The Second World War brought a lot of grief to mankind. She took millions of lives, destroyed the fate of thousands of people, turned hundreds of cities into ruins. This period in history will remind of itself for a long time to come, 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 battles for Stalingrad. It was on this day that all parts of the sixth German army reached the Volga River, which flowed 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 settlement. Thus, the Germans took the whole city in pincers. Contact with its inhabitants was now possible only through the river. Hitlerunderstood that citizens would defend their home, and therefore, in order to strangle their intentions at the root, he began to bomb Stalingrad from the air. The bombardment continued throughout the day on 23 August. During this time, more than two thousand bombs were dropped on the city, which turned the beautiful Stalingrad into ruins even before the battle began.
Assault and victory
The assault on the village began on September 13th. This is evidenced by written references, which are carefully kept by the panorama museum "Battle of Stalingrad". Here the struggle was not for life, but to the death. The Soviet army waged war for every residential 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 became the property of either German or Russian military more than ten times.
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 over two and a half thousand aircraft. The defeat of the Nazis at Stalingrad instilled confidence in the victory over Hitler to the entire Soviet people. This battle weakened the German invasion quite a bit.
The Birth of the Museum
Museum-panorama "Battle of Stalingrad" (its address: Volgograd, Chuikova street, 47) is the largest museum complex in Russia, which was dedicated to the battle of Stalingrad. Exhibitionrefers to expositions of national importance. The completion of the construction work of the museum fell on the summer of 1982. Even during the war, Major General Anisimov had the idea to create something similar. He spoke about this in his letter addressed to Comrade Stalin. In 1944, the authorities announced a competition to create the best sketch of Stalingrad rising from the ashes. The participants of the event were both professional architects and ordinary residents of the city, who were not indifferent to the fate of their settlement. 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" would appear in Volgograd was firmly entrenched. Vadim Maslyaev, the chief architect of Volgograd itself, became the author of the project for the future masterpiece.
From the very beginning it was planned that the complex would be an integral part of the ensemble of Mamaev Kurgan and placed 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 Gvardeyskaya Square. This institution also includes a bayonet stele glorifying Soviet weapons, the ruins of the Grudinin mill and Pavlov's house.
Construction
So, Volgograd, the Stalingrad battle panorama museum… The city started the construction of its world-famous complex in the winter of 1968. The country was just celebrating 25 years of the victory of the Red Army over the Germans near Stalingrad. As part of this event,memorial slab at the base of the future complex. A hyperboloid of revolution is the name of the shape possessed by the modern panorama museum in the city that used to bear the name of 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 of recreating the Battle of Stalingrad on canvas. The battles that took place in January 1943 were chosen for the plot. It was a battle for Mamaev Kurgan.
Some more exhibits
Museum-panorama "Battle of Stalingrad" in Volgograd, the address of which is indicated above, is proud not only of the mentioned painting. The complex includes 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 leaders and commanders of the Soviet era, collections of firearms and edged weapons. The Panorama Museum "Battle of Stalingrad" also has four dioramas. Each of them is a separate episode that did not fall into the main picture, but is quite important for the liberation of the hero city.
What was and what is
Very close to the museum there is a platform, where 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 exhibitionthe site was unable to withstand such a huge weight of heavy vehicles, so in order to avoid dangerous situations, it was decided to transfer almost the entire collection to Mamaev Kurgan. A special area was set up here to receive such important "guests". But still, Volgograd, the panorama museum "Battle of Stalingrad" in particular, left some breathtaking exhibits in its open spaces: one of them is a model of the Su-2 bomber, a gift to Volgograd from employees of the Sukhov Design Bureau. Noteworthy are howitzers and artillery pieces. Heavy tanks that stand alone are also worthy of not being bypassed. Yes, truly, do not forget those terrible days when the Battle of Stalingrad took place …
The Museum-Reserve has recently acquired a new find. It was 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 a terrible state, it was severely corroded by rust, but the reconstruction work was limited to painting the car.
The Panorama Museum has at its disposal a restored steam locomotive from the Great Patriotic War. The locomotive is equipped with platforms and cars 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
Museum-panorama "Battle of Stalingrad", the price of visiting which starts from 50 rubles, today was seen by all residents of Volgograd and many guests of the city. Butthe attraction is accessible to the gaze of not only domestic connoisseurs of art, but also foreign admirers of culture. The museum collection visited exhibitions in Austria, the Czech Republic, England and other countries. Every year more than half a million people visit the panorama museum and its branches.
A final word
Volgograd Panorama Museum has the largest painting canvas in the Russian Federation. Its parameters are 16 meters in height and 120 meters in length. The panorama "Battle of Stalingrad" became the final touch of the entire complex. This is the largest museum in the city (4.5 thousand m22), and it deserves to be seen by everyone!
