Экскурсия юных гидов-переводчиков по Мамаеву Кургану

The Hill of Honour

1) Good afternoon, dear guests. My name is Vitaly and this is my assistant Andrey. Today we are going to be your guides. We are about to see the main attractions of Mamayev Kurgan. But first of all, let me tell you a few words about this place in general.

Due to its convenient location in the centre of the city, Mamayev Kurgan held the key position in the defence of Stalingrad. Mamayev Kurgan Memorial complex "To the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" was constructed between 1959 and 1967. The head architect was Yevgeny Vuchetich. In 2014 the memorial complex became a candidate to get included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This hill is the highest place in Volgograd (102 meters) and I would say the most famous one. Mamayev Kurgan has many gorgeous monuments, devoted to the period of the Battle of Stalingrad, which became a turning point in the World War II. But most people from all around the globe know it for the major monument, which is The Motherland Calls.

2) We are near the first part of the memorial complex, which is called "Memory of Generations". It is a half-ruined wall. A funeral procession goes towards Mamayev Kurgan to pay tribute to those who died. The first man is leading the girl and points his hand forward, showing the path to others.

Now I ask you to move to the ladder.

3) Now we're standing at the very start of Mamayev Kurgan. We can't see much from here, but if we go up this ladder, the writing on which says, "To our Soviet Motherland! The USSR!", we'll see a really breathtaking view.

Now would you be so kind to follow me?

4) We are at the very beginning of Avenue of Lombardy Poplars, which is the second part of the complex. It is 223 meters long and 10 meters wide. These tall trees were first planted in 1965 in memory of people, who didn't return home from the war. As we continue walking forward, we will see a bridge, connecting the alley with the next part of Mamayev Kurgan, which is the "Fight to the bitter!" sculpture.

And now I ask you to go forward to the next sculpture.

5) This sculpture is called "Fight to the bitter!". The man is holding the machine gun and the grenade. This man symbolizes a Russian soldier, as if growing from the pool - the Volga. The architect had been looking for a face of this sculpture for quite a long time until he came across the portrait of Marshal Zhukov, whose face had everything he wanted to show, so Marshal Zhukov became a prototype of a Soviet soldier. At the bottom part we can see the writings 'There is no land for us behind The Volga', 'Fight to the death', "Not a step back!', 'Won't disgrace the sacred memory', 'Every house is a fortress'. These are the words, which kept Russian soldiers fighting against the fascists.

Now would you please follow us to our next stop.

6) These are called Symbolic Walls. The sculptures show us the ruins of Stalingrad after long term bombings, shooting attacks and endless fights. On the walls you can see the soldiers, tanks and weapons. You can also see some writings here, saying the words, which were supposed to make the soldiers hold on and fight until the end. The man, standing above the others, is the famous sniper Vasily Zaytsev. The right wall shows us the atmosphere of the battles in the Stalingrad suburbs. There are many writings on this wall, which were taken from the real ruins of Stalingrad and the military documents. Also, as you can hear, the walls have some speakers integrated in them, which play the songs about the war, news from the front line, read by Levitan, shooting and noise from the planes.

Now would you be so kind to go up this ladder to our next stop?

7) We're on the Square of Heroes. In the middle of the square we can see a huge pool, filled with water. It symbolizes endless life, victory over the forces of evilness and destroying. On the left side of the pool we can see the huge granite wall, the writing on which says, "With an iron wind blowing in their faces, they were still marching forward, and fear seized the enemy: were they people who were attacking? Were they mortal at all?!" On the opposite side there are 6 monuments as if answering the question: "The all of us were mortals." The first of the groups is inscribed: "We've stood out and defeated death!" Here we can see the heavily injured soldier. The second one is dedicated to nurses, and we can see the nurse, caring the dying soldier in her own hands. The third group is devoted to sea soldiers. The fourth of the groups commemorates the commanders of the Battle of Stalingrad. The fifth tells the story of saving the banner. The last one represents the victory at Stalingrad and the end of the great battle.

Now I ask you to walk forward a bit, please.

8) This wall is covered with the tables, the writings on them are the reports about the actions of our army in the Battle of Stalingrad. The first table has the Stalin's words of thanks to the soldiers of the Don front. Also there are some capsules inside this wall. They were put here on May 9, 1970. These capsules contain the letters from the veterans to the future generations. The capsules will be opened on May 9, 2045.

Now would you mind coming a bit further?

