The building is an excellent example of 19th-century railway design, characterised - much like all examples of the erstwhile government-sanctioned Russian architecture - by the presence of exposed brick façades and lavish decorations made of bricks arranged in complex layers to achieve the desired artistic effect. The construction of the station and the accompanying railway line had a tremendous importance for the region in terms of both the development of the transportation network and civilisational advancement in general.

History

The railway station in Kamienna Nowa was erected in the years 1897-1899 along with the construction of the Grodno-Augustów-Suwałki-Olita-Orany railway line which was officially opened to the public on May 13, 1899. The decision on the construction of the railway was taken back on June 17, 1895, with the infrastructure being envisaged as a military circular line by the Russian authorities. The railway line branched away from the St Petersburg line on the Łosośna station, heading off to the north-west. The next station on the line was the Bielany station, located 6 kilometres away from the village and 2 kilometres from Nowy Dwór, followed by the Harasimowicz station (later renamed as the Różanystok station), located 6 kilometres from the town of Dąbrowy and 9 kilometres from Lipsk. Next along the line was the Ostrowie station, with the Kamienna Nowa station being the final station in the Grodno governorate, the Biebrza river serving as the boundary between the Grodno and the Suwałki governorates. The fact that all these stations were located at a large distance from major urban centres has meant that the entire line had a negligible economic significance both before and after World War I. The section of the railway line between Grodno and Suwałki was intersected by the new state border after World War II. The section of the line between Grodno and Kamienna Nowa was closed down and dismantled, with Suwałki and Augustów being deprived of a direct rail connection with Białystok right until 1964. It was only in the years 1960-1963 that the construction of a railway connection between Kamienna Nowa and Sokółka could begin. When the railway line from Sokółka to Augustów and Suwałki, leading across Różanystok and Dąbrowa Białostocka, was finally opened in 1964, the Kamienna Nowa station attained a renewed significance.

Description

The railway station is positioned on the eastern side of the tracks of the Białystok-Suwałki line, in the southern part of the village of Kamienna Nowa which lies in the vicinity of the railway line. The station building itself is a single-storey, two-bay brick structure designed on a rectangular floor plan, with an avant-corps projecting from the front façade serving as a vestibule; the walls of the station are faced with yellow brick. The rear façade is adjoined by an annex designed to provide additional space for the signal box. The building features stone foundations and a smooth, brick socle positioned directly above. Dual lesenes (consisting of a narrow strip superimposed on a broader one) are positioned between each pair of windows, with the corner lesenes being adorned with narrow, vertical recessed panels. Rectangular, recessed panels can be seen beneath the windows. A dentilled cornice runs between the windows of the railway station, with the crowning cornice above being a monumental design consisting of several layers of brick, forming a motif reminiscent of an arcaded frieze. The windows and doors are topped with brick arches adorned with ornamental keystones, with segmental and semi-circular arches being used for the windows and doors respectively.

The historical building is closed to visitors.

compiled by Grzegorz Ryżewski, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Białystok, 28-08-2014.

Bibliography

• Kułak A., Ryżewski G., Kamienna Nowa. Dworzec kolejowy, Record sheet of historical monument inscribed into the register of monuments, 2012.