Warszawa Gdanska station
Encyclopedia
Warszawa Gdańska station (also known as Dworzec Gdański; literally Gdańsk
station in Warsaw) is a railway station in northern Warsaw
, Poland
.
It is located on the "Northern Line" that runs between Central Warsaw
and the city's Żoliborz
district to the north. It serves as a transportation hub for regional trains departing the station. It connects with the Warsaw Metro
's Dworzec Gdański
stop, located below the railway station, and a number of nearby tram and bus stops.The Warsaw Metro has received EU funding to build a pedestrian tunnel linking the metro station to the railway station.
The railway station is located some 3.5 km north of the main rail line crossing the city
linking Warszawa Wschodnia, Warszawa Centralna
and Warszawa Zachodnia
railway stations and as such is sometimes used as a reserve station, used by trains during track works on the main line, but that is quite rare, as there are two tracks in each direction on the main line.
Currently (2011), it is used exclusively by Koleje Mazowieckie for services KM9 to/from Ciechanów
and Działdowo via Legionowo, Modlin, Nasielsk, where the train changes number, Mława and Iława (the latter two only for trains continue to Działdowo, from/to starting/terminating at Warszawa Wola. Trains continuing to Działdowo, wait in Ciechanów for 50 minutes. Some trains terminate at Legionowo and Modlin.
The original station was built around 1880 under the name of Vistulan Main Train Station and served a local line running along the Vistula
river northwards. In early 20th century, with the opening of a railway bridge over the river south of Warsaw Citadel
(directly to the east of the station; the bridge was constructed around 1870, but was initially used by the Russian Army exclusively), it was renamed Warszawa Kowelska (Warsaw Kovel
train station) and started serving as a junction between the Warsaw Główna and Warszawa Wileńska stations located in downtown Warsaw and downtown Praga
(respectively). Until then the passengers travelling from St. Petersburg to Vienna
had to leave the train station at Warszawa Wileńska, take a tram to the city centre and take another train of the European standard gauge (1435 mm) Warsaw-Vienna railway
running from there. The Warsaw Kovel station also served as the main supply station for the Russian garrison stationed in the Warsaw Citadel
.
During the withdrawal of Russian troops from Warsaw in August 1915, the station was demolished, along with the bridge to which it led. After World War I
both were rebuilt, and the station was renamed Warszawa Gdańska (Warsaw Gdańsk station), the name being coined after the city of Gdańsk
.
After 1933, with the opening of the cross-city line
, linking three main Warsaw train stations, the Warsaw Gdańsk station lost its importance as a transit station and began serving as a station for local and suburban trains.
After 1942, a western part (adjacent to the Warsaw Ghetto
) of the freight station of the Warszawa Gdańska has been adapted to become the Umschlagplatz (collection point) — the deportation facility for Warsaw's Jews.
After World War II
, due to the complete destruction of many Warsaw's railway stations, Warsaw Gdańsk was used as a temporary station for long-distance trains, including, until the 1970s, trains passing through Warsaw between the USSR and the west. Among the notable trains to stop there was the Ost-West Express from Moscow
to Ostend
, Hoek van Holland
and Paris
, the Chopin to Vienna
, and the Praha to Prague
. As such, it was the main location through which people expelled in the aftermath of the Polish 1968 political crisis
left Poland. The events of 1968 are now commemorated by a stone tablet on the station's platform.
Between 1958-1959 the new building of the station was constructed. It was the first station built in Warsaw after World War II, and it was at the time the most modern station in Warsaw. The building stood until 1984, when it was destroyed in a fire. The station was rebuilt in a few years with some changes (i.e. a new story was added).
In the 1970s, the station's long-distance services were completely taken over by the newly-built Warszawa Centralna
, and Warszawa Gdańska became a minor station for suburban trains.
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
station in Warsaw) is a railway station in northern Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
It is located on the "Northern Line" that runs between Central Warsaw
Warszawa-Sródmiescie
Śródmieście is the central borough of the city of Warsaw. The best known neighborhoods in the borough are the Old Town and New Town ....
and the city's Żoliborz
Zoliborz
Żoliborz is one of the northern districts of the city of Warsaw. It is located directly to the north of the City Centre, on the left bank of the Vistula river. It has approximately 50,000 inhabitants and is one of the smallest boroughs of Warsaw....
district to the north. It serves as a transportation hub for regional trains departing the station. It connects with the Warsaw Metro
Warsaw Metro
The Warsaw Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It consists of a single north-south line that links central Warsaw with its densely populated northern and southern suburbs. The first section was opened in 1995, then gradually extended until it...
's Dworzec Gdański
Dworzec Gdanski (Warsaw Metro)
Metro Dworzec Gdański of the Warsaw Metro is located just south of the Warszawa Gdańska railway station, at the junction of Słomińskiego and Andersa streets. It is one of the major transport hubs in the northern part of the city of Warsaw...
stop, located below the railway station, and a number of nearby tram and bus stops.The Warsaw Metro has received EU funding to build a pedestrian tunnel linking the metro station to the railway station.
