Monument-ensemble to the defenders of Stalingrad (1967). Monuments of the Battle of Stalingrad Monuments of Stalingrad dedicated to the significant battle

On October 15, 1967, the monument-ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" was solemnly opened in Volgograd.

The decision to build a memorial ensemble dedicated to the feat of the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943) was made back in January 1958. Construction began in May 1959 and was completed by October 1967.

The project was developed by a team of sculptors and architects led by Vuchetich E. V. Architects: Belopolsky Ya. B., Demin V. A., Lysov F. M. Sculptors: Aleshenko M. S., Matrosov V. E., Maistrenko L. M., Melnik A. N., Marunov V. A., Novikov N. S., Tyurenkov A. A. Head of the engineering group Nikitin N. V.

Marshal V. I. Chuikov, the commander of the army that defended Mamaev Kurgan, became the main military consultant of the project.

The total area of ​​the architectural and sculptural complex on Mamaev Kurgan is 26 hectares.

The symbolic ruins of Stalingrad, the Square of those who stood to death, the Heroes' Square, the Hall of Military Glory, the Square of Sorrow and other sculptural objects have a huge emotional impact. Along the serpentine leading to the top of the hill, the remains of 34 thousand 505 soldiers - the defenders of Stalingrad - were reburied.

The logical center of the memorial is the Motherland sculpture. The work of the sculptor Vuchetich and the engineer Nikitin is a multi-meter figure of a woman who swiftly stepped forward with a raised sword. The statue is an allegorical image of the Motherland, calling its sons to fight the enemy. The total height of the monument is 85 m. The height of the female figure is 52 m, the length of the arm is 20 m, the length of the sword is 33 m. The weight of the sculpture is 8 thousand tons, and the sword is 14 tons.

In 2008, Mamaev Kurgan was included in the "7 Wonders of Russia".

Monument-ensemble to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad. Volgograd. Mamayev Kurgan: Set of 10 postcards / Photo by A. Shagin. - M.: Soviet Russia, 1967. - 1 region. (10 separate l.).

Included:
Monument "Stand to the death!"
Heroes Square
Heroes Square
Monument "Sorrow" and a view of the main monument
introductory composition
main monument
General view of the "Wall-ruins"
Detail "Walls-ruins"
Monument "Sorrow"
Detail "Walls-ruins"

Mamaev Kurgan is a hill on the right bank of the Volga, located almost in the center of Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), and, at the same time, it is the main height of Russia, a sacred place for Russian people. It was here - on "Height 102" (as the mound was designated on military maps) - during the Great Patriotic War, during the Battle of Stalingrad, fierce battles took place, Soviet soldiers fought to the death. Rising above the central part of the city, it was an important link in the general defense system of the Stalingrad Front, since it allowed the one who controlled the top of the mound to control almost the entire city, the Volga region and the crossings across the Volga.

Since then, Mamaev Kurgan has become known to the whole world as the scene of some of the fiercest battles of the Second World War, and where its radical turn took place. It is here that today the monument-ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" is located - the largest and most majestic memorial complex dedicated to the victory of Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War.

The battles for this height lasted 135 days out of 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad, the slopes of the mound were plowed up with bombs, shells, and mines. And after the end of the fighting, they began to bury the dead from all over the city here - this is about 34.5 thousand people. At the same time, the idea of ​​building a monument in the city, in memory of the great battle and the defenders of the Motherland who died here, arose.

An all-Union competition for the design of the monument was announced immediately after the war, and all sorts of options were submitted for it. But by decision of Stalin, E. Vuchetich, who by that time had already created a memorial in Berlin, was appointed the author of the future memorial. Under his leadership, a team of sculptors, architects, and engineers worked on the project. By the way, the engineering group was led by Doctor of Technical Sciences N. Nikitin, the author of the calculation of the Ostankino TV tower. It was he who performed the most complex calculations of the stability of the construction of the monument "The Motherland Calls!". And the main military consultant of the project was Marshal of the Soviet Union V. Chuikov, commander of the 62nd Army during the war years, holding "Height 102".

In January 1958, the Council of Ministers of the USSR decided to start the construction of the monument, and in May 1959 construction work began, which was carried out in an intensive mode. Despite this, the scale and complexity of the composition of the planned ensemble required several years for its implementation. Large earthworks were carried out, and it was also here that reinforced concrete was used for the first time in the practice of building monuments.

The grand opening of the cultural and historical monument-ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamaev Kurgan took place on October 15, 1967.

