prof brian cox horizons tour

Professor Brian Cox and Daniel Harding: Symphonic Horizons with the Britten Sinfonia

Explore the secrets of the universe with professor brian cox and daniel harding in this special event that combines ground-breaking science with the power of an orchestra., bringing together the latest extraordinary imagery and some of the greatest orchestral music ever written, professor cox examines astonishing cosmic ideas and creates the links between cosmology and music by mahler , strauss and sibelius conducted by daniel harding. featuring the britten sinfonia , this show will remind us of what it means to be human, and what it means to live a small finite life in a spectacular infinite universe., don’t miss symphonic horizons a unique presentation of music and science at the iconic royal opera house..

August 2024

Horizons : a 21 st century space odyssey, having set two guinness world records with his previous sell-out world tour, professor brian cox is back in regional theatres to see off the sellout arena tour horizons ., horizons has taken over 250,000 people across three continents on a dazzling journey; a story of how we came to be and what we can become. using state of the art screen technology, venues across the world from new zealand to the arctic circle have been filled with images of far-away galaxies, alien worlds, supermassive black holes and the latest theories of the origin of the universe. what is the nature of space and time how did life begin, how rare might it be and what is the significance of life in the cosmos what does it mean to live a small, finite life in a vast, eternal universe having travelled the world, it’s now time to bring horizons back home to the uk for a final journey around our magnificent and baffling universe., ‘a jaw-dropping reminder that human life is both irrelevant and hugely precious.’, **** the guardian, ‘science and cosmology doesn’t get any more dazzling and interesting than this – a wonderful journey through space and time orchestrated by professor brian cox.’, ‘stunning’, **** liverpool echo, ‘is your brain hurting yet because mine certainly was, but in beautifully, mind-expanding sort of way…we came away with a new found of love of the basics of science and maths, and a thirst to learn more’, express and star.

Tickets available via

Or direct from the venues below

Gleneagle INEC Arena Buy Tickets Tuesday 14 Cork Cork Opera House

Wednesday 15 Cork Cork Opera House

Thursday 16 Limerick

University Concert Hall BUY TICKETS Friday 17 Galway Leisureland

Saturday 18 Mayo Royal Theatre Castlebar Buy Tickets Sunday 19 Dublin Olympia Theatre

Monday 20 Wexford National Opera House

Wednesday 22 Louth The TLT

© 2024 Professor Brian Cox Live. All Rights Reserved

What is reality, really? Brian Cox's 'Horizons' tour probes the mysteries of the universe

Are space and time really as fundamental as we perceive them to be?

Brian Cox would like you to consider the very nature of the space-time continuum and our place within it.

That might seem like a big lift, so the world-renowned physicist is here to walk you through it. Cox is currently touring the U.S., bringing audiences a dazzling show filled with not only stunning images of the universe and simulated black holes but also big questions: Why are we here? How did life evolve? Are space and time really as fundamental as we perceive them to be?

In the show, called "Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey," Cox asks these questions and leads audiences on a journey in answering them, from past discoveries by Albert Einstein to current research that's changing our very understanding of reality.

Related: Time might not exist, according to physicists and philosophers — but that's okay

In the field of theoretical physics, Cox told Space.com, "We are being led now, in the last few years, to a theory which suggests that space and time are not fundamental — that there's some deeper structure."

This concept, known as "emergent space-time," is the idea that space and time are not fixed, unchanging things but rather made up of constituent parts, like how the atom comprises neutrons, protons and electrons (and those particles are made up of even more particles). The theory suggests that there are even more layers of the universe to peel back.

One way scientists are studying the idea of emergent space-time is through black holes, Cox said. Black holes pose many conundrums, such as "these things from which nothing can escape apparently have a temperature and glow and evaporate and radiate away," Cox said.

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One question plaguing physicists right now seems simple enough: " Do black holes destroy information ?" Cox said. But actually thinking about the question is not simple at all. The problem deals with the idea of Hawking radiation . This theory, first described by Stephen Hawking in the 1970s, suggests that black holes have a measurable temperature. Where does this temperature come from? Basically, imagine two particles that share information between them; one falls into the black hole, and one does not. The particle that falls into the black hole is destroyed with a burst of radiation.

