The memorial complex dedicated to the bloodiest battle in history is among the Seven Wonders of Russia. The grand monument-ensemble “To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” was created from 1959 to 1967; it consists of 10 compositions and a memorial park.
The ascent to Mamayev Kurgan begins with “Memory of Generations”, a bas-relief depicting people coming to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers. The next stage of the route is the alley of Lombardy poplars, whose wall cuts off the noise and bustle of the city. This road leads to the granite staircase to “Those Who Stood to the Death” Square, where a rock with a defender of the Motherland, whose image was modeled after Marshal Chuikov, rises from the waters of the pool.
The next staircase between the ruined walls leads to Heroes Square. Scenes from the fiercest battles near Stalingrad are depicted on the walls, as if scarred by shells. On Heroes Square there is a pool with a still water surface, a symbol of the waters of the Volga; on one side of it is an amphitheater, and on the other side are six sculptures symbolizing the participants in the battle.
The white wall of the Monumental Relief is a 125-meter depiction of Soviet soldiers celebrating victory. Passing through it, you will see the Hall of Military Glory, inside which the surnames of the city’s fallen defenders are immortalized. In the center of the Hall burns a torch with the Eternal Flame, and on the ceiling vaults the main orders and medals of the USSR are displayed.
Exiting the Hall, you arrive at Sorrow Square, where a mother mourns her fallen son. The pool beneath this statue is often called the “lake of a mother’s tears.”
The final stage of the route is the climb up the kurgan, where 35 thousand Soviet soldiers are buried. The crowning feature of the complex is the statue “The Motherland Calls!”, summoning her sons to defend their native land.
