Vitebsky Railway Station

Vitebsky Railway Station, on Zagorodny Prospect, is the oldest surviving railway station in Saint Petersburg and in all of Russia. It serves the Saint Petersburg-Vitebsky station and remains a protected cultural heritage site. The first wooden station building appeared here as early as 1837, when the Tsarskoye Selo Railway—the first in the country—opened: the locomotive "Provorny" (the Swift) departed from the station on that occasion, with Emperor Nicholas I among the passengers. The station was originally called the Saint Petersburg Station, later the Tsarskoye Selo Station, briefly the Detskoye Selo Station after the revolution, and received its current name, Vitebsky, in 1935.

In 1849–1851, the architect Konstantin Ton erected a stone station on the site of the wooden building; it was later rebuilt, but by the end of the 19th century it could no longer cope with the growing passenger traffic. After the Tsarskoye Selo Railway was bought out by the Moscow-Vindava-Rybinsk Railway Company, a decision was made in 1900 to build a new station building. While construction was underway, passengers were temporarily received in yet another wooden pavilion, and an Imperial Pavilion for the trains of the tsar's family was built nearby.

The present building opened on 1 August 1904, designed by the academician of architecture Stanislav Brzozowski. It is one of the first major Art Nouveau (Style Moderne) buildings in Russia, featuring an asymmetrical grouping of volumes and an abundance of metal structures—the "inside-out" principle is expressed here with particular clarity, since the exterior directly reflects the interior layout. The building is crowned with a dome and a tall clock tower with a striking silhouette, while the train shed over the platforms is roofed with riveted metal arches.

The main hall is striking for its height of nearly twenty meters and its grand marble staircase with bronze inlays; light enters through stained-glass windows around the perimeter of the hall, and the wall piers are decorated with stucco panels depicting Mercury, the god of commerce. The station widely employed technical innovations of the time—passenger and luggage elevators, conveyors—and platforms for long-distance trains were placed on the second floor. Nearly all the interiors are adorned with decorative wrought ironwork, and one of the halls is painted with scenes from the history of the Tsarskoye Selo Railway.

By the end of the 20th century, the harsh climate and urban environment had caused serious damage to the building, and in 2001–2003, ahead of Saint Petersburg's 300th anniversary, the station underwent a major restoration: the dome, the historic façade coloring, the original windows and stucco decoration were restored, and the Imperial Café was recreated. Today, Vitebsky Railway Station remains an operating transport hub and, at the same time, an architectural monument of the early 20th century.