However, these two particles are entangled, according to quantum entanglement theory; two particles share information even if they're millions of light-years apart. So, if one particle is destroyed, what happens to its twin? In the quantum world, information cannot be destroyed. So we're left with a paradox.

And that's just one of the many mysteries about the universe and our place within it. Cox wants audiences to walk away with a sense of awe — at the complexities of the universe, the discoveries humans have made since we first turned our eyes to the sky and how humanity fits into it all.

"The more we learn about biology and the evolutionary history of life on Earth , the more it starts to look like, whilst microbes might be all over the place, things like [civilizations] might be very rare indeed," he said.

— Was Einstein wrong? The case against space-time theory — The 'twin paradox' shows us what it really means for time to be relative — 4 bizarre Stephen Hawking theories that turned out to be right (and 6 we're not sure about)  

In other words, we might be the only beings in our galaxy — or at least our corner of it — who have the ability to think about the big questions like the nature of reality, and we shouldn't take that for granted.

"Science has both relegated us from the center of the universe for the last 300 or 400 years, and also, perhaps, placed us in an extremely important position," Cox said.

Interested in probing these universal mysteries further? Check out the North American tour schedule for "Horizons : A 21st Century Space Odyssey , which runs through late June.

Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook .

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

JoAnna Wendel is a freelance science writer living in Portland, Oregon. She mainly covers Earth and planetary science but also loves the ocean, invertebrates, lichen and moss. JoAnna's work has appeared in Eos, Smithsonian Magazine, Knowable Magazine, Popular Science and more. JoAnna is also a science cartoonist and has published comics with Gizmodo, NASA, Science News for Students   and more. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in general sciences because she couldn't decide on her favorite area of science. In her spare time, JoAnna likes to hike, read, paint, do crossword puzzles and hang out with her cat, Pancake.

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Tickets Go On Sale Thursday, October 7 at 10:00 AM Local Time

Presale is live now. CODE:COSMOS

Buy Tickets  here.

October 4, 2021 – World-renowned physicist, Professor Brian Cox, announces U.S. and Canadian tour dates for his immersive live experience, Horizons: A 21 st Century Space Odyssey , as part of his world tour 2022.  From April through June 2022, Horizons will tour to theaters in 29 cities throughout North America.  The tour will also visit arenas and theaters throughout the U.K., Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.  The North American tour is produced by WestBeth Entertainment.  A list of tour dates is below.  Tickets go on sale Thursday, October 7 at 10:00 AM local time.  For all North American tour dates and links to tickets visit BrianCoxLive.co.uk

“I loved the 2019 world tour because it gave me the opportunity to discuss the most profound ideas with tens of thousands of people in front of the most spectacular images of the Universe,” stated Professor Cox.  “When the tour was over, I immediately started thinking about how I could delve deeper, tell an even more profound story and make the show even more spectacular.  I’m very excited about what has emerged!  I hope the evening will make people think about how fortunate and precious we are, how strange and wonderful our Universe is, and the limitless future we have to look forward to if we make the right choices over the coming decades.”

Horizons takes audiences on a dazzling cinematic journey; a story of how we came to be and what we can become.  Using state of the art LED screen technology, venues will be filled with images of far-away galaxies, alien worlds, supermassive black holes and a time before the Big Bang.  What is the nature of space and time?  Why does the Universe exist?  How did life begin, how rare might it be and what is the significance of life in the Cosmos?  What does it mean to live a small, finite life in a vast, eternal Universe?  The deepest of questions will be explored using the latest advances in our understanding of quantum theory, black holes, biology, planetary science, astronomy and cosmology.   

Horizons is a celebration of our civilization, of our music, art, philosophy and science; an optimistic vision of our future if we continue to explore Nature with humility and to value ourselves and our fellow human beings. 

Brian will once again be joined by co-host of  The Infinite Monkey Cage  and award-winning comedian Robin Ince, perhaps the only collection of sentient atoms in the observable Universe capable of overseeing a Q&A with an audience of 10,000 people whilst wearing an old cardigan.  

