What is Stalingrad like now? Volgograd - Stalingrad: what the city looked like then and what it is like now. Stalingrad - modern name

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet army in the Battle of Stalingrad. Everyone knows that after the expulsion of Hitler's troops the city lay in ruins; everyone remembers the famous photograph of the Barmaley fountain with dancing children.

But almost no one, except interested local residents, saw what Stalingrad (and, until 1925, Tsaritsyn) looked like before the battle for it began. Therefore, I suggest you look at old photographs and try to imagine the pre-war Volga city:

There are not many Soviet pre-war photographs of Stalingrad, so let's start with Tsaritsyn during the imperial period.

The first (central) part of Tsaritsyn. The photo was taken from the first fire tower, opened in 1854, which stood where the entrance to the Medical University is now located (along the Alley of Heroes).

Salt wharf and barns at the end of the 19th century

View of the city of Tsaritsyn, 1886. Now this is the perspective of Avenue. Lenin from the city center in a southwestern direction.

Fishing pier on the Volga, 1886

Lower Forest Pier, 1886

View of the city of Tsaritsyn, 1886

Gryaze-Tsaritsyn railway. Oil warehouses of the Nobel brothers partnership, 1886

Viaduct, 1898. The railway bridge across the Tsarina River, built in 1898, connected the Gryaze-Tsaritsyn and Tikhoretsk railways into a single transport system.

The Tsaritsa River at its confluence with the Volga, early 20th century

Tsaritsyn at the beginning of the 20th century. Astrakhanskaya street is the current Sovetskaya street.

Kulyginsky vzvoz is another alternative to Astrakhan, the route from Zatsaritsyn to the central (First) part of the city. The vzvoz has been partially preserved in the area of the high-speed tram turning circle, where even now you can go down the same road into the Tsaritsyn ravine.

View of the floodplain of the Tsaritsa River and the beginning of Aleksandrovskaya Street, 1880s. Yes, residential buildings used to stand right in the ravine.

Pleasure garden "Concordia", late 19th - early 20th centuries. Apparently, this place is now a vacant lot.

Railway station, summer gazebo. 1875

Station Square at the end of the 19th century

Tsaritsyn station, fish warehouses

Station in 1903-1905

Trade school, early 20th century. It was located on Belskaya Street (current Kommunisticheskaya); In the distance you can see the tower of the 1st fire station.

Moskovskaya street and the building of the Zemstvo government, 1905-1912.

View of the city from the Volga, 1912

The ravine through which the Tsarina flows, 1910-1914

Building of the 4th Women's Gymnasium, 1913. Surprisingly, it survived the war. Now it houses the Cossack Theater.

This is the same building from a different angle. Here you can see the trams that had just appeared in the city (the first electric tram was launched in Tsaritsyn in the spring of 1913).

Gogol Street, 1913-1917.

The same street, 1913-1916

Market Square, 1910-1915.

Jail

Holy Spirit Monastery, 1912-1917.

Tsaritsyn. 1st Men's Gymnasium and Real College, 1916-1917. These buildings no longer exist, now this block on Prospect. Lenin is occupied by the administration of the Volgograd region.

The square in front of the Church of the Ascension, circa 1918. Now in this place there is a park named after. Sasha Filippova.

Orphanage of the Mezhrabpom organization, former Miller's house. After the revolution, it housed a Youth Theater. The building was seriously damaged during the war, but did not collapse, and stood abandoned until the 1960s, when it was then demolished. The house stood next to the current parking lot of the Pyramid shopping center.

"House with Swans", built in the 1920s (corner of Mira and Lenin streets). It was also damaged during the war and was restored in a greatly modified form.

Physiotherapeutic Institute named after. Semashko, 1925-1942

City Council building, 1925-1942. Now it houses the Volgograd Regional Museum of Local Lore.

Tsaritsyn Defense Museum, late 1920s.

In 1930, the famous fountain was built on the site of the flowerbed.

The station after reconstruction in 1931.

Stalingrad Youth Theater, 1930-1941.

