 | Volgograd Things To Do | Tips 1 - 10 of 32 |  |
After Stalingrad siege, that lasted almost half a year, all the town lasted in ruines. There were not a single building left.
One building was preserved in this ruined state as a memorial - the old steam mill. It was build in XIX c by two german brothers businessmen. And was ruined in 1942 also by germans.
On the background you can see rounded building of the BAttle Panorama. Leave a Comment
|
Visiting Volgograd?
Read reviews about Volgograd Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
From a Hall of Glory one can climb up to the basement of the statue "Motherland calls you!".
The way to the top goes beside graves of Heros of the Soviet Union, who have got their golden star for Stalingrad Battle. There you can see names of generals, colonels and common soldiers and marines as well.
From the picture you can imagine of how big is the statue. Leave a Comment
|
Mamaev Kurgan is a memorial of WWII and Stalingrad Battle. Who of you abroad of Russia knows about it? May be only people of elder generation.
Stalingrad was the first major battle won by the Soviet Union. The enemy's casualties were heavy. None of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition can boast such victory.
In some tips below I will quote some reliable sources to tell you more about it. Leave a Comment Directions: One could not miss it being in Volgograd
|
Mamaev Kurgan is open for visitors 24 h a day. At night there is a special lightning in the park and near statues and memorials.
note: Mamaev Hill is a little bit wrong translation of the Russian name Mamaev Kurgan. Kurgan is a tumulus or a barrow. This means that in encient past this could be a grave of one of the nomades leader. Name Mamaev shows it could have some connection to Mamai - leader of Golden Hordes, but there is no any reliable historical evidence of that. Leave a Comment
|
Decades have passed. Recent public opinion polls have shown that even in the countries that took part in the war younger generations know little about it and their knowledge is often distorted. Even disregarding some statements of the polled that the Soviet Union is described as Nazi Germany's ally, one can draw a conclusion that much has been done to diminish the role of the Soviet Union in the Second World War. Proof of this is, say, textbooks for school students.
The Great Victory of the Soviet Union is not something that belongs only to Russian war veterans, it is the heritage of all our compatriots and all people of the globe. The victory is also Russia's national achievement and pride, the enduring wealth to be inherited by the generations to come. Leave a Comment
|
Visiting Volgograd?
Read reviews about Volgograd Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
The Soviet army's convincing victory on the River Volga raised its prestige. Stalingrad was the first major battle won by the Soviet Union. The enemy's casualties were heavy. None of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition can boast such victory.
In the years of the Second World War leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and British and US historians spoke highly of the Stalingrad Battle and its world-wide significance. Unfortunately, during the "cold war" there was a trend in Western literature to diminish the role of the Stalingrad Battle. There was no mentioning of the battle in some memoirs at all, or it was seen as a minor local battle and placed in one row with other less significant military operations, say the landing of US troops at the Midway atoll, the British offensive near El Alamein in North Africa or the seizure of the Japanese islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Such policy persisted though General Eisenhower, chief commander of the allied troops which landed on the coast in the north of Africa in November 1942, emphasised that stubborn resistance of the Russians gave the allies an opportunity to choose on the site, time and the amount of troops for their decisive offensive. Much similar statement was made by the US chief of the army staff General Marshall; he says the staff assumed that Nazi troops got stuck in Russia, therefore Hitler could not cope with the situation in the north of Africa. Many German officers and historians also recognise great significance of the Stalingrad Battle. Say, General Kurt von Tippelskirch wrote in his book entitled "Geschichte des Weltkrieges" that though events in the north of Africa were considered as more significant than the Stalingrad Battle in the framework of the war as a whole the defeat near Stalingrad shocked the Nazi army and the German nation more since it came as something entirely unexpected and incomprehensible. Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
The outcome of the Stalingrad Battle was crucial for Russia's future, it greatly contributed to the final victory. Here is an attempt to convey the atmosphere of that fierce battle through reminiscences of the participants, both ordinary soldiers and marshals. The authors portray it so vividly that you feel the heat and frosts of the steppe in the approaches to the River Volga, pain of the people who lost their relatives and friends, their zeal for a revenge, fear and heroism, despair and determination not to yield any stretch of native land to the enemy and their constant nervous strain which is almost beyond man's ability.
Stalingrad is the symbol of unity of all ethnic groups and nationalities inhabiting the former Soviet Union. In his memoirs the renowned Soviet military leader Marshal Zhukov wrote: "That was a long-awaited-for victory not only for the army but also for the whole of the Soviet people. Loyal sons of Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, the Baltic states, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan and Central Asia displayed staunchness and heroism, they are worthy of their undying glory." Leave a Comment
|
| | |
This is the Glory Hall at the top of Mamaev Hill. Thousands names of dead on 32 banners and eternal flame. Honour guards and low funeral music help you to fit an atmosphere. You can see here names of all nationalities and ethnicities of the Soviet Union. They've struggled shoulder to shoulder and they are burried in a common grave.
"We have fulfilled our patriotic duty..." is written across the walls. Keep a minute of silence. Leave a Comment
|
The Stalingrad Battle is the most dramatic event of the Second World War. The Nazi block had scored its major victories by the summer of 1942 and the world doubted a possibility of conquering Nazism. The Stalingrad Battle was a turning point in the war, it laid the cornerstone in the foundation of the would-be victory. The summer of 1942 saw first victories of the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition at other fronts of the Second World War and the emergence of the Resistance Movement in Europe. According to the then US president Franklin Roosevelt, the victory on the River Volga stopped the wave of the Nazi aggression and became a turning point in the war of the united nations against the Nazi invasion.
The blood shed at the war, common hardship and common victory over the enemy united people of various nationalities. The whole world was closely watching the developments in Stalingrad. The Lebanese newspaper Sawt-ash-Chaab said at the time that heavy guns near Stalingrad did not only crush Nazi divisions, they shook the walls of Berlin. The response to the Stalingrad Battle came from Paris, Beijing, New York and London.
The city on the River Volga became the grave for grim forces of Nazism. The London radio reported on the 11th of October, 1942 that Russian troops near Stalingrad crushed Hitler's 6th army. The Nazis defeated Poland in 28 days. In Stalingrad they could seize only several houses within 28 days. France fell in 28 days. In Stalingrad Nazis battled their way from one street to another in 28 days. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
If you have time, you must go to the Stalingrad museum. The panorama is stunning, and it's worth paying for a camera ticket.
The panorama depicts a scene from the infamous battle, and it is rendered in uncanny detail. It's hard to tell where the diorama in the foreground ends and the painting on the wall begins.
If you can, take a good flash with you. The scene inside is very dark and my built-in flash just wasn't up to the job, as you can see from my picture. Leave a Comment Address: Penzenskaya UlitsaDirections: Go down from Mamaev Kurgan, you'll see a building that looks like a crashed spaseship. The panorama is upstairs at the very top.
|
|
|
on July 29, 2004
on December 9, 2003
