Novoselytsia. The railway station

For the passenger, the railway begins at the station. The railway station in Novoselytsia, in the Chernivtsi region, has already entered its second century.

Novoselytsia, Chernivtsi region. The railway station. 1905.

The turbulent historical events of troubled times at the junction of state borders — Russia, Austria-Hungary and Romania — near which Novoselytsia was situated, could not but affect the history and development of the town. Its convenient geographical location, the economic growth of the mid-19th century, and the annual fairs contributed to the beginning of railway construction in these parts. In 1884 the Chernivtsi-Novoselytsia branch was laid; in 1892 the Novoselytsia-Ocnița-Zhmerynka service opened. The railway station was put into operation in 1893, when the Bukovinian railways connected with the south-western Russian ones. At the transit point in Novoselytsia a customs house began to operate.

Novoselytsia. The former customs house, founded in 1893. Now a lyceum and the lyceum museum

Through the small Bukovinian town, trade, freight and passenger transport was carried out to Russia from Bessarabia and back. The passenger flow grew, and in 1905 the station was built.

The railway station. 1905. A photo from the early 20th c.

On old pre-revolutionary postcards one can see its original appearance. A single-storey building with ornamental brickwork, its pilasters decorated with interlaced tracery. The arched windows are framed with a stone pattern. Several domes crown the roof. On the facade the name of the station, "Novoselytsia", is laid out in brick.

The railway station. 1905. A photo from the early 20th c.

The station, judging by the memorial plaque fixed to it, has preserved the memory of the American communist and journalist John Reed. In 1915 he, together with his colleagues, crossed the Prut river by boat — the front line ran along it at that time — and set off from the Novoselytsia platform on a journey through Russia. Reed described the revolutionary and military events in his books "Ten Days That Shook the World" and "The War in Eastern Europe".

John Reed (1887-1920) — an American journalist and writer

A hundred years ago, the future hero of the Civil War Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev was at Novoselytsia station. For the courage he showed on the territory of Bukovina during the First World War, the division commander was awarded the Cross of St George.

V. I. Chapaev (1887-1919) — a participant in the First World War and the Civil War, a division commander of the Red Army

The station was crowded with arriving officers and soldiers on the eve of the Brusilov Offensive, in the course of which the armies of Austria-Hungary and Germany were defeated, and Russia occupied Bukovina and Eastern Galicia.

The soldiers of Austria-Hungary surrender to the Russian army on the Romanian border

During this historic event the writer and playwright Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov served in the Russian army as a military doctor and was at the station more than once.

M. A. Bulgakov (1891-1940) — a playwright and writer

The station also remembers other celebrities, natives of these parts.

Sofia Rotaru — a pop singer. Born in the village of Marshyntsi, Novoselytsia district

There is no doubt that in their early creative years the young singers Sofia Rotaru and Liliia Sandulesu set off from it to song contests and concerts.

Liliia Sandulesu — a pop singer. Born in the village of Marshyntsi, Novoselytsia district

Now the station looks neglected.

The railway station. 1905. An architectural monument

The plaster has fallen off in places, the paint has faded.

The railway station. 1905. An architectural monument

For various reasons the number of trains in the station's timetable has decreased. In the course of a day, suburban trains stop at Novoselytsia 4 times, and twice the branded train "Bukovyna" No. 117/118 Kyiv-Chernivtsi-Kyiv, with an international carriage Kyiv-Bucharest-Kyiv once a week.

The railway station. 1905. An architectural monument

The short passenger platform, 80 m long, allows passengers from 3-4 carriages to alight onto it. A fast train has 16 carriages in its make-up. Given that lanterns and lighting are only near the station, and the train arrives early in the morning and late in the evening, passengers have to jump straight out of the carriages onto the ground in the dark. I saw no public transport or taxis by the station; getting to the town centre turned out to be problematic.

Novoselytsia. The railway station. 1905. An architectural monument

The building has the status of an architectural monument of local significance, but it is obvious that it has been forgotten, and its appearance is a sad one.