Description of the attraction
The railway station of the Novy Peterhof station is an architectural monument of federal significance. At the beginning of the summer of 1857, the constant movement of passenger trains St. Petersburg - Peterhof was opened. Those who visited Peterhof for the first time admired the grandiose building of the railway station, about which in the newspaper "Northern Bee" on August 20, 1857 it was written that this sophisticated building opens up to the eyes of passengers in all its glory. Above the Gothic colonnade "16 fathoms" rises a wonderful tower, which completes the impression. People who have visited "all the railways of Europe claim that they have never seen a station built with such taste and effect."
The building of the Peterhof railway station was built in the pseudo-Gothic style in the 1854-1857s according to the plan of the architect Nikolai Leontievich Benois (1813-1898). The central part of the station (landing stage) is covered with metal trusses. The western facade of the building is presented in the form of a 4-tier tower, on the sides of which there are pointed arches for the movement of trains. Loggias with an elegant Gothic colonnade have been erected over the arches. The walls of the tower are cut through by narrow lancet windows, and are crowned with openwork parapets with pinnacles. Two-storey buildings with rooms for personnel and passengers are attached to the volume, which is allocated by the tower.
The front of the station on the south side has a 3-span portico that leads to a large hall with pointed vaults based on powerful pillars. The northern facade of the building has wide lancet openings, separated from one another by buttresses.
All details of the building are of a deliberately Gothic character. Although romantic, sublime medieval architectural forms are fully subordinate to its practical purpose. It is, in its rationality, an exemplary suburban railway building.
Few people know that the station building has not been completed yet. According to the plan, it was envisaged that door and window large in size, of a Gothic design, bindings were to be made of cast iron. In a hurry they were made of wood. In addition, in July 1893, the architectural community celebrated the 80th anniversary of N. L. Benoit. In friendly conversations, it was not without recollections of the former extensive work of the hero of the day. In the newspaper "Week of the Builder" on July 11, 1893, it was written that the Peterhof railway station, which undoubtedly can be considered one of the best buildings in Russia, built in the Gothic style, "turns out to be unfinished." On the facades in many parts there are no spiers, which were supposed according to the initial project. When N. L. Benoit turned to the road manager with a request to give 1600 rubles for casting the spiers from cast iron, then he inquired about the income from this amount. The architect replied that there would be no income, then the manager decided "to leave the facade without spiers." In this form, the Peterhof railway station remained.
