Folk monuments War heroes

Monument Motherland Calls! In Volgograd

Monument Motherland Calls! In Volgograd
Monument Motherland Calls! In Volgograd

Monument Motherland Calls! In Volgograd

We can say that the monument “Motherland Calls!” – the main thing for which you should visit Volgograd. The statue, which was not equal in height in European countries, and in the world, was not easy to find. It is hardly possible to meet a person in Russia who does not know what this sculpture looks like, and many come here specially to see it with their own eyes, climb to the foot, touch the pedestal. Victory Day in 2020, the monument “Motherland Calls!” in Volgograd I met in an updated form: its restoration was completed, completely renovated inside and out. All the seams and kilometers of cracks were sealed. Now the sculpture is as good as new: it will stand for another 50 years, and even more, restorers promise.

Monument construction
Monument construction

History

Monument “Motherland Calls!” in Volgograd, they began to build in May 1959, and commissioned in 1967: on October 15, like the entire ensemble on Mamayev Kurgan. Monument “Motherland Calls!” was born later than the sculpture on the square of those who stood to death. At that time, both the ruined walls and the pantheon of Military Glory were already created.

1964th. At the top of the mound, scaffolding, a crane and an elevator were installed. Construction has begun. It took a year and a half and more than a thousand tons of metal to install the scaffolding alone. The sculpture was cast not in the workshop, but right on the Mamayev Kurgan. For accuracy, a 10-fold scaled-down model was placed next to it. Steel reinforcement and timber formwork were installed inside the scaffolding, and then concrete was built up, tier by tier. On earth, only the hands of the Motherland, the head and the scarf were made. Then they lifted the crane up.

The Motherland Calls Monument on Victory Day
The Motherland Calls Monument on Victory Day

Interesting Facts

  1. The original intention of the authors was different. The authors wanted her to hold not a sword, but a banner. And a soldier with an armful of ears had to bow at his feet.
  2. The statue “grew up” thanks to Khrushchev: he wanted it to be certainly higher than the Statue of Liberty in New York.
  3. To strengthen the foundation of the sculpture, 150 thousand tons of soil was poured on top of it.
  4. The first sword for the monument was cast from steel. From above it was sheathed with titanium sheets. But it thundered strongly, and after 5 years the sword was replaced with an aerodynamic structure that can dampen wind fluctuations.
  5. They still argue about who the Motherland was sculpted from, who posed for the sculptor. The names of sportswoman Nina Dumbadze, wife of Vuchetich Vera, resident of Barnaul Anastasia Peshkova, residents of Volgograd Valentina Izotova and Ekaterina Grebneva were named.

Numbers

  • 52 meters – the height of the figure.
  • 85 meters – the height of the Motherland with a sword.
  • 16 meters – foundation height.
  • 33 meters is the length of the sword.
  • 8000 tons – the weight of the monument, plus 14 tons – the weight of the sword.
What to see

Monument “Motherland Calls!” in Volgograd – the creation of the famous monumentalist Vuchetich. Evgeny Viktorovich worked on it together with Nikolai Nikitin, an engineer. Portraying a woman who raised her sword over the city, the author thought about our Motherland. Who is she calling? All children, sons. Get up and go into the battle that will be the last for many.

Outside, the scale of the monument is impressive. Inside it was not trimmed, there are ropes that are always stretched so that the structure does not deform. There is a staircase, along the steps of which you can climb to the head and even go out through the right hand to the sword.

Monument “Motherland Calls!” at different times of the year

View the monument “The Motherland Calls!” in Volgograd you can free of charge any day. In winter, the sculpture is covered with frost, like all the trees around, rising on a perfectly white slope.

When it snows, snow-white trees surround the sculpture.

In the fall, you risk not seeing her in full growth: fogs often occur in the city, which hide half of the statue.

In summer, a green slope with dandelions is pleasing to the eye around the monument. Do not forget that you cannot lie down on it: this is a mass grave.

Be sure to come in spring: lilacs and chestnuts are blooming around the monument. And on May 9, Victory Day is celebrated on a grand scale.