Scenic undergrad
Each European capital is rightfully proud of its subway. It is so historically developed that high-speed underground transport is not only a means of movement, but also a collection of architectural attractions, worthy of tourists. As a rule, visitors fall into the metro of someone else’s city randomly, but, captive by the beauties of European dungeons, often forget about where they were sent.
One of the most picturesque and unusual metropolitans of the world is considered to be the subway to Stockholm – Tunnelbana, which translated from the Swedish means "Road in tunnel". Swedes themselves proudly call him "The longest art gallery in the world". The total length of the Stockholm metro lines – 110 kilometers, and absolutely each of the 101 existing stations is a unique work of underground design. More than one hundred artists, architects and sculptors of Sweden took part in the creation of Stockholm Tunnelbana. Among them were recognized masters, and very young creators, non-professional teams and even year-grand students. In addition, a team of psychologists worked on the metro decoration concept, who selected works of art capable of selling citizens from claustrophobia and other stresses arising from the daily descent to depth. So, in the metro caves (subway tunnels are really punched in rocks) there were blurred figures of penguins, three-meter images of clowns, elegant tables and chairs – samples of new buffet design, placed directly on the platform, copies of the exhibits of the most famous museums, closed in the walls next to timetable trains and picturesque mosaic panels. And in the Stockholm metro, the teams of professional comedians periodically appear: they are hired by the transport company, in order to lift the mood to passengers.
However, the Supporting London believes that the idea of inviting acting in the metro of professional artists belongs to him. And indeed, the famous promotion "Poetry in the metro" was invented in the capital of Great Britain. In addition, London never forgets that it is his subway – the world’s oldest underground city railway. First turn called "Metropolitan-Line", was opened in 1863. The name of this line has become many languages of the world in a none "Metropolitan", denoting uncommon rail transportation system. The British themselves call their subway "Subway" (Underground), and plots of deep downstream – "Pipe" (Tube). The historical stations of the London metro are interesting, primarily as monuments of engineering art, and the brightest model of modern metro Architecture can be considered Jubilee Line Extension (JLE) – continuation of the London anniversary line. At one time, this section of 11 stations broke into separate segments and distributed the best British architects, including Norman Fostera, Michael Hopkins, Chris Wilkinson, each of which created his station. Someone combined the usual platforms with shops, entertainment centers and restaurants, someone created anthem structures. The CANARY WHARF station is considered a business card of this line: the entrance to it is resolved with a normal Foster as a huge transparent dome, more resembling shell. It is curious that the London Metro, including its youngest stations, was recognized as a shooting area number one among all the sights of Great Britain. In total, the British subway filmed a movie more than 200 times!
Technical innovations are not alien and the Paris Metro, followed by the firmware fastening the glory of the bold experimenter. In the 1950s, for the sake of reduction of noise and vibrations, the metroplace wheels were dressed in rubber pneumatic tires, and not so long ago, a new, fully automatic line opened in Paris, on which trains run without a driver. If we remember that the first train of the Paris subway, fastened in July 1900, consisted of only three wooden (birch) wagons, you can confidently say: the French metro has done truly a colossal step to progress. One of the symbols of the Paris Metro – forged canopies in the style of ar-nouveau above the entrances created by the project of the famous architect Hector Himar. 86 such days have been preserved "Vorothets". Another generally accepted landmark – Louvre-Rivoly station, where there are copies of the exhibits of the Louvre in the windows. Attention tourists also deserves station "Lyon station", on which the most real greenhouse is arranged.
Athenian metro officially became known as only recently. For 130 years, he was called the city railway. This is due to the fact that the first line on the outskirts of the city passed on the surface and only in the very center went under the ground. When building tunnels in the richest cultural layer of the capital of Greece, archaeologists have discovered many ancient artifacts, subsequently formed a museum exposition that is now demonstrated at each station of the Athens Metro. The station of Syntagma is particularly impressive that the Parliament is maintained: the layer of the Athenian land is preserved here, where cultural layers of the last two or three thousand years are visible. Among other features of the show – ancient underground communications and even burial.
Budapest subway – the world’s first metropolitan, built immediately electric. So it has developed historically that there are lines of different "Caliber" – "narrow" and "wider". Pitch in both systems is the same, but the dimensions of tunnels and cars differ significantly: "narrow" The train can walk by "wide" lines, but will have a dangerous great gap with station platforms, but "wide" The train simply does not fit into "narrow" Line. From the point of view of the tourist, the most spectacular is just historical "narrow" Line 1, on the schemes indicated by orange. Here, passengers move on ancient creamy compositions of two yellow trams, more similar to trams than metropothes. In addition, almost all stations are equipped stands and exhibits, telling about the construction of this line.
The youngest metro in Europe – the subway of the Spanish city of Bilbao, glorified to the whole world thanks to the unusual building of the Guggenheim Museum. Metropolitan for this "oasis art", Consisting of two lines, in 1987 began to design Sir Norma Foster. There are only two lines, but each station is an embodiment of the rigor and functionality of the High-tech style, the harmony of modern materials, a witty system of transitions and hinged platforms, thanks to which the subway Bilbao is almost as much like tourists, as well as its land architectural attractions.
