Avtovo (Saint Petersburg Metro)

Avtovo
Saint Petersburg Metro station
Station Hall
General information
LocationKirovsky District
Saint Petersburg
Russia
Coordinates59°52′02.37″N 30°15′40.87″E / 59.8673250°N 30.2613528°E / 59.8673250; 30.2613528
Operated bySaint Petersburg Metro
Line(s)Line 1 (Saint Petersburg Metro) Kirovsko–Vyborgskaya Line
Platforms1 (Island platform)
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Depth12 m (39 ft)
History
OpenedNovember 15, 1955
ElectrifiedThird rail
Services
Preceding station Saint Petersburg Metro Following station
Kirovsky Zavod
towards Devyatkino
Line 1 Leninsky Prospekt
Former services
Kirovsky Zavod
towards Devyatkino
Line 1
1966–1977
Dachnoye
Terminus

Avtovo (Russian: А́втово, IPA: [ˈaftəvə]) is a station on the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line of the Saint Petersburg Metro.[1] Designed by architect Yevgenii Levinson [ru], it opened as part of the first Leningrad Metro line on November 15, 1955.[2] In 2014, The Guardian included it on the list of 12 most beautiful metro stations in the world.[3]

Avtovo's unique and highly ornate design features columns faced with ornamental glass manufactured at the Lomonosov factory.[2] Although the original plan envisaged using glass on all of the columns in the station, white marble was substituted on some due to time constraints. This marble was supposed to be temporary but has never been replaced. The walls are faced with white marble and adorned on the north side by a row of ornamental ventilation grilles. At the end of the platform, a mosaic by V.A. Voronetskiy and A.K. Sokolov commemorates the Leningrad Blockade (1941–1944) during the Second World War.

Unlike the other stations on the first line, Avtovo is a shallow-level station constructed using the cut and cover method. It belongs to the shallow column class of underground stations.

Avtovo has as its entrance vestibule a large Neoclassical building with a domed cupola, located on the east side of Prospekt Stachek [ru].

  1. ^ "Avtovo Metro Station (Saint Petersburg, 1955)".
  2. ^ a b "St Petersburg subway station recognized as one of world's most beautiful". gbtimes.com. November 18, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-12-02.
  3. ^ "The world's most beautiful metro stations - in pictures". The Guardian. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-11-12.