Volgograd is one of the major Russian cities along the Volga River. Its history began in 1589 with the construction of a fort at the place where the Tsaritsa River entered the Volga. A trading post called Tsaritsyn, which was also the name of the fort, quickly developed around the fort. At the beginning of the 17th century, the fort’s garrison was around 400 men, and during this time the first stone church was built as one of several buildings. The years passed, and well over a hundred years later, Tsaritsyn had 408 inhabitants when there was a census in 1720. It took until the latter part of the 19th century before the town’s growth boomed. It happened when Tsaritsyn became the commercial center of the region as an important river port. At the beginning of the 1800s, less than 2,000 people lived in the city, and by 1900 that number had risen to 84,000.

In 1862, railways were opened to Tsaritsyn, which i.a. also got theatres, cinemas and trams in the decades around the year 1900. The population increased continuously despite several cholera epidemics between 1907 and 1910. The following decades were marked by first the Battle of Tsaritsyn, where the Red Army fought the White Army in the years 1918- 1920, and then the time as a major city in the Soviet Union. In 1925, Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad to mark Stalin’s importance to the Red Army’s victory against the Whites. Tragedy struck Stalingrad during World War II, where the city became the center of some of the bloodiest battles of the war. The Battle of Stalingrad lasted from August 1942 to February 1943, when the city was liberated from German occupation. The fighting claimed far more than a million victims, and Stalingrad lay in ruins after the war. In 1945, Stalingrad became a Soviet hero city for its defense against Germany, and colossal reconstruction work began. In 1961, Stalingrad changed its name to the current Volgograd.

Today you can go for some nice walks in Volgograd and see some of the city’s well-known sights. Prospekt Lenina/Проспект Ленина is the name of the central street that runs parallel to the Volga through the entire city center. You can start a stroll on the large complex that, around Ploshad Pavshikh Bortsov/Площадь Павших Борцов, connects the city and the River Volga. In the middle of the square, there is a large green complex with an obelisk and an eternal flame in memory of the many fallen soldiers that are buried in the area. The monument commemorates both the defenders of the Red Tsaritsyn during the Russian Civil War and the soldiers who fell during the Second World War German invasion of the Soviet Union in the battles for Stalingrad.

In front of the obelisk you can also see the 0-kilometer-stone for distances in the Volgograd region. On the opposite side of Prospekt Lenina stands the cathedral Sobor Aleksandra Nevskogo/Собор Александра Невского, named after the Russian national hero Alexander Nevsky. The church is a reconstruction of the former cathedral, built 1901-1916 and demolished in 1932. The historic cathedral was not located on this site, where Dom Sovetov was planned in the 1930s Soviet Union. The cathedral was rebuilt on its current site from 2016 to 2021, with a surrounding park and rich decoration. Volgograd Railway Station in Stalinist architecture is a bit behind the cathedral.

If you instead go in the direction of the Volga from the obelisk, you walk along a wide avenue, which is called the Heroes’ Avenue/Аллея героев for a part of it. The avenue is framed by residential buildings in the Stalinist style, and along the Heroes’ Avenue stands a series of steles for the Heroes of the Soviet Union, on which the names of 127 heroes from Stalingrad are inscribed. The memorial was opened in 1985 on the 40th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany. From the avenue you come to a beautiful fountain and a square with a panoramic view of the Volga. From the same place starts a monumental staircase that leads to the river bank. Here you can go for a walk, and to the south you can see a concert hall along the river, and in this area you can also visit the historical museum Rossija – Maya Istoriya/ Россия – Моя история.

If you choose to go north from the central square and the stairs to the Volga, you can visit several other museums such as the art museum Volgogradskij muzej izobrazitelnykh iskusstv/Волгоградский музей изобразительных искусств. A little further on, you arrive at Ploshad Lenina/Площадь Ленина, which pays tribute to the Soviet leader with a statue of Vladimir Lenin. From here you can continue in the direction of the Volga, where you will come to some of the memorials from the battles in Stalingrad during the Second World War.

In one ensemble are Pavlov’s House/дом Павлова, Gerhardt’s Mill/Мелница Гергардта and the Battle of Stalingrad Panorama Museum/Музей-панорама Сталинградская битва. Pavlov’s House was an apartment block that was developed into a fortified position where the Red Army defended itself from 27 September to 25 November 1942. The house was named after Jakov Pavlov, who was the commander of the unit that resisted the German siege from the house . Pavlov’s House was rebuilt after the battle and is used today as an apartment building. A memorial built of bricks assembled on the east side of the house facing the Volga was added after the end of the fighting. Jakov Pavlov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his heroic efforts.

Gerhardt’s Mill is a building that stands as a ruin after the Battle of Stalingrad, and thus the house is a monument to the Soviet defense of the city. The building, which does not have the character of a mill, formed a front line during World War II battles in the city, and the Red Army resisted the pressure of German troops led by Friedrich Paulus, who never captured the mill or got past it. At the mill you can visit the Battle of Stalingrad Panorama Museum, which started as a museum for the defense of Tsaritsyn. The museum exhibits a lot of military equipment outdoors, and probably the most well-known part of the museum is the large panorama from 1982, which shows the defeat of the German Nazi troops at Stalingrad.

Volgograd’s landmark and best-known monument is located on the northern edge of the city center. It is about the colossal monument on the hill called Mamajev Kurgan/Мамаев курган. The area is laid out as a memorial complex for the Battle of Stalingrad, which was one of the bloodiest in history. The Red Army fought hard for the Mamayev Kurgan itself, which gave the Germans access to bomb Stalingrad during the periods that had captured the fortified area. After the war, the memorial complex was established, and Marshal Vasily Chuikov is buried here together with over 34,000 soldiers. From the area along the Volga, one goes to the central monument of the monument along an avenue of poplars. The avenue ends at a staircase leading to the Standing to Death statue/Стоявших насмерть.

From the statue you go up several stairs to the Heroes’ Square/Площадь героев. Along the sides of the stairs, ruins have been built as a symbol of the destruction of Stalingrad. The Heroes’ Square is commemorated with a basin, an inscription and statues of the many who helped the Red Army to victory over Germany. After this, you come to the circular Hall of Military Honor/Зал Воинской славы, where the eternal flame burns, and around it 7,200 names of fallen soldiers are written. Then you can go to the top of Mamajev Kurgan, where the colossal statue Motherland Calls!/Родина-мать зовёт! stands. The statue is 85 meters in height from the ground to the top of the 27 meter long sword. The monument and memorial complex were built 1959-1967, and the Motherland Calls! can be seen from large parts of the city.