Warszawa Wileńska railway station: Difference between revisions

 

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The station building itself was built in 1859–1861 to designs by the architect {{Interlanguage link|Narcyz Zborzewski|ru|Зборжевский, Наркиз Альбертович}}, a Russian architect of Polish origins who was a graduate of the [[Imperial Academy of Arts]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. The main façade of the station faced {{Interlanguage link|Ulica Wileńska|pl|Ulica Wileńska}} ({{langx|en|Vilnius Street}}).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Szmit-Zawierucha |first=Danuta |title=O Warszawie inaczej: anegdoty, fakty, obserwacje: w 400. rocznicę przeniesienia stolicy z Krakowa do Warszawy |date=1996 |publisher=Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza “Anagram” |isbn=978-83-86086-28-3 |location=Warszawa |language=pl |page=200}}</ref>

The station building itself was built in 1859–1861 to designs by the architect {{Interlanguage link|Narcyz Zborzewski|ru|Зборжевский, Наркиз Альбертович}}, a Russian architect of Polish origins who was a graduate of the [[Imperial Academy of Arts]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]. The main façade of the station faced {{Interlanguage link|Ulica Wileńska|pl|Ulica Wileńska}} ({{langx|en|Vilnius Street}}).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Szmit-Zawierucha |first=Danuta |title=O Warszawie inaczej: anegdoty, fakty, obserwacje: w 400. rocznicę przeniesienia stolicy z Krakowa do Warszawy |date=1996 |publisher=Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza “Anagram” |isbn=978-83-86086-28-3 |location=Warszawa |language=pl |page=200}}</ref>

The Petersburg Station was Warsaw’s second railway station after the {{interlanguage links|Vienna Station (Warsaw)|pl|Dworzec Wiedeński w Warszawie}} ({{langx|pl|Dworzec Wiedeński}}), which had been completed in 1845 on the left side of the Vistula as the northeastern terminus of the [[Warsaw–Vienna Railway]]. As the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway used [[russian gauge]] while the the Warsaw–Vienna Railway used [[standard gauge]], the two could not be connected. To allow passengers travelling between [[Vienna]] and Saint Petersburg easier access to both rail terminals, a [[horse-drawn tramway]] line between the Petersburg Station and the Vienna Station across the [[Kierbedź Bridge]] was opened soon after the railway line’s completion, thus giving birth to [[Warsaw Tramway|Warsaw’s tramway network]].

The Petersburg Station was Warsaw’s second railway station after the {{interlanguage links|Vienna Station (Warsaw)|pl|Dworzec Wiedeński w Warszawie}} ({{langx|pl|Dworzec Wiedeński}}), which had been completed in 1845 on the left side of the Vistula as the northeastern terminus of the [[Warsaw–Vienna Railway]]. As the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway used [[ gauge]] while the Warsaw–Vienna Railway used [[standard gauge]], the two could not be connected. To allow passengers travelling between [[Vienna]] and Saint Petersburg easier access to both rail terminals, a [[horse-drawn tramway]] line between the Petersburg Station and the Vienna Station across the [[Kierbedź Bridge]] was opened soon after the railway line’s completion, thus giving birth to [[Warsaw Tramway|Warsaw’s tramway network]].

[[File:Warsaw MKL Bd. 16 1890 (128535731).jpg|thumb|left|Map of Warsaw in 1890 with the [[Vienna Station (Warsaw)|Vienna Station]] (center bottom), the Petersburg Station (upper right) and [[Kolej obwodowa w Warszawie|the railway line connecting the two]] across the [[Vistula]].]]

[[File:Warsaw MKL Bd. 16 1890 (128535731).jpg|thumb|left|Map of Warsaw in 1890 with the [[Vienna Station (Warsaw)|Vienna Station]] (center bottom), the Petersburg Station (upper right) and [[Kolej obwodowa w Warszawie|the railway line connecting the two]] across the [[Vistula]].]]

Railway station in Warsaw, Poland

Warszawa Wileńska (English: Warsaw Vilnius Station) is a railway terminal in central Warsaw, Poland.^[1] It is situated by Plac Wileński (English: Vilnius Square) in the eastern district of Praga-Północ on the right bank of the River Vistula. Often simply called Dworzec Wileński (English: Vilnius Station)^[a], the name of the station derives from its past as the main station serving trains towards Vilnius.

The historic terminus of the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway, the station opened in 1863 as the Dworzec Petersburski (English: the Petersburg Station). Destroyed in World War I, it was renamed to its current name and moved to its present location during the interwar period. Today, it serves mostly local and suburban trains operated by the regional railway company Masovian Railways (Polish: Koleje Mazowieckie).^[2] It is attached to the Dworzec Wileński metro station of line M2 of the Warsaw Metro.

The first station on this site, then called the Petersburg Station (Polish: Dworzec Petersburski), opened in 1863 as the southwestern terminus of the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway, a new railway line linking Warsaw with Saint Petersburg via Vilnius and Daugavpils and built by the Russian Empire to connect the Russian capital with Central Europe. The new station’s counterpart was thus the Warsaw Station (Russian: Варшавский вокзал) in Saint Petersburg.

The station building itself was built in 1859–1861 to designs by the architect Narcyz Zborzewski [ru], a Russian architect of Polish origins who was a graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg. The main façade of the station faced Ulica Wileńska [pl] (English: Vilnius Street).^[5]

The Petersburg Station was Warsaw’s second railway station after the Vienna Station (Warsaw) [pl] (Polish: Dworzec Wiedeński), which had been completed in 1845 on the left side of the Vistula as the northeastern terminus of the Warsaw–Vienna Railway. As the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway used Russian gauge while the Warsaw–Vienna Railway used standard gauge, the two could not be connected. To allow passengers travelling between Vienna and Saint Petersburg easier access to both rail terminals, a horse-drawn tramway line between the Petersburg Station and the Vienna Station across the Kierbedź Bridge was opened soon after the railway line’s completion, thus giving birth to Warsaw’s tramway network.

Not before between 1873 and 1875, a rail bridge, the Citadel Rail Bridge (Polish: Most kolejowy przy Cytadeli), was built across the River Vistula near the Warsaw Citadel. It opened in November 1875, allowing the Kolej obwodowa w Warszawie [pl] to connect the right bank Petersburg Station with the left bank Vienna Station, and the Warsaw–Vienna Railway. The railway track had four rails arranged in such a way that it could be used by the both broad-gauge trains used on the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway, and the standard-gauge trains used on the Warsaw–Vienna line.

Soon after the start of World War I, the Petersburg Station was renamed the Petrograd Station. In August 1915, the station building was blown up by withdrawing Russian troops, and burned down in the ensuing fire.^[6]

After the end of hostilities and the Polish-Soviet War parts of the Warsaw–Saint Petersburg Railway between Warsaw and Vilnius were converted to standard gauge like all railways in interwar Poland. Passenger traffic between Warsaw and then-Soviet Leningrad practically ceased. Because of that the original name of the station was changed to the one used currently.

The position initially occupied by the 19th century train station which had been demolished during the war was occupied by the new office building headquarters of Polish State Railways, constructed between 1927 and 1928. At the same time a new provisional Warszawa Wileńska station was constructed across the street, slightly to the south from the original location.

The new provisional building survived World War II when it was dismantled while old railway depots were converted to a station building. This building was also provisional, but survived in its role until 2000, when a new station was constructed. The ground floor houses a suburban train station operated currently by Koleje Mazowieckie, while upper floors house the Galeria Wileńska shopping mall. The building was completed in 2002. The construction of a Warsaw Metro line 2 station Dworzec Wileński was completed in March 2015.