. During the construction of this tunnel, a caisson was used to create excess pressure to counteract the infiltration of water under the riverbed.