Moscow metro kaleidoscope

About 8 million people use metro in Moscow every day, which is a very convenient way to get quickly to your destination without traffic jams. However, the Moscow Metro is not only public transport but also a kaleidoscope of artworks and often is called ‘an underground museum’. Most of the old and new stations of Moscow Metro are adorned with marble, semi-precious stones, mosaics, stained glass windows, bas-reliefs, and sculptures. More than 40 stations out of 212 are designated architectural landmarks, and 44 stations are cultural heritage sites.

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Enjoy masterpieces of Malevich or Kandinsky in the metro

Arbatskaya station, with its vaulted and fretted ceiling, marble arches and old-fashioned bronze chandeliers, looks like a palace. You can imagine yourself sitting on a boulevard bench under the streetlights at Trubnaya station or Slavyansky Boulevard. Located on a bridge over the Moscow River, the Vorobyovy Gory is the only station with panoramic windows and a magnificent view. The poem “Moscow Sky” written by Russian futurist poet Vladimir Mayakovsky inspired the decoration of Mayakovskaya station. If you look up, you can read some lines from Mayakovsky’s poem and see 34 mosaic illustrations depicting 24 hours of Moscow sky. Bas-reliefs at Teatralnaya station show people of different nationalities in traditional dresses, playing national musical instruments and dancing folk dances. If you are lucky, you can take one of the special thematic trains and enjoy masterpieces of Kazimir Malevich, Vasily Kandinsky or other Russian artists while travelling in the metro.

Photo © credits to Mikhail (Vokabre) Shcherbakov

Photo © credits to @MIJamjoom

It tells the history of the country

The history of the Moscow Metro started in 1935. We can imagine how people lived at that time, looking at the bronze figures of workers, farmers, aviators, engineers, students, athletes, soldiers, etc. at Ploshchad Revolyutsii station. By the way, when leaving the station, don’t forget to stroke a nose of one of the bronze border-guard dog for good luck! The mosaics at Komsomolskaya station will tell you about the heroes of the past, the courageous struggle of Russian people against the invaders, starting from the 13th century, and the most important victories in Russian history. You can cross the borders of distance and time to see the life and culture of Soviet Ukraine at Kievskaya station. Moreover, we can look much further in the past. If you look closer at the walls of some metro stations, you can see fossils of nautiluses, ammonites, or belemnites, which lived in the time of dinosaurs.

Photo © credits to Dicklyon

Metro - the cheapest museum in Moscow

Still, the Moscow Metro is a type of public transport. It is comfortable, easy to use and not expensive, but try to avoid rush hours. To find your way in this spectacular kaleidoscope of stations, use the metro map on which every line has its colour and number. The names of the stations are announced in Russian and English. The price of the ticket is 55 rubles or less, and it doesn’t depend on the length of the route. So, this interesting underground museum seems to be the cheapest museum in Moscow.

Photo © credits to Tothkaroj