In the very center of Moscow there is a railway station, from where trains take the direction to the west. This station in the capital is one of two that are "through" - trains do not reach a dead end, but can pass the station.
This is Belorussky railway station, located on Tverskaya Zastava square. At this point, Tverskaya Street smoothly turns into Leningradsky Prospekt.
From the Three Stations Square, the Belorussky railway station is located at a distance of three metro stations - between "Komsomolskaya" (location of Kazansky, Yaroslavsky and Leningradsky stations) and "Belorusskaya" you need to pass the stations "Prospect Mira" and "Novoslobodskaya".
Briefly about Belorussky railway station
One of the nine railway stations in the capital of Russia serves long-distance trains in the direction of the southwest and west, as well as international trains. From here, passengers go to Belarus, Kaliningrad, Lithuania, to European countries. Trains depart for Anapa, Arkhangelsk, Novosibirsk, Brest, Mogilev, Minsk, Berlin, Nice, Warsaw, Gomel, Vilnius, Geneva, Grodno, Cologne, Madrid, Copenhagen and Paris.
It should be noted that at the very beginning the station was built for trains of the Moscow-Smolensk railway. e. It began to be built in 1869, and the opening took place in September 1870. From November 1871 (the road to the city of Brest was extended) the station was called Brest.
Belorussky Station Square: location
Tverskaya Zastava Square (since 1834 it was called the New Triumphal Gates Square, and in 1932-1990 - the Belorussky Station Square) is located on the border of the Northern and Central districts of the capital. It separates Leningradsky Prospekt and st. 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya. On this square there is the Belorussky railway station, the Tverskaya overpass, as well as the metro stations: Belorusskaya (Koltsevaya line), Belorusskaya (Zamoskvoretskaya line).
The territory of this area and some parts of the adjacent quarters are part of the security zone. It is an object of cultural heritage. Many individual buildings have monument status.
Highlights of history
Belarussky Station Square has undergone many transformations.
- It was formed in 1742 during the construction of the Tverskaya Zastava.
- The wooden arch was built in 1814. It was intended for the solemn meeting of Russian soldiers(after defeating the French).
- In the period 1827-1834. architect Osip Bove erected the New Triumphal Gates on the territory of the square (there were old ones on Triumphalnaya Square), after which it received a new name - the New Triumphal Gate Square.
- In the middle of the 19th century, after the demolition of the Kamer-Kollezhsky shaft, profitable cheap houses with taverns, shops and workshops located on the ground floors were built in the vicinity of the square.
- In September 1870, the grand opening of the railway station, called at that time Smolensk, took place here. Then he became the sixth in the capital.
- In 1914, an Old Believer church was built on the territory.
- In 1936, a project was developed for the reconstruction of the square, but many works were not completed. It became known as the square of the Belorussky railway station.
- In the 50s of the 20th century, a square was laid out, and a monument to M. Gorky was erected in its very center.
- The old name (Tverskaya Zastava Square) returned in 1990.
- In 2002, a competition was held for a project for a new reconstruction of the square, and its implementation began in 2007. In the process of construction work, it was planned to create an underground parking lot and a shopping center. Approximately $300 million total investment.
- The implementation of the project was suspended in 2011 due to the planned start of construction of a complex interchange in 2014. Immediately, it was decided to abandon the construction of a shopping center. The monument on the square of the Belorussky railway station was temporarily movedto Muzeon Park.
The situation today
Today, the project for the reconstruction of the Belorussky Station Square, which has been dug up for more than 7 years, has been practically rejected.
In 2011, the new mayor of the capital, S. Sobyanin, analyzed the reconstruction project and concluded that the shopping complex on this site would only aggravate the already difficult traffic situation today. The contract with the investor was terminated. In order not to affect the historic overpass, a new project was developed, which involves the construction of an understudy next to it for traffic from the center to the region. It was decided to leave the flow of transport from the region to the center along the old Tver overpass. But today this option is also rejected. It was decided not to build new interchanges at the Belorussky railway station at all.
In closing
The key problem of the Belorussky Station Square is that it doesn't look like a city space. This section is a powerful transport hub with perpetual traffic jams and numerous traffic lights. On the side of Lesnaya Street with restaurants, the Church of St. Nicholas and office buildings, you can still feel something close to the city infrastructure, but the side of the Belorussky railway station for pedestrians is the most dangerous places. Investors did not even dare to invest in the construction of a parking lot.
To improve the condition of the square was entrusted to the Dutch architect Adrian Gese, who has been successfully working in Russia for several years. West 8 is famous for its sustainable urban design. The basis of themideas - to scatter a lot of greenery instead of parking lots. The architect returned the trees to Tverskaya Square - from the Boulevard Ring to Red Square itself.