House of Public Utilities Workers, 1937-1941. The building was destroyed during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Square of Fallen Soldiers, 1937-1938. At the top of the photo you can see the ruins of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, blown up in 1932.

From a different angle.

Nizhnyaya Oktyabrskaya Street and Oktyabrskaya Square, 1935 (now here is the Alley of Heroes)

State publishing house, 1930s

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the monument to Lenin on the Square of Fallen Fighters. They were neighbors, as you already understood, not for long. The cathedral was destroyed by the communists in 1932, and the monument was destroyed during the war.

City center in 1931

Stalingrad in 1932. The cathedral has not yet been blown up.

House of Science and Arts, 1930. It was opened under the Tsar, but under the Bolsheviks it retained its functions.

It's him. The building was badly damaged during the war, and in the early 1950s it was rebuilt in the Stalinist style.

Regional Executive Committee, 1935-1940. There is now a park where construction of the new Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is underway.

The central department store, which was built right before the war, in 1938. It was destroyed during the war and restored in 1949 according to a new design. Nowadays the Intourist Hotel is located here.

Proletkultskaya Street, until 1942. It ran parallel to the current Komsomolskaya, now this place is occupied by residential areas of post-war buildings.

"House of Visitors" at the Tractor Plant. It has still been preserved (215 Lenin Avenue), but in poor condition.

Checkpoint of the Red October plant, 1939

View of the village of the tractor factory and the circus, 1932-1941. The Stalingrad Circus was opened in 1932 and is designed for 3,000 spectators. During the Great Patriotic War it was partially destroyed. The lower part of the building was subsequently used for the construction of the Traktorozavodsky district market.

April 10, 1941, view of Komsomolsky Square

All photos found on the site

Volgograd is one of the most famous and significant cities bearing the title of Hero City. In the summer of 1942, fascist German troops launched a massive offensive on the southern front, trying to capture the Caucasus, the Don region, the lower Volga and Kuban - the richest and most fertile lands of the USSR. First of all, the city of Stalingrad came under attack, the attack on which was entrusted to the 6th Army under the command of Colonel General Paulus.

On July 12, the Soviet command created the Stalingrad Front, the main task of which was to stop the invasion of German invaders in the southern direction. On July 17, 1942, one of the greatest and largest battles in the history of World War II began - the Battle of Stalingrad. Despite the fascists' desire to capture the city as quickly as possible, it continued for 200 long, bloody days and nights, ending in complete victory, thanks to the dedication and incredible efforts of the heroes of the army, navy and ordinary residents of the region.

The first attack on the city took place on August 23, 1942. Then, just north of Volgograd, the Germans almost approached the Volga. Policemen, sailors of the Volga Fleet, NKVD troops, cadets and other volunteer heroes were sent to defend the city. That same night, the Germans launched their first air raid on the city, and on August 25, a state of siege was introduced in Stalingrad. At that time, about 50 thousand volunteers - heroes from among ordinary townspeople - signed up for the people's militia. Despite the almost continuous shelling, the Stalingrad factories continued to operate and produce tanks, Katyushas, cannons, mortars and a huge number of shells.

On September 12, 1942, the enemy came close to the city. Two months of fierce defensive battles for Volgograd caused significant damage to the Germans: the enemy lost about 700 thousand people killed and wounded, and on November 19, 1942, the Soviet counteroffensive began.

The offensive operation continued for 75 days and, finally, the enemy at Stalingrad was surrounded and defeated. January 1943 brought complete victory on this sector of the front. The fascist invaders were surrounded, and General Paulus and his entire army surrendered. During the entire Battle of Stalingrad, the German army lost more than 1.5 million people.

Stalingrad was one of the first to be called a hero city. This honorary title was first announced in the order of the Commander-in-Chief dated May 1, 1945. And the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad” became a symbol of the courage of the city’s defenders.

