Privokzalnaya square, 3
Railway station building,
Gomel, Privokzalnaya square, 3
The composition of the building is symmetrical, consisting of a dominant central volume and side wings. The main entrance of the central volume is accentuated by a portico with pylons inscribed in a three-part arched opening supported by pilasters with acanthus, stars and ears on the capitals. The glazing of the opening is shallow. The main entrance is also flanked by risalites, bounded by 2-storey semi-columns, between which sculptures of a worker and a peasant woman are placed in arched niches. At the 2nd floor level, an entablature runs through the entire central volume. On the 3rd floor, the risalites are decorated with porticos of 4 pilasters. The central volume is crowned by an entablature and a 5-angle attic with a relief of the state Soviet symbols (coat of arms and flags). The accents of the side wings are the risalites with order porticos under triangular pediments with arched windows and balconies on the 2nd floor. Similar techniques were used in the design of facades from the railway side.
Interiors (marble, stained-glass windows, frescoes, chandeliers, etc.) are also of artistic value, also mainly with elements of classicism (pilasters, half columns, caissons, rosettes, etc.). A sculpture of V. I. Lenin is installed above the landing of the grand staircase in the lobby of the central volume. On both sides of the lobby there are ticket offices, waiting rooms, cafes, retail outlets, etc. In the side wings there are service rooms, a restaurant.
In the 1870s – 1980s, the Libavo-Romenskaya and Polesskaya railways passed through Gomel, the city began to transform into a major industrial and transport hub. The Libavo-Romenskaya Railway station was built in the 1890s. The building, symmetrical in composition with an accentuated central part, was decorated with Baroque and Renaissance elements. During the Great Patriotic War, the station was destroyed. In 1946 – 1948, a new one was erected in its place in the style of the «Stalinist Empire» (architect K. Mitin, state project of the USSR), which compositionally repeated the construction of the old one, but had larger dimensions. In 1964, a memorial plaque was installed on the building in honor of M.I. Kalinin, who in 1919 spoke at a rally at the Gomel station, and in the 1990s sculptures of a worker and a peasant woman were placed in the niches of the risalites.
Station square. The building of the railway station. Photography of the 1920s – 1930s.
Station square. The building of the railway station. Photography of the 1950s.
Station square. The building of the railway station. Photo of 1968.
Station square. The building of the railway station. Photo of 1975.
Station square. Photo of the 2020.
Station square