Chisinau railway station: from historic to modern place

Railway stations in the big cities are the necessities that let people travel and help in the development of the economy of the country. The Chisinau railway station was considered to be the "gateway of Chisinau", because all the significant people who visited the capital in times of the Russian Empire, passed through it. Even on some old postcards, the station was signed as "The entry into the city of Chisinau". In the past, it looked like a real palace, but after the wars and other unpleasant circumstances, the station earned its current looks  - modern and simple. Even today, the railway station remains one of the symbols of the Chisinau city, together with the unique monuments and even crazy shopping!

In the old days...

In the old days, railway transport was the most convenient way to travel around the continent and transport goods for long distances. Nowadays, its value is still very important. By the second half of the 19th century, Chisinau was quite a large city that needed to have good transport connections for the important business and other communications. City's further development was significantly affected by the lack of convenient transport links with the rest of the cities and regions in the Russian Empire. The capital city of the Bessarabia province was linked with the rest of the country through the nearest major city, that had a seaport - Odessa (present Ukraine). The works on the railway station were completed in 1870, and the first train arrived at the station in August 1871. From that moment, the railway communications of Bessarabia began to work. Even today, the Chisinau railway station remains the major train station in the whole country. 

Residents' favorite place 

The Chisinau railway station became rather quickly one of the residents' favorite places, not only for traveling and transporting goods, but also for walking and spending free time in the nice surroundings. It reminded them of a fabulous palace with lots of cafes and shops. Almost nothing from the former royalty and fanciness was left after the Great Patriotic War, so the railway station needed to be restored. Finally in 1948, the architect Chuprin, under the leadership of the famous Soviet architect Alexey Shchiusev and with the help of German war prisoners, built a completely new - modern and simple building. They hanged the two memorial tablets in honor of the military and the police. An old steam locomotive is installed as a monument inside the station, but in front of it, in a beautiful garden with fountains, architects put the Memorial to Victims of Stalinist Repression. 

Modern, cozy and clean station

Nowadays, the Chisinau railway station is quite popular even if it doesn't have so many long-distance trains. From our station you can travel to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Bucharest, Iasi, Odessa, Kiev as the long-distance destinations and to Ungheni, Ocnitsa, Besarabyask as the short-distance ones. Note that, if you want to exchange a currency, you should do it on the railway station square. Inside the railway station, you can have a cup of tea or coffee and read a daily newspaper before going somewhere. The railway station in our city is very cozy and clean. Inside of it, you can find a lot of murals, portraits, and plants. You are not allowed to smoke, drink or litter inside the station - police constantly patrols the place. If you don't plan to go anywhere else, but happen to be in Chisinau - don't forget to visit the Chisinau railway station. Today it's not a palace, as in former times, however it has a modern look and great surroundings!