Moscow is a mystery for every foreigner. We traveled Moscow for a few days and explored the great unknown among the world cities.
Proud and stubborn to this day, indomitable even if all the other large western states continue to criticize. Russia is different, as is its capital Moscow. You must have seen that. Read part 1 of the story here, part 2 is here, the 3 part here, part 4 here, part 5 here, 7 here.
Everyone knows the steaming chimneys of New York's subway, the unpunctuality of Berlin's subway and the punctuality of Tokyo's. But who is knowing the Metro of Moscow? Moscow's subway celebrated its 85th anniversary two years ago, but it is far less famous. Yet 2.5 billion people use it every year, over 7 million daily, and they don't ride just any metro, but probably the most beautiful in the world.
The Russians officially call their subway Московский метрополитен, but in everyday life this is of course shortened to "Metro". Opened in 1935, the Russian capital's metro is not only one of the largest subway systems in the world, but also the one with the deepest tunnels and stations. Anyone who takes the third escalator down here to reach an even lower station is already wondering if they're about to arrive at the center of the earth.
Beautiful places under the surface
Fortunately, the eye is always distracted and enraptured at the stations of the Moscow Metro. In contrast to the dim stations of Tokyo and the desolate and dusty tunnels of Berlin, metro stations in Moscow have very sophisticated architecture. Some of them look like subterranean palaces, decorated with marble, rich sculptures and epochal murals. Be careful not to miss the train while marveling.
With a track length of 408 kilometers, Moscow's network has overtaken London Underground's (402 km), with New York just 70 kilometers in front. Here under the Moscow underground, 14 lines move the whole city, at least from 05:30 in the morning to 01:00 at night. See my video here!
During this time, trains run at short intervals. Tickets are cheap, the equivalent of one euro for a single ticket. Each of Moscow's three airports can be reached by metro, but out there modern practicality of design already prevails.
The inner-city stations with decades of history are quite different. Here chandeliers hang, artists have painted walls, the floor often consists of mosaics. The Muscovites owe this to their "father" Stalin, the cruel dictator, who not only murdered millions of people, but also gave the remaining ones the "Palace of the People", as he called the metro.
A symbol for the nation
For the dictator, metro was more than a means of transportation. He used the transportation system as a demonstration tool of Soviet superiority over capitalist societies. Architects were commissioned to display the ideas of Russian aesthetics on each of the stops: Splendor and glory of history next to the dazzling future of socialism were in the foreground; to enchant passengers, huge amounts of mirror-like ornamentation, murals and chandeliers were used.
The deepest station, 84 meters underground, is Victory Park (Park Pobedi) Station. Here, the passenger travels an incredible 126 meters down to see a proud Soviet soldier as a mosaic on a wall in front of a mirror-like polished mosaic floor.
The depth of some of the stations has not only technical reasons. During the Cold War, some stops were built with the intention that they would serve as protection in the event of nuclear war. During this time, the magnificent architectural style was sometimes shelved in favor of a plainer design. Thus, the artworks in the stops always reflect the era in which they were created. The most important among them show the government's intention to awaken citizens' appreciation of Soviet art. Stops built during the Second World War show military motifs, those built later are more restrained in design.
No worry about orientation
Surprisingly - for germans tourists! - there is free wireless LAN everywhere, in the stations and on the trains. And yet, although Muscovites read a lot on their smartphones, they still look at real books during the journey and while waiting. You can do that, because no one has to worry about getting lost: Despite the Moscow Metro being a complex and extensive system, three things together make it easier to identify each line and to transfer from one line to another.
Each of the lines is identified by a name, a code (numbers or numbers and letters) and a color. This is a great help in navigation, especially when transferring. On the maps in the stations and subways, the stations are marked in both the Russian alphabet and the Latin alphabet.
Most of Moscow's metro lines run underground, but there are also some surface and elevated train stations. Moscow's oldest metro line, Sokolnicheskaya, runs through the city on the northeast - southwest axis from Bulvar Rokossovskogo to Salaryevo. Moscow has long been using its beautiful underground stations for tourist purposes: guided tours are offered that explain the art history of these stations.
The secret system for the mighty
The experts also explain that the big secret about an alleged additional subway system down some of the regular lines is just a rumor. Allegedly built to evacuate the tops of the state in emergencies like the nuclear attack, the secret army subway called D-6 does not really exist. Allegedly.
Sights such as St. Basil's Cathedral (Catedral de San Basilio, Red Square or Gorky Park can be easily reached by subway, otherwise there are 5 stops on line 5 such as Kievskaya, Belorusskaya, Komsomolskaya, Novoslobodskaya and Park Kultury on line 3, the stations Plóshchad Revolutsii, Elektrozavodskaya, Kurskaya and Park Pobedy; and on line 6, Tretyakovskaya near the world-famous Tretyakov Gallery itself are true works of art.
The Kievskaya (Киевская) station, for example, was opened in 1954 to celebrate friendship between the Russian and Ukrainian people. Incidentally, line no. 3 is the longest line at 45.1 kilometers and it takes a good hour from start to finish, although the train goes up to 100 km / h - making it the fastest subway in the world.
Mayakovskaya Station, opened in 1938, celebrates the successes of the Soviet Union's aviation industry with 30 mosaics. Stalin's fondness for splendor and pomp is evident in the style of socialist classicism, which is quickly reminiscent of baroque.
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