Zoloti Vorota (Kiev Metro)

Zoloti Vorota
Kiev Metro station
The central hall is covered with mosaic decorated arcs reminiscent of ancient Rus' temple architecture.
Location	Volodymyrska Street, 42 Kiev, Ukraine
Coordinates	50°26′54″N 30°30′48″E / 50.44833°N 30.51333°E / 50.44833; 30.51333Coordinates: 50°26′54″N 30°30′48″E / 50.44833°N 30.51333°E / 50.44833; 30.51333
Owned by	Kyivpastrans
Line(s)	Syretsko-Pecherska Line
Construction
Structure type	Deep column station
Depth	96.5 m (317 ft)
Architect	Vadym and Boris Zhezherin Mykola Zharikov
History
Opened	December 31, 1989
Traffic
Passengers (2008)	20,000 (daily)
Services
Preceding station   Kiev Metro   Following station Lukianivska toward Syrets Syretsko-Pecherska Line Palats Sportu toward Chervony Khutir Universytet toward Akademmistechko Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line Transfer at: Teatralna Khreshchatyk toward Lisova
Route map Syrets( / Syrets Railway Station) Dorohozhychi Lukianivska( at Hlybochytska) Lvivska Brama Zoloti Vorota( at Teatralna) Palats Sportu( at Ploshcha Lva Tolstoho) Klovska Pecherska Druzhby Narodiv Vydubychi( at Vydubychi-Trypilsky) Telychka Pivdennyi Bridge Dnieper River Slavutych Osokorky Pozniaky Kharkivska Vyrlytsia Boryspilska Depot-3 Kharkivske Chervony Khutir This diagram:

External images

Photo of the original utilitarian design

Second proposed utilitarian design Source: "Zolotye Vorota" Metro, which no longer exists. Retrieved 7 April 2014.

Zoloti Vorota (Ukrainian: Золотi ворота) is the 29th station of the Kiev Metro system that serves the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The station was opened as part of the first segment of the Syretsko-Pecherska Line on 31 December 1989. It serves as a transfer station to the Teatralna station of the Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line. It is located near the city's Golden Gate, from which the station takes its name.

The original design plans for the station called for a clean utilitarian structure typical of metro stations of that period. Due to the efforts of the city's chief architect Mykola Zharikov, the design was scrapped in favor of one that resembles an ancient Kievan Rus' temple by Borys Zhezherin, Vadym Zhezherin, and Zharikov himself. Such a design was a particularly risky feat, since Ukraine was a part of the secular Soviet Union at the time of the station's construction. Vadym Zhezherin and Mykola Zharikov, among the other artists and architects of the station, were bestowed the State Prize of Ukraine in the Field of Architecture for their work in 1991.

The Zoloti Vorota features 80 distinct mosaic pieces and images depicting the history of Kievan Rus'. In 2011, the station's mosaics were listed as "newly discovered objects of cultural heritage" by the city's Department of Cultural Heritage. The station is regarded as one of the most impressive metro stations in Europe, being placed on a list compiled by The Daily Telegraph in 2013.

The initial plans for the future Syretsko-Pecherska Line called for a transfer station (named "Kominternivska") to connect with the Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line at Universytet station. However, the short central hall at Universytet was inadequate for the high volume of passengers that a transfer station would be subject to, thus the station's future location was moved a few city blocks to coincide with a newly proposed station of the Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line. This new station, called Teatralna, would be located in between the Khreshchatyk and Universytet stations, and would serve as a transfer to the future Zoloti Vorota station. Although the Kominternivska station was never built, some of its architectural designs were preserved and used in the creation of the Teatralna station.