Mamaev Kurgan in Volgograd. From September 1942 to January 1943, fierce battles took place here. In addition to the monument-ensemble, the Church of All Saints and a chapel were built here. More than 35 thousand defenders of the city are buried in mass graves.

On the territory of the mound today there is also a television center and a cultural center “Stalingrad” a hotel, a cafe and a Stalin museum. Nearby is the building of the Guard of Honor Company, where the servicemen are waiting for their change. “Honors” serve in the Pantheon of Glory, and every hour you can watch their change.

Mamaev Kurgan – a place that remembers the Battle of Stalingrad.

Mamayev Kurgan is a place where tourist groups and people who have passed through Volgograd constantly gather. And Volgograd residents themselves come here several times a year. May 9, Victory Day, people go to the top in an endless stream. Here is the final point of the route of the “Immortal Regiment” people with portraits of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers climb to the very top, to the foot of the Motherland. For several years now, every year on May 7, 8 and 9 on the Mamayev Kurgan the action “Light of the Great Victory” has been held, when for several hours you can watch a 3D installation.

On the evening of June 21, every year on the Mamayev Kurgan, the action “Tomorrow was the war” takes place, when thousands of people come on the eve of the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow to drop flowers into the large “Lake of Tears”.

There is always a special atmosphere on Mamaev Kurgan. Largely thanks to the music. Here you can hear reports from the Soviet Information Bureau, the roar of planes, the sounds of explosions, songs of the war years, and in the Hall of Military Glory “Dreams” by Schumann.

History

Before the war, the inhabitants of the city called this protrusion of the Ergeninskaya ridge a hillock. It separated the administrative and commercial part of the city from the industrial one. The military called it “height 102”. The headquarters of the 62nd Army was located here.

First, on February 8, 1943, only an obelisk was erected here. The idea to build a memorial came after the war, and construction started in 1958. The project by Evgeny Vuchetich won. Designed and built a monument-ensemble “Stalingradproekt” and “Stalingradgidrostroy” (they also erected the Volzhskaya hydroelectric power station). Yakov Belopolsky was chosen as the chief architect. And design engineer Nikolai Nikitin took over the engineering calculations. He did this work in parallel with the calculations for the Ostankino TV tower. Marshal Vasily Chuikov himself consulted the builders and designers on the history of the Great Patriotic War. Later, already in the 80s, he was buried with honors on the Mamayev Kurgan, here and today you can lay flowers at his grave.

The construction of the memorial began on the day of the Battle of Stalingrad, February 2, 1958, and was completed 9 years later. It was opened in October 1967.

Interesting Facts

In 1944, a competition was announced to create a monument to the heroism of the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad. Hundreds of Soviet and even foreign architects participated in it, but the project was entrusted to Vuchetich.
The central composition of the Mamayev Kurgan the sculpture of the Motherland is not fixed on its pedestal. She stands on it freely, held only by her own weight, like the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg.
After the Battle of Stalingrad, the remains of more than 34 thousand people were brought to Mamayev Kurgan and buried, who to this day rest on this place.

What to see

During the first visit to the Mamaev Kurgan in Volgograd, it is better to enter it from the side of Lenin Avenue in order to climb all the steps and see the complex as the authors intended.

At the ruined walls you will hear reports from the Soviet Information Bureau and simply freeze in place.

Reach the top and wait for the changing of the guard. It is worth coming to Mamayev Kurgan with flowers there are many places where you can lay them. Believers can light candles in the All Saints Temple, which is to the left of the Pantheon of Glory.

What you shouldn’t do on Mamayev Kurgan is sit down on the green grass and have a picnic. It’s not that they are so worried about the lawn here. Mamaev Kurgan is a large mass grave.

If you are lucky enough to get to Volgograd on the May holidays before Victory Day, come here in the evening. Every year a mapping show “The Light of the Great Victory” is held on the mound.