Railway stations are something special. It is both an architectural element and the romance of long journeys. The older a railway station is, the more it excites the imagination. Some railway stations are also childhood memories. Quite often railway stations were typical buildings, and railway workers tried to make them individual by any means available. They planted flowers in the front gardens or decorated the windows with curtains.
The list of means of personalising different buildings is short. The railway workers did their best, but it was still very similar. It still happens that I arrive in a new place, look at the railway station and it seems to me that everything around me is familiar. I look more closely and I can guess what it is. The building of the railway station, the round flowerbed, the flowering phloxes - I saw all this in my childhood hundreds of kilometres away from this place.
Not all railway stations were built according to standard designs. Some buildings were designed individually, and they can be classed as architectural masterpieces. For example, Vitebsky railway station is a miracle of architectural and engineering thought. Some of the premises are inaccessible for ordinary passengers, you can get there only occasionally, with a special excursion. Or the light vaults of the railway station in New Peterhof - this station is equally beautiful from any angle.
This time I went for a walk with the purpose of going to the railway station of Shuvalovo station. This railway station is located on the branch of the railway that connects St. Petersburg with the northern suburbs and dacha settlements. It was built in the late 19th century by architect Bruno Granholm. Finnish architect Bruno Granholm is the author of several railway stations built on this railway line. He worked in the Art Nouveau style and made extensive use of national motifs in his designs.
The Shuvalovo station is the oldest of the stations built by the architect. This building is more like a typical building than the architect's later works, there are few unusual architectural elements. But this building reflected the spirit of the era so well that it became an ideal setting for films and TV series. Inside the building, the old ovens and wooden ceiling have been preserved.
The architect did not limit himself to building only one building. He built a whole complex of station buildings. Two more buildings have survived to this day. A small brick shed with small windows was used as a toilet. The modern toilet is located in another building, and this room is now mothballed. A two-storey house built for railway employees is still used as an apartment block. The ground floor of this building is stone and the ground floor is wooden.
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| Smartphone | Google Pixel 3a |
| Location | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
This is my entry for the #WednesdayWalk challenge by @tattoodjay.