Its remarkably decorative architecture and fretwork detailing place it amongst the examples of the Russian railway architecture of the period which was reminiscent of the so-called Swiss style, popularised in the late 19th and early 20th century when countless picturesque suburban villas, country mansions, hotels, guest houses and gazebos were erected.

History

The Kleszczele railway station was erected along with the construction of the main railway line between Brześć and Grajewo, which was opened in 1873. The existing structure was built in the late 19th and early 20th century, with renovation works encompassing, among others, electrical and sanitary installations, being conducted during the 1990s. Today, however, the old railway station remains mothballed.

Description

The railway station in Kleszczele is situated at a distance of approximately 2 kilometres south of the village, near the road leading to Repczyce. The structure was designed on an elongated rectangular floor plan, with pseudo-avant-corps breaking the monotony of its two longer façades. The middle and eastern sections of the railway station are two-storey structures, whereas the western part thereof has only a single storey. The eastern and western sections of the main body of the station are covered with a gable roof, its ridge running in parallel to the front façade; the ridge of the roof above both of the pseudo-avant-corps in the middle section, on the other hand, is positioned transversely towards the roof of the main body. The railway station is a wooden building featuring a log structure and a post-and-plank structure in its various sections, positioned on brick and concrete foundations, with a basement underneath parts of its structure. The walls of the building are covered with weatherboards in an alternating vertical, horizontal and diagonal arrangement. The façades are divided by cornices and faux pilasters, with decorative window headers providing the finishing touch.

The building can be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Grzegorz Ryżewski, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Białystok, 09-10-2014.

Bibliography

• Górska Iwona, Kotyńska-Stetkiewicz Joanna, Kulesza Krzysztof, Kułak Aneta, Ołdytowska Agnieszka, Ryżewski Grzegorz, Drewniana architektura Podlasia jako desygnat tożsamości kulturowej, religijnej i etnicznej obszaru pogranicza, “Monument”, no. 2, Warsaw 2005, pp. 133-134.
• Górska Iwona, Kotyńska-Stetkiewicz Joanna, Kułak Aneta, Ryżewski Grzegorz, Perły architektury województwa podlaskiego, Białystok-Bydgoszcz 2009, pp. 97-98.
• Record sheet, Kleszczele. Dworzec kolejowy, prepared by Tołłoczko Jerzy, Białystok 1990, Archive of the Regional Monuments Protection Office in Białystok.