The building of Kharkiv Railway Station, located on Pryvokzal’na Square, 1, is, in fact, the third station building to stand on this site.
The first station was built in 1870.
Between 1896 and 1901, the building was renovated and extended according to a design by architects S. Zagoskin and J. Tsaune. In essence, the original station building was incorporated into the new structure, although the décor of the older section was altered. Following the renovation, passenger flows were separated by distinct entrances and exits.
Most of this Neo-Renaissance building was destroyed during the WWII. The new building was constructed in the socialist classicism style in 1952.
Surprisingly, a small section of the original 1870 station building, which had previously been incorporated into the second station, survived the destruction of the WWII. It was incorporated into the third station building – in the photo below, this is the two-storey section with semi-circular windows on the second floor.
The architects of the new station were G. Voloshinov, B. Mezentsev and E. Lyamar.
On the wall of the former restaurant, now the station’s waiting room, you can still see a mural. This is what Kharkiv might have looked like had the city’s post-WWII reconstruction been fully funded. The mural was created by artists E. Yegorova, V. Sizikova, I. Karas and P. Shigimaga.
Both of the current buildings of Kharkiv University would have been adorned with spires, and on the square where the Lenin monument (which was only erected in the 1960s), there could have been a Victory Column. The TV tower at Derzhprom was added to mural after 1955.
This is what the Main Building of Kharkiv University might have looked like.
Also, inside the station, one can see an unofficial variation on the coat of arms of Kharkiv; here, alongside the cornucopia, a sword can be seen in place of Mercury’s caduceus.
A symphony concert at the station:
During the New Year celebrations, a Christmas tree is erected on Pryvokzalna Square, around which a toy steam train runs.
On certain public holidays, a real steam train can be seen at the station, giving rides to children and veterans.
On the ceiling of the main hall, you can see several ceiling panels with murals in the Socialist Realism style.
Ceiling panel ‘Miners’. Artist: I. V. Radoman (presumably).
Ceiling light ‘Harvest’. Artist: I. V. Radoman.
Ceiling light ‘Victory’. Probable artist: E. E. Lansere (Jr.).
Ceiling panel depicting a factory resembling the Kharkiv Turbine Plant. Probable artist: E. E. Lansere (Jr.).
The cornices above the main entrance to the station are adorned with two pairs of sculptures.
Peasant woman and soldier:
Miner and teacher:
On the left 42-metre tower of Kharkiv station stands the city’s largest clock, with a diameter of 4.25 metres. In 2011, the station attempted to introduce a tradition: every day at noon, a trapdoor in the clock would open to reveal a trumpeter from the Kharkiv Philharmonic, who would play a melody.
Unfortunately, the tradition did not last long.