Professor Brian Cox CBE is Professor of Particle Physics at The University of Manchester, The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science and a Fellow of the Royal Society.  As a broadcaster, he has presented a number of highly acclaimed science programs for the BBC including Wonders of the Solar System , Forces of Nature , Stargazing Live and, in 2019, The Planets .  He is credited with boosting the popularity of subjects such as astronomy and physics and has garnered a host of accolades for his TV work, including two Royal Television Society awards and a Peabody Award for Wonders of the Solar System.

Brian has also authored a series of best-selling books, including the widely acclaimed  Human Universe .  Brian broke his own Guinness World Record titles during his last live tour, Universal , for most tickets sold (158,589) for a science tour, and for most tickets sold for a science show (11,433 at The Arena in Birmingham in 2019).

Follow Professor Cox on Twitter , Instagram and Facebook .

Horizons North American Tour Dates:

4-22-22 – Washington DC – The Warner Theatre

4-23-21 – Philadelphia, PA - Merriam Theatre

4-26-22 – New York, NY – The Beacon Theatre

4-27-22 – New Haven, CT – The Shubert Theatre

4-29-22 – Boston, MA - The Shubert Theatre

5-2-22 – Montreal, QC - Theatre Maisonneuve

5-4-22 – Toronto, ON – Roy Thompson Hall

5-5-22 – Pittsburgh, PA – Byham Theater

5-7-22 – Columbus, OH – Palace Theatre

5-8-22 – Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theatre 

5-10-22 – Chicago, IL – Athenaeum Theatre

5-11-22 – Chicago, IL – Athenaeum Theatre

5-12-22 – Madison, WI – Capitol Theatre

5-14-22 – Minneapolis, MN – Pantages Theatre

5-16-22 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre

5-18-22 – Salt Lake City, UT – Eccles Theater

6-3-22 – Edmonton, AB – Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium

6-4-22 – Calgary, AB – Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium

6-6-22 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum Theatre

6-7-22 – Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre

6-10-22 – Portland, OR – Keller Auditorium

6-13-22 – Sacramento, CA – Safe Credit Union Arts Center

6-14-22 – San Francisco, CA – Golden Gate Theatre

6-16-22 – San Jose, CA – California Theatre

6-17-22 – Los Angeles, CA – Montalban Theatre

6-18-22 – Los Angeles, CA – Montalban Theatre

6-20-22 – San Diego, CA – Balboa Theatre

6-23-22 – Dallas, TX - Majestic Theatre

6-24-22 – Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre

6-25-22 – Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre

6-27-22 – San Antonio, TX – Majestic Theatre

6-28-22 – Houston, TX – Cullen Theatre

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Lateral Events Presents

Professor brian cox horizons – a 21st century space odyssey.

Having set three Guinness World Records with his previous sell-out World Tour, Professor Brian Cox is back with a brand-new live-on-stage show in 2022.

Horizons takes audiences on a dazzling cinematic journey; a story of how we came to be and what we can become. Using state of the art LED screen technology, arenas will be filled with images of far-away galaxies, alien worlds, supermassive black holes, and a time before the Big Bang. What is the nature of space and time? Why does the Universe exist? How did life begin; how rare might it be, and what is the significance of life in the Cosmos? What does it mean to live a small, finite life in a vast, eternal Universe?  The deepest of questions will be explored using the latest advances in our understanding of quantum theory, black holes, biology, planetary science, astronomy and cosmology.

Horizons is a celebration of our civilisation, of our music, art, philosophy, and science; an optimistic vision of our future if we continue to explore nature with humility and to value ourselves and our fellow human beings.

Brian will once again be joined by co-host of  The Infinite Monkey Cage  and award-winning comedian Robin Ince.

Simon Baggs, CEO of Lateral Events, said, “Ever since our first tour with Brian in 2013, the aim has been to invest in technology and live stage techniques to communicate science in better ways, to broader audiences. Five tours later, we have the most ambitious and spectacular show yet, which I think will have audiences hooked on science more than ever”.

