A Son of the Rock

Московский вокзал, (Moskovsky Vokzal, the Moscow Station, aka St Petersburg-Glavny) would dominate Vosstaniya Square, St Petersburg, if it were not for the Leningrad Hero City Obelisk (see previous posts.)

It’s a pity that woman is in the photo but I was pressed for time:-

Russian railway stations supposedly got their designation, Vokzal, from the visit a Russian official made back in the day to observe the new-fangled railway stations at first hand. He was shown Vauxhall Station in London and said to be mightily impressed by it. It is possible that the name actually comes from Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens as Vauxhall was used in Russian for such attractions and the first railway line in the country terminated near one.

Moskovsky Vokzal is where you catch the trains to Moscow (or alight from if you came the other way):-

Interior:-

I spotted this frieze further into the station but couldn’t get any closer due to the barrier:-

At first I thought the sign in the photo below was for no smoking. But it’s a heart that’s struck through, not a cigarette. Since it says Rapiscan I assume it’s a security scanner and if you have a pacemaker you’d best avoid it:-

There was also a quite impressive set of doors on to Vosstaniya Square:-