The railway station is the place that most travelers and visitors meet, and therefore it can also be attributed to those attractions that are the hallmark of any locality. Each railway terminal is not like the others and is unique in anything. We will consider the railway station in Minsk: what it used to be and what it has become now.
First Minsk station
The history of the Minsk railway terminal dates back to November 16, 1871. It was then that the official opening of the Minsk station on the Moscow-Brest railway happened.
By the way, now few people know the fact that in the history of Minsk there were two stations. And the current one is completely not at the place where its predecessor was located. The first station was located where the University of Culture and Arts is currently located. He was then called Brest, however, after some time it was renamed to Alexandrovsky. Just this station took the first railway trains with passengers. And then it was here that such famous persons came as emperor Nicholas II, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin and other famous people. This railway station operated in Minsk until 1928, after which it was closed, and during the Great Patriotic War in 1941 there was a fire, the building burned to the ground and was no longer being restored. That's all for the first railway terminal in Minsk.
The history of the current station
The current railway station in Minsk dates back to 1873. It was built on the new Libavo-Romny railway. At first it was called Vilensky or Libavo-Romensky. It was built of wood, and for twenty-five years it remained so. Only in 1898 the building underwent a major reconstruction, which was carried out using stone. Then the appearance of the building radically changed. It looked very beautiful, elegant and picturesque, in the form of a tower with two fabulous towers in the center.
Unfortunately, during the war of the USSR with Poland, the building received significant damage and was later rebuilt. A second floor appeared, on which a rest room and administrative premises were located.
Modern terminal
In 1940, the railway station in Minsk finally lost its original appearance. Of the architectural styles, neoclassicism was preferred at that time, and it was in this style, according to the project of architect I. Rochanik, that the building was completely rebuilt. The lightness and airiness of the building disappeared, it was replaced by heavy and strict rectilinear outlines.
During the Great Patriotic War, the terminal was significantly damaged, but in 1949 it was restored in the same neoclassical style. In the seventies, it became completely clear that the room needed reconstruction, as the passenger flow increased significantly and the station could no longer cope with it. But only in 1992 a competition was held for the reconstruction of the building, and the project of the famous architects Vinogradov and Kramarenko won.
At that time, there were significant funding problems, the implementation of the project was delayed. Construction was completed only in 2001. You can see the photo of the Minsk railway station in our article.
As you can see, the funds for the restoration of the terminal did not save, and it turned out to be a success. French stained glass, Spanish granite - everything was done at the highest level. Now the Minsk station is a true decoration of the city.
Infrastructure and passenger traffic
The address of the Minsk railway station is 3. Privokzalnaya Square, 3. This is a giant concrete complex with the most modern finishes. It is one of the largest in Europe and can simultaneously accommodate more than seven thousand passengers. Near the main entrance is a tour desk. On all floors of the building there is a cafe, many retail outlets, as well as currency exchange points. Under the complex is the longest underground passage. Its length is 250 meters; it connects the Railway Station Square with the Druzhnaya bus station.