Professor Brian Cox said: “I loved the 2019 arena tour because it gave me the opportunity to discuss the most profound ideas, with tens of thousands of people in front of the most spectacular images of the Universe. When the tour was over, I immediately started thinking about how I could delve deeper, tell an even more profound story and make the show even more spectacular. I’m very excited about what has emerged! I hope the evening will make people think about how fortunate and precious we are, how strange and wonderful our Universe is, and the limitless future we have to look forward to if we make the right choices over the coming decades.”

Professor Brian Cox CBE is Professor of Particle Physics at The University of Manchester, The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science and a Fellow of the Royal Society. As a broadcaster, he has presented a number of highly acclaimed science programmes for the BBC including Wonders of the Solar System , Forces of Nature , Stargazing Live and, in 2019, The Planets . He is credited with boosting the popularity of subjects such as astronomy and physics, and has garnered a host of accolades for his TV work, including two Royal Television Society awards and a Peabody Award for  Wonders of the Solar System.

Brian has also authored a series of best-selling books, including the widely acclaimed  Human Universe . Brian broke his own Guinness World Record titles during his last live tour, Universal ; for the most tickets sold (158,589) for a science tour, and for most tickets sold for a science show (11,433 at The Arena in Birmingham in 2019).

Brian has been described as the natural successor for BBC’s scientific programming by both Sir David Attenborough and Patrick Moore.

Before his academic career, Brian was a keyboard player for the British bands D:Ream and Dare. D:Ream had a number one hit with ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ in 1994. The British Labour Party used the song for their successful campaign in 1997, which elected Tony Blair as Prime Minister.

The show will start at 7:30pm and will run for approximately 2 hours, plus there will be a 20min interval.

In Canberra, the show will start a 6pm and will run for approximately 2 hours, plus there will be a 20min interval.

Law dictates that ticket prices quoted must include the various fees and charges added by ticketing companies; and these fees vary from venue to venue. To find the exact ticket prices you will need to go to the ticketing agency websites (linked below). As a guide, tickets  range between $50 for students, $95 for adults up to $225  for the best seats in the house – Premium Tickets (plus the aforementioned fees).

There will be no Afterlife Club for this tour.

Official tickets for postponed shows are still valid. Your e-ticket/s should reflect the new event date, but if you require tickets to be re-sent, please contact the relevant ticketing agency for assistance.

2022 Tour Schedule

Terms and Conditions

When purchasing Tickets, you agree that you will abide by any government, venue or Event requirements in effect at the time of the Event, including (but not limited to) vaccination, mask wearing and QR code check-In. If you do not comply with these government, venue or Event requirements, you will be refused entry into the Event and will not receive a refund (unless required by law).

WARNING ; Only buy tickets from SISTIC, Ticketek, Ticketmaster and the Regent Theatre Dunedin – these are the official ticket agencies that have been authorised by Lateral Events to sell tickets. Unauthorised ticket on-sellers will add significant premiums onto ticket prices, and often sell non-existent tickets. Please don’t be caught out. For the avoidance of doubt, Viagogo is not an authorised ticket seller.

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Professor Brian Cox - Horizons: A 21st Century Space Odyssey

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• Professor Brian Cox and Daniel Harding: Symphonic Horizons with the Britten Sinfonia

Explore the secrets of the universe with Professor Brian Cox and Daniel Harding in this special event combining ground-breaking science with the power of the orchestra.

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Stay updated on Professor Brian Cox and Daniel Harding: Symphonic Horizons with the Britten Sinfonia and find even more events in london .

Professor Brian Cox

Brian is Professor of Particle Physics at The University of Manchester, The Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science and a Fellow of more...

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In Transit: Notes from the Underground

Jun 06 2018.

Spend some time in one of Moscow’s finest museums.

Subterranean commuting might not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but even in a city packing the war-games treasures and priceless bejeweled eggs of the Kremlin Armoury and the colossal Soviet pavilions of the VDNKh , the Metro holds up as one of Moscow’s finest museums. Just avoid rush hour.

The Metro is stunning and provides an unrivaled insight into the city’s psyche, past and present, but it also happens to be the best way to get around. Moscow has Uber, and the Russian version called Yandex Taxi , but also some nasty traffic. Metro trains come around every 90 seconds or so, at a more than 99 percent on-time rate. It’s also reasonably priced, with a single ride at 55 cents (and cheaper in bulk). From history to tickets to rules — official and not — here’s what you need to know to get started.

