Kurskaya is a
Moscow MetroThe Moscow Metro , which spans almost the entire Russian capital, is the world's second most heavily used rapid-transit system. Opened in 1935, it is well known for the ornate design of many of its stations, which contain outstanding examples of socialist realist art.-Description of the Metro:In...
station, located on the
Koltsevaya LineThe Koltsevaya Line , is the ring line of the Moscow Metro. The line was built in 1950-54 encircling the central Moscow, and became crucial to the transfer patterns of passengers....
. Opened on 1 January, 1950, the station is built to a design of architects G. Zakharkov and Z. Chernysheva under the supervision of famous architect Ivan Zholtovsky who were awarded the Stalin Prize in 1950 for the design. The station is a rare
Deep column stationThe deep column station is a type of subway station, consisting of a central hall with two side halls, connected by ring-like passages between a row of columns...
built in the 1950s style of
Stalinist ArchitectureStalinist architecture , also referred to as the Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khruschev condemned "excesses" of the past...
.
The design features four rows of columns which support the vaults, though the columns are "doubled" hence their wide appearance.
Kurskaya is a
Moscow MetroThe Moscow Metro , which spans almost the entire Russian capital, is the world's second most heavily used rapid-transit system. Opened in 1935, it is well known for the ornate design of many of its stations, which contain outstanding examples of socialist realist art.-Description of the Metro:In...
station, located on the
Koltsevaya LineThe Koltsevaya Line , is the ring line of the Moscow Metro. The line was built in 1950-54 encircling the central Moscow, and became crucial to the transfer patterns of passengers....
. Opened on 1 January, 1950, the station is built to a design of architects G. Zakharkov and Z. Chernysheva under the supervision of famous architect Ivan Zholtovsky who were awarded the Stalin Prize in 1950 for the design. The station is a rare
Deep column stationThe deep column station is a type of subway station, consisting of a central hall with two side halls, connected by ring-like passages between a row of columns...
built in the 1950s style of
Stalinist ArchitectureStalinist architecture , also referred to as the Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khruschev condemned "excesses" of the past...
.
The design features four rows of columns which support the vaults, though the columns are "doubled" hence their wide appearance. In the centre of the station is a large open space with a large vault topping it that rests on four pylons forming an arbour, from which a staircase leads off as a transfer to
Kurskaya-RadialnayaKurskaya , also known as Kurskaya-Radialnaya, is a station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Moscow Metro. It is named for the Kursky Rail Terminal located nearby. Designed by L.M...
of the
Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya LineThe Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line is a line of the Moscow Metro. Chronologically the second to open, now it connects the major Izmaylovo District on the east of Moscow, and the Strogino District on the west, with the city centre...
. Another interesting detail of the station is the lack of sculptures and artwork, instead however this compensated by small details such as
TorchiereA torchiere , or torch lamp, is a lamp with a tall stand of wood or metal. Originally, torchieres were candelabra, usually with two or three lights...
(now removed) in the arbour which light the granite stairwell and hidden lamps in the nieches of the vault, which is covered by a bronze frieze symbolising the dawn and blossoming of
Mother RussiaMother Russia is a national personification of Russia, appearing in patriotic posters, statues etc...
. Additional lighting is provided by eight elegant conical chandeliers with fluorescent tubes. The floor is laid with red and grey granite, and the walls and columns with white
koyelga marble.
The station's large vestibule is located right next to the north, and adjacent to
Kursky Rail TerminalKursky Rail Terminal is one of the nine rail terminals in Moscow. It was built in 1896.There are currently plans in the pipeline to completely rebuild or refurbish the Kursky Rail Terminal.-Destinations:-External links:***...
, hence the name of the station, and serves both the ring and radial stations, this contains a large circular underground lobby in the centre of which is a bronze sculpture of wheat (inclining
KurskKursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. Kursk was a key turning point of the Russian-German war during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in World War II...
as the centre of the
ChernozemChernozem , also known as "black land" or "black earth", is a black-coloured soil containing a very high percentage of humus — 3% to 15%, and high percentages of phosphoric acids, phosphorus and ammonia...
region), this is also linked to the 1938 vestibule of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya station, allowing for a transfer there. The interior of the surface structure, adorned with citations from the Anthem of the Soviet Union once contained a large statue of
Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953...
(sculptor N.Tomsky), this was removed in 1961. On 3 July, 2008 the vestibule was closed for a period of a year to replace escalators, upgrade and renovation. The station's second entrance to Zemlyanoy Val opened in December 1995, is a shared underground vestibule, which also doubles as a tranfer to
ChkalovskayaChkalovskya is a station in on the Moscow Metro's Lyublinskaya Line. The station was opened on 28 December 1995 as the first stage of the Lyublinskiy radius, built by a team of architectors, Nina Aleshina, Leonid Borzenkov, and Alexandr Vigdorov. Named after the famous Soviet aviator Valery...
of the
Lyublinskaya LineLyublinskaya Line is the newest line of the Moscow Metro. First opened in 1995 as a semi-chordial radius it is at present in process of being extended through the centre and northwards. In the future it is expected to be renamed as the Lyblinsko-Dmitrovskaya Line once its northern section opens...
.
Possibly the most interesting detail of the station is a large metallic plaque on the station wall, adorned with artwork has an inscription:
Kurskaya, large ring, 1945-1949. This implies the original plan to have the
Koltsevaya LineThe Koltsevaya Line , is the ring line of the Moscow Metro. The line was built in 1950-54 encircling the central Moscow, and became crucial to the transfer patterns of passengers....
follow the Sadovoye Koltso, (the large ring) and then a smaller ring line to follow the
Boulevard RingThe Boulevard Ring is Moscow's second centremost ring road . Boulevards form a semicircular chain along the western, northern and eastern sides of the historical White City of Moscow; in the south the incomplete ring is terminated by the embankments of Moskva River...
(the small ring). Given the fact that Kurskaya was originally a terminus for the line, however even before the opening of the station the plan was revised for the Koltsevaya line's northern route to deviate from the ring, and for the smaller ring project to be abandoned.
Evidence of the line's former terminus status is seen behind the station with the presence of reversal sidings.
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