In the hero city of Volgograd there are many monuments dedicated to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Among them is the famous memorial complex on Mamayev Kurgan, a hill on the right bank of the Volga known since the time of the Tatar-Mongol invasion. During the Battle of Stalingrad, particularly fierce battles took place here, as a result of which approximately 35,000 heroic soldiers were buried on Mamayev Kurgan. In honor of all those who fell, a memorial to the “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” was erected here in 1959.

The main architectural landmark of Mamayev Kurgan is the 85-meter-high monument “The Motherland Calls”. The monument depicts a woman with a sword in her hand, who calls on her sons, the heroes, to fight.

The ancient Gerhardt mill (Grudinin mill) is another silent witness to the courageous struggle of the defenders of the hero city of Volgograd. This is a destroyed building that has not yet been restored in memory of the war.

During street fighting in the city, a four-story building on what is now Lenin Square became an impregnable stronghold. In the second half of September, a reconnaissance and assault group, led by Sergeant Pavlov, captured the house and entrenched itself in it. Four days later, reinforcements arrived under the command of Senior Lieutenant Afanasyev, delivering weapons and ammunition - the house became an important stronghold in the defense system. For 58 days, a small garrison of the house repelled German attacks until Soviet troops launched a counterattack. In 1943, after the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, the house was rebuilt. It is considered the first restored building in the city. In 1985, a memorial wall-monument was opened on the end wall.

On October 2, 1942, in a battle near the Red October plant, a private of the 883rd Infantry Regiment and a former sailor of the Pacific Fleet, Mikhail Panikakha, destroyed a German tank at the cost of his life. A stray bullet broke the Molotov cocktail in his hand, the liquid instantly spread over the fighter’s body and ignited. But, without being confused and overcoming the pain, he grabbed the second bottle, rushed at the advancing tank and set it on fire. For this feat, on December 9, 1942, he was posthumously awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. On May 5, 1990, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. At the site of Mikhail Panikakha’s feat, on Metallurgov Avenue, in 1975, a monument was erected to him in the form of a six-meter copper sculpture on a reinforced concrete pedestal.

At the place where in January 1943 the troops of the Don Front, under the command of Colonel General K. Rokossovsky, completed the defeat of the southern group of German troops, today there is the Square of Fallen Fighters and the Alley of Heroes. A special feature of its architectural ensemble is the marble steles of the Heroes of the Soviet Union, installed for the 40th anniversary of the Victory, on which the names of 127 heroes - Stalingrad residents are immortalized. And on the Square of Fallen Fighters, where on January 31, 1943, the commander of the 6th German Army, Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, and his staff were captured in the basement of a department store, an eternal flame was lit in 1963.

In the second half of 1942, G.K. Zhukov, who then held the rank of army general, being a representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, coordinated the actions of the armies of the Stalingrad Front. In memory of his contribution to the Victory, a monument was erected on the avenue that bears his name in 1996, on the 100th anniversary of Zhukov’s birth. It is a bronze half-figure of Marshal of Victory in a tunic mounted on a pedestal. On the left side of it is a granite slab depicting the four stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union, which he was awarded, and the battles in which he took part are recorded on the stone blocks.

The ships of the Volga military flotilla made a great contribution to the Stalingrad victory. They provided fire support to Soviet troops, landed troops, transported ammunition, and evacuated the population. In 1974, a monument to the Volga rivermen was erected - the boat “Gasitel”, a participant in the Battle of Stalingrad, located on a pedestal. Behind the boat there is a thirteen-meter stele, in the lower part of which there is an anchor, and at the top - a star. In 1980, in the fairway of the Volga opposite Mamayev Kurgan, a monument in the form of an anchor, 15 meters high, installed on a floating platform, was opened. There is an inscription on it - “To the Volga rivermen, ships that died in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942–1943.” In 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Victory, another monument to the sailors of the Volga Flotilla was unveiled on the embankment - the armored boat BK-13 installed on a pedestal.