A Brief Introduction Buying Tickets Know Before You Go (Down) Rules An Easy Tour

A Brief Introduction

Moscow’s Metro was a long time coming. Plans for rapid transit to relieve the city’s beleaguered tram system date back to the Imperial era, but a couple of wars and a revolution held up its development. Stalin revived it as part of his grand plan to modernize the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. The first lines and tunnels were constructed with help from engineers from the London Underground, although Stalin’s secret police decided that they had learned too much about Moscow’s layout and had them arrested on espionage charges and deported.

The beauty of its stations (if not its trains) is well-documented, and certainly no accident. In its illustrious first phases and particularly after the Second World War, the greatest architects of Soviet era were recruited to create gleaming temples celebrating the Revolution, the USSR, and the war triumph. No two stations are exactly alike, and each of the classic showpieces has a theme. There are world-famous shrines to Futurist architecture, a celebration of electricity, tributes to individuals and regions of the former Soviet Union. Each marble slab, mosaic tile, or light fixture was placed with intent, all in service to a station’s aesthetic; each element, f rom the smallest brass ear of corn to a large blood-spattered sword on a World War II mural, is an essential part of the whole.

The Metro is a monument to the Soviet propaganda project it was intended to be when it opened in 1935 with the slogan “Building a Palace for the People”. It brought the grand interiors of Imperial Russia to ordinary Muscovites, celebrated the Soviet Union’s past achievements while promising its citizens a bright Soviet future, and of course, it was a show-piece for the world to witness the might and sophistication of life in the Soviet Union.

It may be a museum, but it’s no relic. U p to nine million people use it daily, more than the London Underground and New York Subway combined. (Along with, at one time, about 20 stray dogs that learned to commute on the Metro.)

In its 80+ year history, the Metro has expanded in phases and fits and starts, in step with the fortunes of Moscow and Russia. Now, partly in preparation for the World Cup 2018, it’s also modernizing. New trains allow passengers to walk the entire length of the train without having to change carriages. The system is becoming more visitor-friendly. (There are helpful stickers on the floor marking out the best selfie spots .) But there’s a price to modernity: it’s phasing out one of its beloved institutions, the escalator attendants. Often they are middle-aged or elderly women—“ escalator grandmas ” in news accounts—who have held the post for decades, sitting in their tiny kiosks, scolding commuters for bad escalator etiquette or even bad posture, or telling jokes . They are slated to be replaced, when at all, by members of the escalator maintenance staff.

For all its achievements, the Metro lags behind Moscow’s above-ground growth, as Russia’s capital sprawls ever outwards, generating some of the world’s worst traffic jams . But since 2011, the Metro has been in the middle of an ambitious and long-overdue enlargement; 60 new stations are opening by 2020. If all goes to plan, the 2011-2020 period will have brought 125 miles of new tracks and over 100 new stations — a 40 percent increase — the fastest and largest expansion phase in any period in the Metro’s history.

Facts: 14 lines Opening hours: 5 a.m-1 a.m. Rush hour(s): 8-10 a.m, 4-8 p.m. Single ride: 55₽ (about 85 cents) Wi-Fi network-wide

Buying Tickets

• Ticket machines have a button to switch to English.
• You can buy specific numbers of rides: 1, 2, 5, 11, 20, or 60. Hold up fingers to show how many rides you want to buy.
• There is also a 90-minute ticket , which gets you 1 trip on the metro plus an unlimited number of transfers on other transport (bus, tram, etc) within 90 minutes.
• Or, you can buy day tickets with unlimited rides: one day (218₽/ US$4), three days (415₽/US$7) or seven days (830₽/US$15). Check the rates here to stay up-to-date.
• If you’re going to be using the Metro regularly over a few days, it’s worth getting a Troika card , a contactless, refillable card you can use on all public transport. Using the Metro is cheaper with one of these: a single ride is 36₽, not 55₽. Buy them and refill them in the Metro stations, and they’re valid for 5 years, so you can keep it for next time. Or, if you have a lot of cash left on it when you leave, you can get it refunded at the Metro Service Centers at Ulitsa 1905 Goda, 25 or at Staraya Basmannaya 20, Building 1.
• You can also buy silicone bracelets and keychains with built-in transport chips that you can use as a Troika card. (A Moscow Metro Fitbit!) So far, you can only get these at the Pushkinskaya metro station Live Helpdesk and souvenir shops in the Mayakovskaya and Trubnaya metro stations. The fare is the same as for the Troika card.
• You can also use Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rules, spoken and unspoken

No smoking, no drinking, no filming, no littering. Photography is allowed, although it used to be banned.