This complex on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd is still a unique engineering structure and architectural and sculptural ensemble, united by a common concept, a common idea. Its total area is 26 hectares, and the length of the entire complex from the foot to the top of the hill is 1.5 km. Compositionally, it consists of architectural and spatial links, as if strung on a single axis. Following in one direction, one level is replaced by another, and as it rises, all new elements of the composition are revealed.

The main elements of the monument-ensemble are the introductory high-relief composition "Memory of Generations", the Alley of Pyramid Poplars, the Square "Fighting to Death", the ruined walls, the Heroes' Square, the retaining wall-relief, the Hall of Military Glory, the Square of Sorrow with the monument "Grieving Mother" , the monument "The Motherland Calls!", military memorial cemetery, memorial arboretum at the foot of the mound, the Church of All Saints.

The main figure and compositional center of the entire ensemble is the monument “The Motherland Calls!”, which is located on a huge bulk mound about 14 meters high, in which the remains of 34,505 soldiers - the defenders of Stalingrad are buried. 200 granite steps lead from the foot of the mound to its top - according to the number of days of the Battle of Stalingrad. The very sculpture "Motherland is calling!" impresses with its size and shape. She is a 52-meter figure of a woman (she towers over the city and is visible for tens of kilometers), in her right hand is a sword 33 meters long (weight 14 tons). The monument is made of reinforced concrete (5,500 tons of concrete and 2,400 tons of metal structures), and it was cast once, not allowing the concrete to harden, so as not to get seams. Inside there are 99 steel ropes that tighten the structure, a cable monitoring room and a ladder. The statue stands on a 2-meter-high slab (which lies on the main foundation), but is not fastened to the foundation in any way, but is held by gravity.

In 2008, the monument-ensemble, after merging with the Stalingrad Battle Panorama Museum, was included in the list of federal monuments and became known as the Battle of Stalingrad State Historical and Memorial Museum-Reserve. In the same year, he became one of the wonders of our country, winning the final of the 7 Wonders of Russia competition.

Today, the historical and memorial complex "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" is the most visited monument in Russia - every year about three million people from Russia and other countries visit Mamaev Kurgan to see the unique creation of Soviet masters and honor the blessed memory of the heroic defenders of Stalingrad.

Exactly 74 years ago, on February 2, 1943, one of the bloodiest battles in human history was won. The battle of Stalingrad was held under the motto from order No. 227 "Not a step back!" and was the most important turning point not only in the Great Patriotic War, but also in World War II. The main symbol of the Stalingrad victory was "height 102" - Mamaev Kurgan, which during the battle more than once passed from the Soviet troops to the Germans and back. Rambler/Travel tells about memorable places in Volgograd that are worth visiting when you are in the hero city.

Mamaev kurgan

The total losses of the Soviet and German sides in the Battle of Stalingrad exceed two million people. This is the most brutal battle in the history of mankind, and the memories that every square meter Mamaev Kurgan was soaked in blood are not an artistic exaggeration. The construction of the memorial under the guidance of the architect Vuchetich lasted eight years. All elements of the memorial - squares, sculptures, bas-reliefs, monuments - are deeply symbolic. Including the path to the main monument of the memorial - the monument "Motherland Calls!". There are exactly two hundred steps on it - like exactly two hundred of those days that the Battle of Stalingrad lasted.

Ruined Walls

Climbing Mamayev Kurgan by stairs past the ruins passes under the audio accompaniment: the sound track includes reports from the front, which were read by the main announcer of the Soviet Union Yuri Levitan, the noise of the battle and military songs. Walls-ruins with a height of 17 to 5 meters seem to be transferred to 1942. The left wall is dedicated to the oaths of the defenders of Stalingrad: “Not a step back!”, “On the offensive, comrades!”, “To Berlin!”. The right wall depicts real battle scenes, including the defense of Pavlov's House and the heroic death of Mikhail Panikah.

Square of the Deadly Standing

Monument-ensemble to the defenders of Stalingrad

The fascist German army concentrated about a million soldiers near Stalingrad, trying to break through to the Volga and capture an important industrial and strategic region of the country. For about two months there were battles on the outskirts of the city, in September they unfolded on the streets. One of the letters of the defenders of the city said: “Fighting today near Stalingrad, we understand that we are fighting not only for the city of Stalingrad. Near Stalingrad, we are defending our Motherland, we are defending everything that is dear to us, without which we cannot live ... "

The symbol of the courage of the defenders of Stalingrad was the famous Pavlov's House, in which a group of soldiers held the line for 58 days, repelling enemy attacks.

The phrase of one of the defenders of Stalingrad, sniper V. G. Zaitsev, became winged: “There is no land for us beyond the Volga!”

