The Leningradsky railway station is the oldest train station between the other 9 in Moscow. This station locates at the Komsomolskaya Square alongside the other two terminals Yaroslavsky station and Kazansky station. Unlike the other terminals which operated by the Moscow railway, the Leningradsky is the only station that is under October railway company administration.
The Leningradsky station was built at the same time as its twin sister Moskovsky station in 1844. The two identical stations' construction went up to seven years, and during that time two architects of the project, Konstantin Thon and Rudolf Zhelyazevich observed the constructions. This station called Petrogradsky station at first because it was the first railway to the capital city. However, after Nicholas I, the emperor died, the stations and railway name changed to the Nicholavsky for a while, and following the October Revolution in 1917, the Bolshevik changed the names to Oktobervsky to honor the revolution. It was only a year after that event which the names changed to the current ones.
These two stations are not exciting attractions individually, but together, they can be two excellent well-known tourist attractions in each city. As we mentioned, both buildings were designed by Konstantin Thon, and he used the twin technic to build them. These two identical buildings in these two grand cities are examples of Italian Renaissance at first sight, but if you focused on the details you might notice different architecture styles from different eras.
In general, the large Venetian windows, the enormous two-story clock tower, fake entrances on the ground floor, and the Roman columns are the prime examples of the Italian Renaissance which used in both Leningradsky station and Moskovsky station as well. Konstantin Thon inspired by Rome’s Palazzo Senatorio and Palazzo Rucellai in Florence while he was designing these buildings.
The Leningradsky station went under major reconstruction twice in 1950 and 1972, but just like its twin in St. Petersburg, the station’s main façade remained intact.
One of the first passengers on this railway was Emperor Nicholas I, who was one of the greatest patrons of establishing this railway connection between Petrograd and Moscow at the time. Following his death, the stations and railway name changed to Nicholavsky to honor the deceased Emperor. As we said before, the real attraction of this station is the existence of another twin at the other terminal in St. Petersburg. These stations are still one of the main arrival points of the tourists as of today, and encountering almost the same building at the end of the line would be interesting.
There are also several bullet trains on this line which can take passengers from Moscow to St. Petersburg and the other way around in less than 4 hours. These trains are quite reasonable economic choices. Besides the saving time and money, these journeys would be exciting for the panoramas that people face during their trip. We are also extremely recommending that even if you don’t have plans to take a trip to another city with these trains, at least go and witness the beauty of the architecture and design of these stations, especially if you have plans to travel to both Moscow and Saint Petersburg in your journey.