Stand to the right on the escalator. Break this rule and you risk the wrath of the legendary escalator attendants. (No shenanigans on the escalators in general.)

Get out of the way. Find an empty corner to hide in when you get off a train and need to stare at your phone. Watch out getting out of the train in general; when your train doors open, people tend to appear from nowhere or from behind ornate marble columns, walking full-speed.

Always offer your seat to elderly ladies (what are you, a monster?).

An Easy Tour

This is no Metro Marathon ( 199 stations in 20 hours ). It’s an easy tour, taking in most—though not all—of the notable stations, the bulk of it going clockwise along the Circle line, with a couple of short detours. These stations are within minutes of one another, and the whole tour should take about 1-2 hours.

Start at Mayakovskaya Metro station , at the corner of Tverskaya and Garden Ring,  Triumfalnaya Square, Moskva, Russia, 125047.

1. Mayakovskaya.  Named for Russian Futurist Movement poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and an attempt to bring to life the future he imagined in his poems. (The Futurist Movement, natch, was all about a rejecting the past and celebrating all things speed, industry, modern machines, youth, modernity.) The result: an Art Deco masterpiece that won the National Grand Prix for architecture at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It’s all smooth, rounded shine and light, and gentle arches supported by columns of dark pink marble and stainless aircraft steel. Each of its 34 ceiling niches has a mosaic. During World War II, the station was used as an air-raid shelter and, at one point, a bunker for Stalin. He gave a subdued but rousing speech here in Nov. 6, 1941 as the Nazis bombed the city above.

Take the 3/Green line one station to:

2. Belorusskaya. Opened in 1952, named after the connected Belarussky Rail Terminal, which runs trains between Moscow and Belarus. This is a light marble affair with a white, cake-like ceiling, lined with Belorussian patterns and 12 Florentine ceiling mosaics depicting life in Belarussia when it was built.

Transfer onto the 1/Brown line. Then, one stop (clockwise) t o:

3. Novoslobodskaya.  This station was designed around the stained-glass panels, which were made in Latvia, because Alexey Dushkin, the Soviet starchitect who dreamed it up (and also designed Mayakovskaya station) couldn’t find the glass and craft locally. The stained glass is the same used for Riga’s Cathedral, and the panels feature plants, flowers, members of the Soviet intelligentsia (musician, artist, architect) and geometric shapes.

Go two stops east on the 1/Circle line to:

4. Komsomolskaya. Named after the Komsomol, or the Young Communist League, this might just be peak Stalin Metro style. Underneath the hub for three regional railways, it was intended to be a grand gateway to Moscow and is today its busiest station. It has chandeliers; a yellow ceiling with Baroque embellishments; and in the main hall, a colossal red star overlaid on golden, shimmering tiles. Designer Alexey Shchusev designed it as an homage to the speech Stalin gave at Red Square on Nov. 7, 1941, in which he invoked Russia’s illustrious military leaders as a pep talk to Soviet soldiers through the first catastrophic year of the war.   The station’s eight large mosaics are of the leaders referenced in the speech, such as Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and military commander who bested German and Swedish invading armies.

One more stop clockwise to Kurskaya station,  and change onto the 3/Blue  line, and go one stop to:

5. Baumanskaya.   Opened in 1944. Named for the Bolshevik Revolutionary Nikolai Bauman , whose monument and namesake district are aboveground here. Though he seemed like a nasty piece of work (he apparently once publicly mocked a woman he had impregnated, who later hung herself), he became a Revolutionary martyr when he was killed in 1905 in a skirmish with a monarchist, who hit him on the head with part of a steel pipe. The station is in Art Deco style with atmospherically dim lighting, and a series of bronze sculptures of soldiers and homefront heroes during the War. At one end, there is a large mosaic portrait of Lenin.