The railway station is located some 3.5 km north of the main rail line crossing the city
Warsaw Cross-City Line
Warsaw cross-city line is a 7 km railway line crossing downtown Warsaw in the East-West direction. Opened in 1933 and electrified in 1936, it initially had two tracks, with additional two added in 1949...
linking Warszawa Wschodnia, Warszawa Centralna
Warszawa Centralna station
Warsaw Central is the most important railway station in Warsaw, Poland. Its construction began in 1972 and was completed in 1975. The station, located on the Warsaw Cross-City Line, has four underground island platforms and is served by long-distance domestic and international trains of PKP...
and Warszawa Zachodnia
Warszawa Zachodnia station
Warszawa Zachodnia station is a railway and long-distance bus station in Warsaw, Poland on the border of Ochota and Wola dzielnicas. The railway station is the most westerly station on the Warsaw Cross-City Line...
railway stations and as such is sometimes used as a reserve station, used by trains during track works on the main line, but that is quite rare, as there are two tracks in each direction on the main line.
Currently (2011), it is used exclusively by Koleje Mazowieckie for services KM9 to/from Ciechanów
Ciechanów
Ciechanów is a town in north-central Poland with 45,900 inhabitants . It is situated in Masovian Voivodeship . It was previously the capital of Ciechanów Voivodeship.-History:The grad numbered approximately 3,000 armed men....
and Działdowo via Legionowo, Modlin, Nasielsk, where the train changes number, Mława and Iława (the latter two only for trains continue to Działdowo, from/to starting/terminating at Warszawa Wola. Trains continuing to Działdowo, wait in Ciechanów for 50 minutes. Some trains terminate at Legionowo and Modlin.
History
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
river northwards. In early 20th century, with the opening of a railway bridge over the river south of Warsaw Citadel
Warsaw Citadel
Cytadela is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster imperial Russian control of the city. It served as a prison into the late 1930s.- History :The Citadel was built by personal...
(directly to the east of the station; the bridge was constructed around 1870, but was initially used by the Russian Army exclusively), it was renamed Warszawa Kowelska (Warsaw Kovel
Kovel
Kovel is a city located in the Volyn Oblast , in northwestern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kovelskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast. The current estimated population is around 65,777.Kovel gives its name to one of the...
train station) and started serving as a junction between the Warsaw Główna and Warszawa Wileńska stations located in downtown Warsaw and downtown Praga
Praga
Praga is a historical borough of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It is located on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter.- History :...
(respectively). Until then the passengers travelling from St. Petersburg to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
had to leave the train station at Warszawa Wileńska, take a tram to the city centre and take another train of the European standard gauge (1435 mm) Warsaw-Vienna railway
Warsaw-Vienna Railway
The Warsaw-Vienna Railway was a railway system which operated in Congress Poland, a part of the Russian Empire, from 1845 until 1912, when it was nationalized by the Russian government...
running from there. The Warsaw Kovel station also served as the main supply station for the Russian garrison stationed in the Warsaw Citadel
Warsaw Citadel
Cytadela is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster imperial Russian control of the city. It served as a prison into the late 1930s.- History :The Citadel was built by personal...
.
During the withdrawal of Russian troops from Warsaw in August 1915, the station was demolished, along with the bridge to which it led. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
both were rebuilt, and the station was renamed Warszawa Gdańska (Warsaw Gdańsk station), the name being coined after the city of Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
.
After 1933, with the opening of the cross-city line
Warsaw Cross-City Line
Warsaw cross-city line is a 7 km railway line crossing downtown Warsaw in the East-West direction. Opened in 1933 and electrified in 1936, it initially had two tracks, with additional two added in 1949...
, linking three main Warsaw train stations, the Warsaw Gdańsk station lost its importance as a transit station and began serving as a station for local and suburban trains.
After 1942, a western part (adjacent to the Warsaw Ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto
The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. It was established in the Polish capital between October and November 15, 1940, in the territory of General Government of the German-occupied Poland, with over 400,000 Jews from the vicinity...
) of the freight station of the Warszawa Gdańska has been adapted to become the Umschlagplatz (collection point) — the deportation facility for Warsaw's Jews.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, due to the complete destruction of many Warsaw's railway stations, Warsaw Gdańsk was used as a temporary station for long-distance trains, including, until the 1970s, trains passing through Warsaw between the USSR and the west. Among the notable trains to stop there was the Ost-West Express from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
, Hoek van Holland
Hoek van Holland
The Hook of Holland , also known in English as the Hook, is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is situated on the North Sea coast, on the north bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg ship canal. The town is administered by the municipality of Rotterdam as a district of that city...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the Chopin to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and the Praha to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. As such, it was the main location through which people expelled in the aftermath of the Polish 1968 political crisis
Polish 1968 political crisis
The Polish 1968 political crisis, also known in Poland as March 1968 or March events pertains to the major student and intellectual protest action against the communist government of the People's Republic of Poland...
left Poland. The events of 1968 are now commemorated by a stone tablet on the station's platform.
Between 1958-1959 the new building of the station was constructed. It was the first station built in Warsaw after World War II, and it was at the time the most modern station in Warsaw. The building stood until 1984, when it was destroyed in a fire. The station was rebuilt in a few years with some changes (i.e. a new story was added).
In the 1970s, the station's long-distance services were completely taken over by the newly-built Warszawa Centralna
Warszawa Centralna station
Warsaw Central is the most important railway station in Warsaw, Poland. Its construction began in 1972 and was completed in 1975. The station, located on the Warsaw Cross-City Line, has four underground island platforms and is served by long-distance domestic and international trains of PKP...
, and Warszawa Gdańska became a minor station for suburban trains.