9) This is the entrance in the Military Honour Hall. Here we can see a relief exhibiting main episodes of the great battle. The writing right above the entrance says, "We will always remember the greatest fight in the history of wars." We will see the Hall of Fame inside, but first let me tell you a few words about it here.

The building of the hall was supposed to become a part of Volgograd State Panoramic Museum "The Battle of Stalingrad", but this idea was rejected and the building became the Military Honour Hall. In the middle of the hall there is a marble hand with a lit torch - the Eternal Flame. On the walls there are 34 plates with the names of soldiers, who didn't return alive from the Battle of Stalingrad. There are about 7500 names and surnames in general. Inside the hall you can hear the musical composition 'Daydream' by Robert Shumann. At the flame and the exit there are the soldiers of the 46th Rifle Company of the Guard of Honour of the Volgograd garrison, one of the elite companies in the Southern Federal District. The Guard of Honour was created in January 1968. The soldiers stand there from 9am to 7 or 8pm, it depends on the season. The shifts change every hour.

Now I invite you to come inside this hall and walk through it.

10) This is the Square of Sorrow, the 8th part of the memorial complex and the most dramatic one. Here we can see the sculpture "Mother's sorrow", which shows the woman holding her dead son in her hands. This monument shows the pain of all mothers and wives, who lost their sons and husbands during the war. This small pool is called The Lake of Tears, it symbolizes the sorrow of the whole country, which lost more than 20 million people in that terrible war. Also on this square we can see the Unknown Soldier's grave and the grave of Marshal Chuycov, who died in 1982 and was buried on Mamayev Kurgan.

Now let's move on and go to the next stop.

11) From here we can see many plates with the names of soldiers. There are 37 of them. These are the graves of the heroes of the USSR. Some of the plates are the real places of burials, and some of them were installed to honour the heroes, although their bodies are not here. Generally, Mamayev Kurgan has 34509 soldiers buried in its land. Some of them were buried when the complex was being constructed, but some were buried and reburied after.

Now I think we're ready to head to the main sculpture of the complex.

12) This is The Motherland Calls. It is one of the tallest monuments in the world. It was designed by Vuchetic and constructed by Nikitin. The woman is taking a step forward with the sword in her raised hand. The woman symbolizes the homeland. She calls her sons to go and fight against the enemy. The construction of the monument started in May 1959 and finished on October 15 1967. At that time it was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest statue in the world, and it is still the tallest non-religious statue. The monument is 85 meters tall without the plinth, which adds 2 more meters, and weights more than 8000 tons. The woman without the sword is 52 meters tall, the sword itself is 33 meters long and weighs 14 tons, the arm's length is 20 meters. The Motherland Calls was renovated two times - in 1972 and 1986. Firstly, the sword swayed a lot as the wind blew, so in 1972 it was replaced with the new one, and this problem was solved. The sculpture is hollow and has many rooms inside. The interesting fact is that this place was not the highest one on Mamayev Kurgan. It is a manmade hill, which was poured for the monument.

Now it's time to go to our next stop.

13) We're standing at the entrance of the Church of all the Saints. It was built in 2005 as a monument to the people fallen in the Battle of Stalingrad. The church has 5 domes, the highest of them is 33 meters tall without the cross and 38 meters tall with the cross.

Now would you please follow us to our final stop?

14) This is Tank Turret on the plinth, which defines the place of the most violent fights during the Battle of Stalingrad. In general there are 17 T-34 Turrets on plinths in Volgograd. They all stand on the front line of November 19, 1942, when the fascists were maximally close to the Volga.

To Sum it up, I'd like to say some more about this outstanding place. Mamayev Kurgan entered a bright page of the history of the Battle of Stalingrad lasted from July 17th, 1942 to February 2nd, 1943. Being the highest place, it was occupied multiple times by the conflicting sides, and became the key place of the Battle.

Mamayev Kurgan Memorial complex "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" represents a unique composition, a harmonious work of art, a symbol of World War II made of stone. Each sculptural group of the Ensemble is thoroughly planned and has a constructed ideological and artistic concept, all together telling a vivid story about the glory of the victorious nation. The complex is the source of patriotism and pride for generations of Russian people visiting this place in order to cherish the memory of the victims who struggled for freedom and independence of their country.

Now we've finally finished our route. I really hope that this excursion was interesting and enjoyable for you as it was for us. Now if you have any questions, I'll try my best to give you the answers. Thank you very much!