In January 1942, in Stalingrad, the 10th Infantry Division of the NKVD troops was formed from the residents of the city. Border guard units from the Urals and Siberia also joined it. Together with the militia, it took on the first blow of the German invasion in August 1942. On December 2, 1942, the division was awarded the Order of Lenin, and during the entire period of World War II, 20 security officers of the division were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In memory of their feat, in 1947, a monument “Chekists - Defenders of the City” was erected on Chekist Square. It is a 17-meter pedestal, which is crowned with a bronze figure of a warrior with a naked sword raised high in his hand.

Not far from the monument to the security officers, on May 28, 2011, on the day of the border guard, the “Monument to Demolition Dogs, Tank Destroyers” was erected. The 10th NKVD division included a 28th separate detachment of demolition dogs, which destroyed dozens of German armored vehicles.

The 62nd Soviet Army was commanded by General V. Chuikov, an excellent organizer and tactician of war. His contribution to the Stalingrad victory was invaluable. Later, his experience of fighting in the city would come in handy during the storming of Berlin in 1945. For the defense of Stalingrad, V. Chuikov received the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree. In total, during the Second World War he was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It was V. Chuikov who surrendered and capitulated the Berlin garrison. According to his will, after his death on March 18, 1982, he was buried on Mamayev Kurgan at the foot of the Motherland monument. In 1990, a monument to the marshal was erected on the street named after him, on the site where the headquarters of the 62nd Army was located during the war. The author of the monument was his son, architect A. Chuikov.

In July 1942, units of the people's militia were formed from workers and employees of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant. On August 23, 1942, a massive offensive of Wehrmacht units began from the north along the Volga towards Stalingrad. There was no active army in the city, but the factory militia, together with other volunteers, stopped the enemy, preventing the Germans from attempting to take Stalingrad outright. In memory of their feat, in 1983, a forged copper monument with a bas-relief of three militiamen was erected in the park near the plant.

During the war, the Stalingrad Tractor Plant completely switched to the production of military products - artillery and tanks. His role in creating the firepower of the Soviet army is invaluable, because he was the closest supplier of military products to the front line. In 1943, one of the T-34 tanks was installed near the main entrance of the plant in honor of the labor feat of the plant workers. It was one of the first monuments dedicated to the events of the Second World War. In 1949, the tank was placed on a pedestal, and in 1978, reconstruction was carried out.

A unique memorial complex dedicated to the events of the Battle of Stalingrad was created in Volgograd in the post-war years. From 1948 to 1954, 17 T-34 tank turrets were installed on granite pedestals in four districts of the city. The monuments are installed at the points of maximum approach of German troops to the banks of the Volga and form a line 30 km long, the distance between pedestals is 2-3 kilometers. Tank turrets were assembled from equipment lost in the Battle of Stalingrad. Turrets of T-34 tanks of various modifications, manufacturers, with traces of battles and holes were selected.

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the high-rise building of the city elevator was of strategic importance. From its height the central part of the Voroshilovsky region was shot through and the approaches to the Volga were controlled. In September 1942, the Germans sent significant forces to capture it. On September 18, the 92nd separate rifle brigade, formed from North Sea sailors, arrived at the elevator to help the defenders of Stalingrad. The next day, the elevator was surrounded by German units and a massive assault began with the support of artillery and aviation. Over the course of three days, Soviet soldiers repulsed dozens of attacks, and the enemy suffered heavy losses. On September 22, having used up ammunition, the elevator garrison emerged from encirclement at night. In honor of the heroism of the Severomorsk residents, in 1977 a monument in the form of a 7-meter tall figure of a sailor made of monolithic reinforced concrete was unveiled in front of the elevator building.

Military units formed in Siberia played a huge role in the Battle of Stalingrad. In total, 33 Siberian formations (divisions and brigades) took part in the Stalingrad operation. Of these, 24 were converted into guards. Most Siberians fought as part of the 64th Army, which was at the forefront of the German offensive. In memory of the perseverance of Siberians, since 2005 in the Sovetsky district there has been a three-meter granite monument with bas-reliefs of a Siberian warrior with a rescued child in his arms.