In the battles on the Volga, the Soviet Army withstood such an onslaught of the enemy that no other army in the world had to experience.

Mamaev Kurgan rises 102 meters above Stalingrad. For more than four months (September 1942 - January 1943) there were bloody battles for this height. Many times the top of the mound passed from hand to hand. Self-sacrificing Soviet soldiers took this height many times, but in a day or two the Nazis concentrated superior forces of infantry, tanks, aviation, artillery and again took possession of the summit. Only on January 26, 1943, all the surroundings of the Mamaev Kurgan, all the heights adjacent to it, were cleared of the enemy.

But how many of their comrades were buried by Soviet soldiers in the sacred land of Mamaev Kurgan, densely littered with fragments from mines, bombs, shells: for every square meter there were from 500 to 1250 ...

The immortal images of the defenders of Stalingrad are resurrected in the monumental monument to the Victory, erected on Mamaev Kurgan. The authors of the ensemble are a creative team led by People's Artist of the USSR sculptor E. Vuchetich and architect Y. Belopolsky.

The monument-monument, opened in 1967, includes a whole complex of architectural and sculptural structures. Here is what the people's artist of the USSR, sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich, wrote during the opening of the monument, in October 1967: “... In the Stalingrad epic, the nobility of the soul and the wonderful qualities of Soviet people were revealed with extraordinary force. Here, life triumphed over death, and those who passed away did not go into oblivion - they seemed to remain in the ranks, and the example of their feat called for the feat of others.

The heroism of the Stalingraders is not only the heroism of individuals, but, above all, mass heroism, generated by the great goal of the struggle. Here everything personal was not only lost, leveled - no, not at all, but given in the name of the common. All the thoughts and actions of people merged into one, every second every moment he was aware of himself as an inseparable part of a huge combat team. Here, all the warriors knew that the fate of their native country, the fate of all mankind depended on the success of the actions of each of them ...

All the years while the artistic image matured in the mind, the project was developed and the ensemble was built, all of us, sculptors and artists, architects and builders, people of many professions - my dear friends, who worked on the creation of a monument on Mamaev Kurgan, carried the memory of the heroes in their hearts great battle...

The monument to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad is a monument to the greatest historical event. This is a monument to the mass of heroes. And therefore we were looking for large-scale, especially monumental solutions and forms that, in our opinion, would allow us to most fully convey the scope of mass heroism. After all, it is quite clear that the concept of the heroism of the people is incommensurably broader than the concept of the heroism of an individual. Therefore, such content could not be embodied in the usual type of monuments representing a one-figure or multi-figure composition on a pedestal. It was the monument-ensemble, as the highest form of monumental art, that opened the way to revealing the meaning and significance of the Battle of Stalingrad, embodying specific artistic images in various types of sculpture, in its synthesis with architecture and nature, in many planned, versatile ways.

This is how the composition “Stand to the Death” was born, in which we tried to give a generalized image of the hero of Stalingrad. This is how the image of a wall-ruin arose, where we wanted, as if through the haze of time, to show the episodes of the battle arising in memory, the oath of Soviet soldiers and the offensive of our troops. This was how the content of six two-figure compositions on the Heroes' Square was decided, or drawings depicting the struggle and triumph of the Stalingraders on the retaining wall at the end of this square were applied with a heavily incised line.

The lofty goals of the struggle led our soldiers to exploits. Heroes died every day, and every day gave examples of new self-sacrifice. Warriors, born in battle, fell asleep in the mass graves with an eternal sleep. They are still close, as in battle. Their names shine on half-mast purple mosaic banners in the Hall of Military Glory in Sorrow Square.

The theme of inconsolable maternal grief was supposed to be embodied by a 12-meter allegorical sculptural composition at the other end of the square.

Warriors laid down their heads in the name of the triumph of life, in the name of victory over the forces of evil, violence and death. This was the meaning of self-sacrifice and exploits. This is also the main content of the monument, which we tried to embody in the crowning mound of the main monument - "The Motherland Calls!"

The monument-ensemble begins with an introductory composition - a high relief at the foot of the Mamaev Kurgan - "Memory of Generations".

The steps of a wide staircase lead visitors to an alley of pyramidal poplars. The sculptural compositions of the monument-ensemble open before the eyes. According to the author's plan, all this prepares the viewer to comprehend the main theme of the monument.

The composition "Stand to the Death" reflects the most difficult period of the battle on the Volga. As if from the greatest Russian river, a warrior-bogatyr rises and stands in defense of his native city. The courageous and strong-willed face of Lips was touched by a contemptuous smile. In the eyes of determination, inextinguishable hatred for the enemy, the thirst for victory, which is stronger than death. The warrior-hero is a deeply emotional, generalized image of the Soviet people.

