Mayakovskaya
Encyclopedia
Mayakovskaya is a Moscow Metro
station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line
. Considered to be one of the most beautiful in the system, it is a fine example of pre-World War II
Stalinist Architecture
and one of the most famous Metro stations in the world. The name as well as the design is a reference to Futurism
and its prominent Russian exponent Vladimir Mayakovsky
.
s on each side. This gave birth to a new column type
design and Mayakovskaya was the first station to show this.
Located 33 meters beneath the surface, the station became famous during World War II
when an air raid shelter was located in the station. On the anniversary of the October Revolution
, on 7 November 1941 Joseph Stalin
addressed a mass assembly of party leaders and ordinary Muscovites in the central hall of the station.
's brilliant Art Deco
decoration design amazed the world. Based on a Soviet future as envisioned by the poet Mayakovsky, the station features graceful columns faced with stainless steel and pink rhodonite
, white Ufaley and grey Diorite marble walls, a brilliant flooring pattern of white and pink marble, and 35 niches, one for each vault. Surrounded by filament lights there are a total of 34 ceiling mosaics by Alexander Deyneka
with the theme "24-Hour Soviet Sky." A passenger can look up and see the bright Soviet future right above him.
In 2005 a new second north exit was built, along with a new vestibule in a unique style. Passengers leaving the station first descend on a short escalator ride into an underground vestibule, and then ascend the long way to the surface. The new exit also allows access to the 25th mosaic, which was previously hidden behind the service section. Other mosaic works were designed from scratch, accompanied by ample use of marble and stainless steel sculpturing. The bust of the poet was moved to the new surface vestibule, whose ceiling was also decorated with a mosaic composition from Mayakovski's poem "Moscow Sky".
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...
station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line
Zamoskvoretskaya Line
Zamoskvoretskaya Line , formerly Gorkovsko-Zamoskvoretskaya , is a line of the Moscow Metro. Opened in 1938, chronologically it became the third line. There are twenty stations on the Zamoskvoretskaya line, and it spans , roughly crossing Moscow in a north-south direction. A normal trip along the...
. Considered to be one of the most beautiful in the system, it is a fine example of pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Stalinist Architecture
Stalinist architecture
Stalinist architecture , also referred to as 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 the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
and one of the most famous Metro stations in the world. The name as well as the design is a reference to Futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
and its prominent Russian exponent Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Mayakovsky
Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky was a Russian and Soviet poet and playwright, among the foremost representatives of early-20th century Russian Futurism.- Early life :...
.
History
The station was built as part of the second stage of the Moscow Metro expansion, opening on 11 September 1938. If the first stage was more focused on the building of the system itself, both architecturally and when it comes to the engineering, the stations appear modest in comparison to those that the second stage brought to the system. For the first time in the world, instead of having the traditional three-neath pylon station layout, the engineers were able to overlap the vault space and support it with two sets of colonnadeColonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
s on each side. This gave birth to a new column type
Deep column station
The 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...
design and Mayakovskaya was the first station to show this.
Located 33 meters beneath the surface, the station became famous during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when an air raid shelter was located in the station. On the anniversary of the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, on 7 November 1941 Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
addressed a mass assembly of party leaders and ordinary Muscovites in the central hall of the station.
Design
If the triumph in engineering was not enough, then Alexey DushkinAlexey Dushkin
Alexey Nikolayevich Dushkin was a Soviet architect, best known for his 1930s designs of Kropotkinskaya and Mayakovskaya stations of Moscow Metro...
's brilliant Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
decoration design amazed the world. Based on a Soviet future as envisioned by the poet Mayakovsky, the station features graceful columns faced with stainless steel and pink rhodonite
Rhodonite
Rhodonite is a manganese inosilicate, SiO3 and member of the pyroxenoid group of minerals, crystallizing in the triclinic system...
, white Ufaley and grey Diorite marble walls, a brilliant flooring pattern of white and pink marble, and 35 niches, one for each vault. Surrounded by filament lights there are a total of 34 ceiling mosaics by Alexander Deyneka
Alexander Deyneka
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Deyneka was a Soviet Russian painter, graphic artist and sculptor, regarded as one of the most important Russian modernist figurative painters of the first half of the 20th century....
with the theme "24-Hour Soviet Sky." A passenger can look up and see the bright Soviet future right above him.
In 2005 a new second north exit was built, along with a new vestibule in a unique style. Passengers leaving the station first descend on a short escalator ride into an underground vestibule, and then ascend the long way to the surface. The new exit also allows access to the 25th mosaic, which was previously hidden behind the service section. Other mosaic works were designed from scratch, accompanied by ample use of marble and stainless steel sculpturing. The bust of the poet was moved to the new surface vestibule, whose ceiling was also decorated with a mosaic composition from Mayakovski's poem "Moscow Sky".