Stay on that train direction one more east to:

6. Elektrozavodskaya. As you may have guessed from the name, this station is the Metro’s tribute to all thing electrical, built in 1944 and named after a nearby lightbulb factory. It has marble bas-relief sculptures of important figures in electrical engineering, and others illustrating the Soviet Union’s war-time struggles at home. The ceiling’s recurring rows of circular lamps give the station’s main tunnel a comforting glow, and a pleasing visual effect.

Double back two stops to Kurskaya station , and change back to the 1/Circle line. Sit tight for six stations to:

7. Kiyevskaya. This was the last station on the Circle line to be built, in 1954, completed under Nikita Khrushchev’ s guidance, as a tribute to his homeland, Ukraine. Its three large station halls feature images celebrating Ukraine’s contributions to the Soviet Union and Russo-Ukrainian unity, depicting musicians, textile-working, soldiers, farmers. (One hall has frescoes, one mosaics, and the third murals.) Shortly after it was completed, Khrushchev condemned the architectural excesses and unnecessary luxury of the Stalin era, which ushered in an epoch of more austere Metro stations. According to the legend at least, he timed the policy in part to ensure no Metro station built after could outshine Kiyevskaya.

Change to the 3/Blue line and go one stop west.

8. Park Pobedy. This is the deepest station on the Metro, with one of the world’s longest escalators, at 413 feet. If you stand still, the escalator ride to the surface takes about three minutes .) Opened in 2003 at Victory Park, the station celebrates two of Russia’s great military victories. Each end has a mural by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who also designed the “ Good Defeats Evil ” statue at the UN headquarters in New York. One mural depicts the Russian generals’ victory over the French in 1812 and the other, the German surrender of 1945. The latter is particularly striking; equal parts dramatic, triumphant, and gruesome. To the side, Red Army soldiers trample Nazi flags, and if you look closely there’s some blood spatter among the detail. Still, the biggest impressions here are the marble shine of the chessboard floor pattern and the pleasingly geometric effect if you view from one end to the other.

Keep going one more stop west to:

9. Slavyansky Bulvar.  One of the Metro’s youngest stations, it opened in 2008. With far higher ceilings than many other stations—which tend to have covered central tunnels on the platforms—it has an “open-air” feel (or as close to it as you can get, one hundred feet under). It’s an homage to French architect Hector Guimard, he of the Art Nouveau entrances for the Paris M é tro, and that’s precisely what this looks like: A Moscow homage to the Paris M é tro, with an additional forest theme. A Cyrillic twist on Guimard’s Metro-style lettering over the benches, furnished with t rees and branch motifs, including creeping vines as towering lamp-posts.

Stay on the 3/Blue line and double back four stations to:

10. Arbatskaya. Its first iteration, Arbatskaya-Smolenskaya station, was damaged by German bombs in 1941. It was rebuilt in 1953, and designed to double as a bomb shelter in the event of nuclear war, although unusually for stations built in the post-war phase, this one doesn’t have a war theme. It may also be one of the system’s most elegant: Baroque, but toned down a little, with red marble floors and white ceilings with gilded bronze c handeliers.

Jump back on the 3/Blue line  in the same direction and take it one more stop:

11. Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square). Opened in 1938, and serving Red Square and the Kremlin . Its renowned central hall has marble columns flanked by 76 bronze statues of Soviet heroes: soldiers, students, farmers, athletes, writers, parents. Some of these statues’ appendages have a yellow sheen from decades of Moscow’s commuters rubbing them for good luck. Among the most popular for a superstitious walk-by rub: the snout of a frontier guard’s dog, a soldier’s gun (where the touch of millions of human hands have tapered the gun barrel into a fine, pointy blade), a baby’s foot, and a woman’s knee. (A brass rooster also sports the telltale gold sheen, though I am told that rubbing the rooster is thought to bring bad luck. )

Now take the escalator up, and get some fresh air.

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