World War II brought a lot of grief to humanity. She took millions of lives, ruined the fate of thousands of people, turned hundreds of cities into ruins. This period in history will long remind of itself, and many of its episodes are firmly entrenched in the memory of those who witnessed them. One of the unforgettable moments is the battle, which is dedicated to the whole museum-panorama "Battle of Stalingrad", located in Volgograd.
How and when everything happened
August 23, 1942 was the beginning of the fighting for Stalingrad. On this day, all parts of the sixth German army reached the Volga River, flowing along the outskirts of the city in its Northern District. From the south side during the same time the fourth tank army arrived at the village. Thus the Germans took the whole city in ticks. Contact with its inhabitants was now possible only through the river. Hitler understood that citizens would defend their home, and therefore, in order to stifle their intentions radically, he began to bomb Stalingrad from the air. The bombing lasted for the whole day on August 23. During this time, more than two thousand bombs were dropped on the city, which even before the start of the battle turned beautiful Stalingrad into ruins.
Assault and victory
The assault on the village began on September 13. This is evidenced by written references, which are carefully kept by the museum-panorama "Battle of Stalingrad." Here the struggle was not for life, but to death. The Soviet army waged war for every apartment building, for every floor in it. Almost until the end of the month, the Germans tried to conquer the Central City Station. During this period, it more than ten times became the property of either the German or the Russian military.
Witnesses say that Stalingrad turned into a sea of dust, smoke, ruins and fire. During the period of hostilities in this territory, the Germans lost one and a half million people, for the Russian army the losses amounted to more than 1.1 million people, more than four thousand tanks and more than two and a half thousand aircraft. The defeat of the Nazis near Stalingrad inspired confidence in the victory of Hitler to the entire Soviet people. This battle pretty much weakened the German invasion.
The birth of the museum
The Museum-Panorama "Battle of Stalingrad" (its address: Volgograd city, 47 Chuikova street) is the largest museum complex in Russia, which was dedicated to the battle of Stalingrad. The exhibition belongs to expositions of national importance. The completion of construction works of the museum fell in the summer of 1982. Even during the war, Major General Anisimov had the idea to create something similar. He told about this in his letter addressed to Comrade Stalin. In 1944, the authorities announced a competition for the creation of the best sketch of Stalingrad that rose from the ashes. The event was attended by both professional architects and ordinary residents of the city, who were not indifferent to the fate of their village. Most of the projects were panoramas of the fighting Stalingrad. It was at this moment that the idea that a panorama museum "The Battle of Stalingrad" appeared in Volgograd was firmly entrenched. Vadim Maslyaev, the chief architect of Volgograd itself, became the author of the project of the future masterpiece.
From the very beginning it was planned that the complex will be an integral part of the Mamaev Kurgan ensemble and will place it in the house of the Hall of Military Glory. But such an idea did not find support in the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR. Therefore, the panorama was honored to become one of the objects of the museum complex, located on Guards Square. This institution also includes a stela bayonet glorifying Soviet weapons, the ruins of the Grudinin mill and Pavlov's house.
Construction
So, Volgograd, the panorama museum "Battle of Stalingrad" ... The city began the construction of its world-famous complex in the winter of 1968. The country just celebrated 25 years of the victory of the Red Army over the Germans at Stalingrad. As part of this event, a memorial plate was installed at the base of the future complex. Hyperboloid of rotation - this is the name of the form that the modern panorama museum has in the city that used to be called Stalingrad.
Long before the tower was built, the construction of another museum object began, which became a reflection of Stalingrad during the battle for its liberation. Back in 1948, work began on the creation of the famous canvas. A. Gorpenko, V. Kuznetsova, G. Marchenko and other artists had the honor to recreate the Battle of Stalingrad on canvas. For the plot, the battles that took place in January 1943 were chosen. It was a battle for Mamaev Kurgan.
Some more exhibits
The panorama museum "Battle of Stalingrad" in Volgograd, the address of which is indicated above, is proud not only of the canvas. The complex consists of more than 3.5 thousand exhibits: military equipment that took an active part in the battles near Stalingrad, photographs, an exhibition of images of military commanders and commanders of the Soviet era, a collection of firearms and cold steel. Also, the panorama museum "Battle of Stalingrad" has four dioramas. Each of them is a separate episode that did not fall into the main picture, but rather important for the liberation of the hero city.
That which was and that which is
Very close to the museum is equipped with a platform on which in the recent past there was an exhibition of equipment that participated in the Second World War. Among these exhibits were retro tanks, aircraft, artillery mounts. But the exhibition site was unable to withstand such a huge weight of heavy vehicles, so in order to avoid dangerous cases, it was decided to transfer almost the entire collection to Mamaev Kurgan. A special area has been arranged here to receive such important "guests". But still, Volgograd, the museum-panorama "Battle of Stalingrad" in particular, left some breathtaking exhibits in its open spaces: one of them is a model of a Su-2 bomber, a gift from Volkhograd from Sukhov OKB employees. Noteworthy howitzers and artillery pieces. Heavy tanks, standing separately, are also worthy of being avoided. Yes, indeed, do not forget those terrible days when the battle of Stalingrad took place ...
The Museum-Reserve has recently acquired a new find. It became a battle tank, which was found in the winter of 2010-2011 in that part of the Don river that flows in the city of Kalach-on-Don. The tank was in terrible condition, it was heavily corroded by rust, but the reconstruction work was limited only to painting the car.
The panorama museum has at its disposal a restored steam train of the times of World War II. The steam locomotive is equipped with platforms and wagons of several types: a tank car, a platform transporting heavy equipment, an onboard platform and a heating car, transporting people.
Guests in the life of the museum
The museum-panorama "Battle of Stalingrad", the price of visiting which starts at 50 rubles, today has been seen by all residents of Volgograd and many guests of the city. But the attraction is visible not only to domestic art lovers, but also to foreign culture admirers. The museum collection has visited exhibitions in Austria, the Czech Republic, England and other countries. Each year, more than half a million people visit the panorama museum and its branches.
A few words in the end
The Volgograd Panorama Museum has the largest painting in the Russian Federation. Its parameters are 16 meters in height and 120 meters in length. The panorama "Battle of Stalingrad" was the final touch of the whole complex. This is the largest museum in the city in area (4.5 thousand square meters), and it is worthy of everyone to see!