Behind the composition "Stand to the death" are two ruined city walls, as if converging in perspective.

Walls-ruins - a stone book, a heroic chronicle. "Every house is a fortress." This and many other inscriptions tell an exciting story of the struggle for life. With a fragment of a shell, a bayonet, a piece of metal, the soldiers left their autographs in between battles.

The theme of the soldier's oath and loyalty to it runs through all the images on the left wall. In all his heroic growth, a warrior stood up on Stalingrad land, covering the city with himself. Huge wound in his chest. But how much strength, how much anger, contempt for death, call to vengeance in this face! He fought steadfastly to the end. Despite the dramatic content, the sculpture sings of the life-affirming beauty of a feat. At the end of the left wall is a symbolic image. From the stone, as from the depths of time, ranks of fighters emerge. Their faces are motionless.

The right wall - the second part of the stone book - tells about the heroic struggle on the streets of the city. It begins with an image of a soldier, formidable and determined, who proudly says: "I'm from the 62nd!" - and rushes into battle. Dozens of inscriptions made by different handwriting, by different people. They are not invented by the author, they are transferred from the walls of the ruined city, from the documents of those years.

“A machine gun around the neck, 10 grenades at hand, courage in the heart - act!” - wrote the commander of the famous 62nd Army V.I. Chuikov in the instructions for the assault groups.

On the next terrace is Heroes' Square. Six sculptural compositions depict the exploits of warriors: soldiers and commanders, female fighters, brave sailors. The last, sixth, is symbolic: two Soviet soldiers break the swastika and kill the snake. This is a symbol of the victory of the Soviet people over fascism.

On the retaining wall with an area of ​​about a thousand square meters there is a relief depicting the offensive of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad, the capture of the Nazis, the rally of the winners.

The entrance to the Hall of Military Glory is severely and strictly decorated. Overhanging ceilings, gray concrete slabs resemble a dugout. But here is a sharp turn - and in front of your eyes is a magnificent hall sparkling with gold. It has the shape of a cylinder. Its internal dimensions: height 13.5 meters, diameter 41 meters. Against the background of golden smalt, red banners hang around the entire perimeter of the wall, they are also made of smalt. The names of the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Stalingrad are inscribed on the mosaic banners. The list of the dead fills the hall from top to bottom. There is a wide ribbon above the banners and on it is the inscription: “Yes, we were mere mortals, and few of us survived, but we all fulfilled our patriotic duty to the end before the sacred Motherland!” In the center of the ceiling, decorated with images of orders, there is an opening eleven meters in diameter.

On the square is the bent figure of a woman-mother. Before burying her dead son, she hugged him and plunged into boundless grief. The face of the warrior is covered with a banner. The composition is made in concrete, but the sculptor seems to turn it into an elastic and almost transparent material, through which the outlines of the dead soldier’s face seem to shine through.

Above the Square of Sorrow rises a bulk mound - the holy of holies of the monument - the mass graves of the defenders of the city. Graves decorated with tombstones are located on both sides of the serpentine path leading from the square to the main monument. The entire ensemble is crowned by the sculpture of the Motherland. Raising her sword high, she calls for a fight: the victory on the Volga is not yet the final victory over fascism, there were years of war ahead. The motherland called on the soldiers to expel the fascist invaders from Soviet soil, to liberate the peoples of Europe from the Nazi yoke. The monument, like the entire monument-ensemble, is made of concrete. The material itself emphasizes the harsh nature of the struggle and feat of the Soviet people.

The Motherland monument is visible from all over the city, both from a steamer sailing along the Volga and from the window of a passing train. From the top of the mound, a wide panorama of the revived flourishing hero city opens up.

Representatives of foreign states who came here after the great battle believed that it was impossible to revive the city. Former US Ambassador to the Soviet Union Davis, seeing the ruins of the streets and factory buildings, said: “This city is dead, and you will not restore it. What is dead is dead. I don't know of anyone being raised from the dead." Western diplomats advised to enclose the ruins with wire and leave it as a huge historical museum.

But the Soviet people decided otherwise. Through their efforts, the hero city has been revived. It became the largest industrial and cultural center and the port of the five seas.

Ensemble Ensemble (ensemble) - designates the main mass of the building in architecture, and sometimes under A. they mean the ratio of the parts of the building to the whole or the proportionality of the parts; A. in planning consists in the symmetry of the internal parts, as well as in the proportional arrangement of rooms for