Since 1973, on Lenin Avenue, next to the Alley of Heroes, there has been a monument to “Komsomol members - defenders of Stalingrad.” It is a composition of sculptures of three warriors - two young men and one girl, frozen near the grave, on top of which lies a soldier's helmet.

Tsaritsyn (1589-1925)

It is believed that Volgograd was founded in 1589. Then it had a different name - Tsaritsyn. Initially, Tsaritsyn was born as a fortress for the defense of the southern borders of Russian lands. The first stone structure appeared in 1664. Many times the fortress was attacked by rebellious peasants. In 1608, the first stone church was founded in the city - St. John the Baptist, which was destroyed in the late 30s of the 20th century and restored in the 90s of the same century in its original place.

Another interesting historical fact from the history of the city: Peter the Great visited here three times. According to one of the historical versions, Peter I himself composed the project for the Tsaritsyn fortress. The tsar gave the townspeople his cane and his cap, which are kept to this day in the regional museum of local lore.

As a result of the efforts of Catherine II in 1765, foreign colonists appeared in Tsaritsyn and Tsaritsyn district, who were granted a number of benefits. Thirty kilometers south of Tsaritsyn, at the mouth of the Sarpa River, Sarepta-on-Volga was founded by Herrnhuter Germans. In a short time, it turned into a rich colony, in which mustard production, manufacturing and other crafts were developed.

The construction of a railway line in the direction of Kalach-on-Don in 1862 and Gryazi in 1872 led to an economic boom and made Tsaritsyn a hub for transport links in areas near the Caspian and Black Seas, as well as the Caucasus and Central Russia.

By 1913, the district Tsaritsyn in terms of the number of inhabitants - 137 thousand, overtook many provincial cities. This was a period of explosive growth in the construction of residential, industrial, public and entertainment buildings, hospitals, schools, and hotels.

Stalingrad (1925-1961)

In the 30s of the 20th century, Stalingrad was one of the fastest growing cities in the country, with a population of about 480 thousand people. As a result of the implementation of the industrialization program of the USSR during the pre-war five-year plans, Stalingrad became a powerful industrial center of the country. In terms of total production volume, the city ranked second in the Volga region and fourth in the RSFSR. The city played a major role in the country's economy, and the prospects for its further development were also significant.

But everything was interrupted by the war. The Battle of Stalingrad was destined to become one of the most difficult pages in the history of the Great Patriotic War and one of the most significant. During the fighting, all areas of the city were completely destroyed, more than 90% of the entire housing stock was burned and destroyed. After the battle, the city looked like ruins, but despite everything, Stalingrad rose from the ruins.

After the end of the battle, at a meeting of the USSR Government, the question was raised about the inappropriateness of restoring the city. It was calculated that it was cheaper to build a new city than to try to rebuild a destroyed one. They proposed building Stalingrad 10 kilometers up the Volga, and making an open-air museum on the site of the former city. But Stalin ordered the restoration of the city at any cost. And already in March 1943, restoration work began in the city.

The architects sought to reflect the heroism of Stalingrad in the appearance of the buildings. Hence the monumentality and complexity of even ordinary residential buildings built in the fifties. The style, which flourished during the years of post-war construction, went down in history as Stalinist neoclassicism. The abundance and variety of architectural details and decorative elements creates a rich emotional background in perception.

On November 10, 1961, a Decree was adopted to rename the Stalingrad region to Volgograd and the city of Stalingrad to Volgograd. It’s interesting that the renaming options were different - Heroysk, Boygorodsk, Leningrad-on-Volga and even Khrushchevsk. In “Volgograd Pravda” dated November 15, 1961, an explanation is given for the new name: “The name of the city located near the mighty river and the name of the river near which the hero city stands must merge together.”

Volgograd today

Volgograd is a hero city with a rich historical past, and at the same time a developing industrial center of the region. It is an attractive tourist destination with unique historical monuments, nature, and architectural attractions. The population of the city is more than 1 million. The indigenous population is Russians; Armenians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Azerbaijanis and other national minorities also live here.

