The metro station Kitay Gorod is perhaps one of the most interesting metro stations in the capital. In the southern lobby you can see a genuine fragment of the white stone foundation, which once belonged to the ancient tower of Kitay Gorod, and the interior is located in the same place where the White City was built a long time ago.
In addition, connoisseurs of history will be interested in the inscription made by hand of Bogdan Khmelnitsky. It can be found if you go down to the underpass at the entrance to the Polytechnic Museum.
Metro Kitay Gorod. General Information and History
Located between the Taganskaya and Kuznetsky Most, Kitay Gorod metro is an important interchange hub for the metro. The station is considered cross-platform. This means that in this place two branches intersect at once: Kaluga-Riga and Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya. In addition, we note that this is the first point of this kind in Moscow, and initially it was created as an experienced one.
The metro station Kitay-Gorod began its work in January 1971, becoming an integral part of two radii, Kaluga and Zhdanovsky. Although it should be noted that initially the passengers disembarked in one hall, and boarding in another. And only five years later, just before the New Year, did both parties work fully.
The history of the name of this place is very interesting. Until 1990, this transport hub was called “Nogin Square”.
At the time of the decision to rename the city administration already had several working options. In the end, they preferred Kitai Gorod in honor of the nearby capital district. This toponym already appeared in ancient records of the 16th century. He has nothing to do with China or the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom. Linguists believe that this name is rooted in the Mongolian or Turkic languages. However, according to another version, the words “whale” or “whale” could mean a structure erected according to the wattle principle.
Metro Kitay Gorod. How does it look from the inside?
From one line to another you can get through the station hall. This column type station is considered deep. It is laid on 29 m, and has three arches. The stations were designed by a group of architects and designers under the direction of A. Strelkov. A. Lapina, H. Rysin and D. Bodniek were involved in artistic design.
To date, the station is decorated with unusual aluminum hammered cornices, which are located directly under the columns. Also on the gray marble track walls, visitors can see metal inserts depicting a sickle, a hammer and a lit torch. Steel columns are finished in yellow and gray marble.
This station has no ground lobbies, so you can get to the surface only with the help of underground passages to the Ilyinsky or Barbarian gates, Solyansky puffin and Slavyanskaya square.
Metro Kitay Gorod. What can be seen in the surroundings?
In general, we can say with confidence that Kitay Gorod is a metro that boasts its unique and very successful location in the historic center of the city.
The most famous cultural and architectural monuments are the China Wall, Trinity Church and Gostiny Dvor. Museum lovers, as a rule, enjoy visiting the Historical and Polytechnic museums. Those who want to get to know the capital better are recommended to look into the Museum of the History of Moscow. The collection of unique dolls in the world will attract the attention of both adults and young visitors.
Due to the particular location of the station, a very developed infrastructure can be noted in its vicinity. Nearby there are several schools and kindergartens, both public and private, a number of medical institutions, many shops. Showrooms and a library are especially popular.
You can meet many students at the station, and this is not surprising, since it is precisely at the Kitay-Gorod station that those who are already studying or just about to enter the RSUH, LMMU and other metropolitan universities follow.