Komsomolskaya Square (russian: Комсомо́льская пло́щадь), known as Kalanchyovskaya (russian: Каланчёвская площадь) before 1932, is a
square 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. 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 longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catch ...
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 ...
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 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 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 (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 the ...
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 tickets, board trains, and evacuate the system in t ...
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 i ...
,
Euston railway station 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 busiest stations in the United Kin ...
in London are located similarly to Moscow stations at Komsomolskaya Square.
In France,
Gare du Nord and
Gare de l'Est 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