Eight administrative districts of the city stretch from north to south along the Volga: Traktorozavodsky, Krasnooktyabrsky, Central, Dzerzhinsky, Voroshilovsky, Sovetsky, Kirovsky, Krasnoarmeysky, the construction of which began in the form of worker settlements near industrial facilities.

The economy and industrial potential of the city plays an important role for the region and the country as a whole. The most developed industries are oil and metal refining, chemical and food industries, mechanical engineering and shipbuilding.

Volgograd is also a large educational center, with six universities and several specialized universities operating successfully. Students play a huge role in the development of the city. Every year, Volgograd students take part in various large-scale educational forums, for example, “Student Spring”, work as volunteers at socially significant events (including the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014), and form youth policy within the Youth Parliament.

Volgograd is a city in the southeast of the European part of Russia, the administrative center of the Volgograd region. Hero City, site of the Battle of Stalingrad. On July 12, 2009, the city celebrates the 420th anniversary of its founding.

In 1961, the hero city from Stalingrad was renamed Volgogra.

In 2005, by the Law of the Volgograd Region, Volgograd was granted the status of an urban district. City Day is celebrated annually on the second Sunday of September.

Modern Volgograd covers an area of 56.5 thousand hectares. This territory is divided into 8 administrative districts: Traktorozavodsky, Krasnooktyabrsky, Central, Dzerzhinsky, Voroshilovsky, Sovetsky, Kirovsky and Krasnoarmeysky and several workers’ villages. According to the 2002 All-Russian Census, the city's population is just over 1 million people.

The city is a major industrial center. There are more than 160 large and medium-sized industrial enterprises serving such industries as electric power, fuel industry, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical industries, mechanical engineering and metalworking, military-industrial complex, forestry, light and food industries.

The Volga-Don Shipping Canal passes through the city, making Volgograd a port of five seas.

The city has a developed infrastructure, which includes about 500 educational institutions, 102 medical institutions and 40 cultural organizations, etc.

The city has 11 stadiums, 250 halls, 260 facilities adapted for physical education and sports, 15 swimming pools, 114 sports grounds, football fields, and a football and athletics arena.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Volgograd (Stalingrad) is one of the most famous and significant cities bearing the title of Hero City. In the summer of 1941, fascist German troops launched a massive offensive on the southern front, trying to capture the Caucasus, Crimea, the Don region, the lower Volga and Kuban - the richest and most fertile lands of the USSR. First of all, the city of Stalingrad came under attack, the attack on which was entrusted to the 6th Army under the command of Colonel General Paulus.

On July 12, the Soviet command created the Stalingrad Front, the main task of which was to stop the invasion of German invaders in the southern direction. And as part of this task, on July 17, 1942, one of the greatest and largest battles in the history of World War II began - the Battle of Stalingrad. Despite the Nazis' desire to capture the city as quickly as possible, it continued for 200 long, bloody days and nights, thanks to the incredible efforts of the heroes of the army, navy and ordinary residents of the region.

The sculptures “Fight to the death” (in the foreground) and “The Motherland is Calling!” monument-ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamayev Kurgan (1960-1967).

Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 The city of Stalingrad after liberation from the Nazi invaders on February 2, 1943.

The offensive operation continued for 75 days and, finally, the enemy at Stalingrad was surrounded and completely defeated. January 1943 brought complete victory on this sector of the front. The fascist invaders were surrounded, and General Paulus and his entire army surrendered. During the entire Battle of Stalingrad, the German army lost more than 1.5 million people.

Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 Soviet soldiers fight on the territory of the Stalingrad Red October plant in the Open-hearth workshop No. 1. December 1942.

Inscriptions on the wall of Pavlov’s house in Stalingrad (now Volgograd): “Mother Motherland! Here Rodimtsev’s guardsmen heroically fought the enemy: Ilya Voronov, Pavel Demchenko, Alexey Anikin, Pavel Dovisenko” and “This house was defended by Guard Sergeant Yakov Fedotovich Pavlov!” 1943 Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

The square near the central department store in Stalingrad after the defeat of the Nazis. 1943 Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.