Komsomolskaya Square (russian: Комсомо́льская пло́щадь), known as Kalanchyovskaya (russian: Каланчёвская площадь) before 1932, is a
square
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, with a blend of revivalist Tsarist and
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture, mostly known in the former Eastern Bloc as Stalinist style () or Socialist Classicism, is the architecture of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, between 1933 (when Boris Iofan's draft for the Palace ...
. It is referred to informally as Three Station Square (russian: Пло́щадь трёх вокза́лов; lit. "Ploshchad' tryokh vokzalov") after the three
rail termini situated there:
Leningradsky,
Yaroslavsky, and
Kazansky. These stations connect Moscow with
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
northwestern Russia, the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
region, and
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
via the
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
.
Its origins lay with the construction of the
Moscow-Saint Petersburg Railway in the 1840s, when Kalanchyovskoye Field outside the
Garden Ring
The Garden Ring, also known as the "B" Ring (russian: Садо́вое кольцо́, кольцо́ "Б"; transliteration: ''Sadovoye Koltso''), is a circular ring road Avenue (landscape), avenue around central Moscow, its course correspondin ...
was selected to allocate the Nicholas Railway Station (later renamed Leningradsky). In 1862 the Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal, a terminus of the
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
, was constructed nearby. On the opposite side of the field the Kazansky Rail Terminal was inaugurated two years later. Until 1909, a railway line leading to
Kursky Rail Terminal
Kursky railway terminal (russian: Ку́рский вокза́л, ''Kursky vokzal''), also known as Moscow Kurskaya railway station (russian: Москва́-Ку́рская, ''Moskva-Kurskaya''), is one of the ten railway terminals in Moscow. I ...
traversed the square; it is now elevated so as not to interfere with street traffic.
During the Soviet period, four other structures were added.
Alexey Shchusev
Alexey Victorovich Shchusev (academic spelling), german: Schtschussew, french: Chtchoussev, pl, Szchusiew. (russian: Алексе́й Ви́кторович Щу́сев; – 24 May 1949) was a Russian and Soviet architect who was successf ...
designed a
Constructivist edifice, the Central Club of Railway Workers, in 1925–1926. The square received its present name, in the honour of the
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
(Communist Union of Youth) members, in 1932. A
Stalinist skyscraper of the
Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya Hotel
The Hilton Moscow Leningradskaya (russian: Гостиница Ленинградская) is one of Moscow's Seven Sisters, skyscrapers built in the early 1950s in the Stalinist neoclassical style. Stalinist neoclassical architecture mixes th ...
and a
Neoclassical vestibule of the
Komsomolskaya-Koltsevaya metro station
A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase Train ticket, tickets, board trains, and Emergency eva ...
were completed in the early 1950s. The most recent addition is the Moskovsky department store on the eastern side of the square (1983).
In 2003, at the behest of the Ministry of Transportation, a bronze statue of
Pavel Melnikov (1804–1880) was erected on the square. Melnikov was the Russian minister of transportation who oversaw the construction of the first railways in Russia.
See also
This square is not the only place in Europe, where is available interchange with many of major interchange stations.
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...
,
Euston railway station
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...
and
London King's Cross railway station
King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the List of busiest railway stations in ...
in London are located similarly to Moscow stations at Komsomolskaya Square.
In France,
Gare du Nord
The Gare du Nord (; English: ''station of the North'' or ''Northern Station''), officially Paris-Nord, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station accommodates the trains that run between the capital ...
and
Gare de l'Est
The Gare de l'Est (; English: "Station of the East" or "East station"), officially Paris-Est, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It is located in the 10th arrondissement, not far southeast from the Gar ...
in Paris are also located nearby.
External links
Description and photographs
{{coord, 55, 46, 30, N, 37, 39, 15, E, display=title
Squares in Moscow