Beresteiska (Kiev Metro)

Beresteiska ( _uk. Берестейська, _ru. Берестейская, "Beresteiskaya") is a station on Kiev Metro's Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line. The station was opened in 1971 as part of the second stage of the Sviatoshynsky radius.

The station is located under the junction between the Peremohy (Victory) avenue and the Mykoly Vasilenka/Vasily Degtyaryov streets, and having only one vestibule which is interlinked with subways allowing access to both sides of the intersection. The station, along with its two other neighbours on the same stage, was the first in Kiev to be a shallow level design built by a cut and cover method, and the first to show the common pillar-trispan design.

Although pillar-trispans, were not new in Soviet Metro construction technology, most of the ones built prior to these stations, particularly in Moscow with the layout of two rows of 40 pillars (resulting in the popular colloquial name "sorokonozhka" (centipede)), were criticised for their lack of any decorative innovation and originality, hence the almost identical appearances. Kiev's first centepeds were built and opened when the official policy on aestatic design in Soviet architecture was removed, and as a result the stations are all different and each has its own distinct image.

Beresteiska's design (architects B.Priymak, I.Maslenkov, V.Bohdanovsky and T.Tselikovska.) originates from its former name Zhovtneva ("Ukr:" Жовтнева), which translated means October station, or in honour of the October Revolution. Its decoration consists of pillars faced with reflective metallic sheets, orange and black rows of ceramic tiles on the walls and red granite for the floor. Lighting is done by fluorescent tubes on the top of the pillars for the platform, and large circular niches on the ceiling of the central span with ten spiraling fluorescent tubes inside them.

The far end of the central platform has a large wall faced with pink marble that originally held a bronze bas-relief of Vladimir Lenin (work of sculptor B.Karlovsky), but this was removed in the early 1990's leaving an empty space that is now often occupied by advertisements. This of course had a profound impact on the architectural theme of the station which lost its key decoration. An interesting fact is that prior to Russian language becoming official in the Metro during the 1980s, Russian press and media referred to this station as Zhovtnevaya ("Rus:" Жовтневая) instead of its standard translation - Oktyabrskaya ("Rus:"Октябрьская).

External links

*uk icon [http://www.metro.kiev.ua/Ukr/BeresteyskayaUkr.html Official website] - Station description
*ru icon [http://www.metropoliten.kiev.ua/station.php?lang=0&station_id=5 Metropoliten.kiev.ua] - Station description
*cs icon [http://metro.zarohem.cz/kyjev/01-svjatosinobravarska/05-berestejska/index.html Metro.zarohem.cz] - Photo gallery