Vvedensky Canal, 7-414, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 190013
Next to the main building of the Vitebsky railway station is the former Imperial Pavilion. It was built, inspired by the Vienna Pavilion at Karlsplatz designed by Otto Wagner. On the canal side, the pavilion was adjoined by a small green courtyard, enclosed by an iron fence with gates. The lower part of the wall and the ramp were made of pink granite. The pavilion’s facades were decorated in the "Greek style," while the interiors were in the "Art Nouveau" style. The building housed the imperial chambers, rooms for the retinue, and facilities for the service staff. From the vestibule, one could descend a wide wooden staircase to the platforms. These were also accessible from other rooms. The platform itself was separated from the rest of the station by a stone wall. Part of the railway track and platform was covered by a canopy.
What contemporaries wrote about this. The magazine "Stroitel" (Builder) in 1901: “The new Tsar’s pavilion of the Moscow-Vindava-Rybinsk railway will be constructed as a single-story building, in the Greek style, with luxurious bronze decoration. The entire building will be clad in Valaam granite—the same from which the pedestal for the monument to Emperor Alexander III in St. Petersburg will be made—and sandstone. In the center of the building will be a vestibule crowned with a glass dome, so that light will fall from above. The right side of the pavilion will be allocated for the Imperial chambers with a luxurious hall and restrooms, while the left side will consist of halls for Their Imperial Majesties’ retinue and administrative offices. The platform and tracks will be covered by a special canopy. The front facade of the building will face the embankment of the Vvedensky Canal. In front of the building, there will be a square with a garden. Along the canal embankment, an elegant fence will be installed. The private entrance for Their Imperial Majesties to the pavilion will open onto Zagorodny Prospect through special gates. The pavilion’s builder is the academic architect S. A. Brzhozovsky.”
The magazine "Niva" in 1901: “The new central station for Imperial trains. Petersburg has been enriched with one, although relatively small, but very beautiful station. Built near the former Tsarskoye Selo station, it is intended specifically for Imperial trains. Being the terminus of a completely independent railway line from Tsarskoye Selo to Petersburg, it also connects with the Baltic, Nikolaev, and Warsaw lines, so that Imperial trains can be directly transferred to other lines for further travel west, south, and southwest... The station building, designed by architect S. A. Brzhozovsky, is executed in a new style and is remarkably elegant. The entrance is built from pink Valaam granite; the entrance is decorated with a metal canopy and bracket. The spacious vestibule, finished with light oak, with electric clocks and a barometer, divides the station into two halves: the right side houses rooms for Their Imperial Majesties, and the left side contains rooms for the retinue and service...”
Between the passenger building of the Saint Petersburg Vitebsk railway and the Vvedensky Canal, there is a passage leading to the building of the Imperial trains station. From the passage, wide gates of a distinctive design lead into the station courtyard: in front of it, on the passage side, there is a ramp made of pink Valaam granite; from the ramp platform, a door leads into the building’s vestibule. In the vestibule, an oak staircase with 11 steps leads to the first floor at platform level; on either side of this staircase, two other staircases lead to the cloakroom located in the basement. Also in the basement, with a separate external entrance on the building’s side facade, there is a room for the steam heating boiler and ventilation equipment. The rest of the basement, except for the cloakroom and boiler room, is filled with earth, leaving a gap of about 1 sazhen (approx. 2.13 meters) in height between the floor beams and the fill level—for laying steam heating pipes and suspending electric lighting wires. The floor of the first floor is made of concrete vaults on iron beams and covered with parquet, except for the toilets, where it is tiled with Metlakh tiles.
The building’s interior, as well as the platform and the entire courtyard, are illuminated by electricity.
From the vestibule and individual rooms, doors lead to the platform, which is 3.5 sazhen wide; it runs along the building and is constructed on iron beams and concrete vaults, supported along the track by a stone wall. Above the vaults, the platform is covered with Swedish parquet. Outside the building on both sides, the platform consists of a wooden deck on wooden beams and posts; on the courtyard side, it is supported by a stone retaining wall. Protrusions in this wall in the form of pilasters serve as supports for the trusses of the canopy covering the tracks and platform near the building. The total length of the canopy is 88 sazhen (approx. 187.4 meters). Individual canopy trusses are two-hinged arches, the rise of which, measured from the hinge line to the middle height of the arch at the crown, is 11.689 meters. The number of such arches supporting the canopy is 24.
It is said that when Emperor Nicholas II was going to travel by train, he always arrived at the Vitebsky station exactly at the appointed time. His palace commandant V. N. Voeykov had to arrive at the station in advance and unlock the ceremonial doors of the Imperial Pavilion. He always arrived about five minutes early and managed to prepare everything for the Tsar’s arrival.
Once, when Nicholas II announced that he intended to board the train at five o’clock in the evening and Voeykov arrived at the station around five minutes to five, he found that the entrance to the Imperial Pavilion was already open, and Nicholas with two of his daughters was standing on the platform. The commandant prepared to reprimand him for being late, but the Tsar, seeing his fear, smiled and explained that he was not at fault—the Tsar himself had arrived a quarter of an hour early.
Sources:
