Universytet
Kyiv Metro
Kyiv Metro station
The central station hall in 2010 with niches featuring busts of Ukrainian and Russian writers and scientists. Shortly after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine the busts Russian writers/scientists have been covered with wooden boards.[1]
General information
LocationShevchenkivskyi District
Kyiv
Ukraine
Coordinates50°26′39″N 30°30′22″E / 50.44417°N 30.50611°E / 50.44417; 30.50611
Owned byKyiv Metro
Line(s) Sviatoshynsko–Brovarska line
Platforms1
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeunderground
Depth87 m (285 ft)
Platform levels1
Other information
Station code118
History
Opened6 November 1960
ElectrifiedYes
Passengers
200823,900[2]
Services
Preceding station Kyiv Metro Following station
Vokzalna
towards Akademmistechko
 Sviatoshynsko–Brovarska line Teatralna
towards Lisova

Universytet (Ukrainian: Унiверситет, ⓘ) is a station on the Kyiv Metro's Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska Line. The station was opened on 6 November 1960 as part of the first stage of the metro's construction.[3][2] It is named after the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, which is located in direct proximity to the station itself.

Architecture

The station is a pylon trivault and is considered to be amongst the most beautiful stations in the system, and is currently the only one in Kyiv that is the closest in appearance to the famous Stalinist architecture used in the Moscow and Saint Petersburg Metros of the 1950s. It was designed by architects H.Holovka, M.Syrkin, Ye.Ivanov, Zh.Yegulashvili, L.Semenyuk and O.Lozynska.[2] The red marbled pylons were adorned in 1960 with white marble busts of Ukrainian and Russian writers and scientists.[1] Busts of Ivan Franko, Taras Shevchenko, Oleksandr Bogomolets, Hryhorii Skovoroda are now placed in niches at the station.[1] Since the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the busts of Alexander Pushkin, Maxim Gorky, Mikhail Lomonosov and Dmitri Mendeleev have been covered with wooden boards.[1] The busts are attributed to sculptors M.Dekermendzhi, A.Bilostotsky, V.Znoba, A.Kobalyov, Ye.Kuntsevych, M.Lysenko, P.Ostapenko, O.Suprun and A.Shapran.

The white marble friezes also decorate the pylons and lighting is achieved by hidden lamps in the niches of the central vault, and by lamps on the platforms. The walls are covered with orange tiles and the floor is made of various shades of granite arranged in a traditional Ukrainian ornament layout. In the end of the station is white marbled wall, before which a large statue of Vladimir Lenin used to sit. However this was dismantled in the early 1990s, making the station lose its original look.

The station's large vestibule (monument to architecture) is situated in the middle of the A.V. Fomin Botanical Garden with a gallery allowing direct access to the gardens or to Taras Shevchenko Boulevard. The escalator ride consists of two separate tunnels linked in between by a smaller hall.[4]

2011 bomb scare

On 15 April 2011, a suspicious package was discovered at Universytet. The station was evacuated and Ukrainian Security Services investigated, determining that the package was not dangerous.[5] The scare followed the 11 April 2011 Minsk Metro bombing.

2022 Russian invasion

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Universytet station, along with other metro stations in Ukraine, was used as a bomb shelter. [6] Shortly after the invasion the busts (on display in the metro station) of Russian writers/scientists Alexander Pushkin, Maxim Gorky, Mikhail Lomonosov and Dmitri Mendeleev have been covered with wooden boards.[1] From 10 to 24 May 2023 the public could choose who would replace these Russians through an electronic survey.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "New busts are planned to be installed at the "Universitet" metro station: survey". Historical Pravda (in Ukrainian). 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Universytet". Kyiv Metropoliten Official Website (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  3. ↑ Kyiv Metro Subway celebrates 58th anniversary on Nov 6, UNIAN (6 November 2018)
  4. ↑ "Station "Universitet"". Kievskoe Metro (in Russian). Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  5. ↑ "Universytet metro station in Kyiv operating normally after bomb scare". Interfax-Ukraine. Kyiv Post. April 15, 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  6. ↑ Werbeck, Nicole (25 Feb 2022). "Ukrainians take shelter in the city's metro stations". NPR. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
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