Square of the Fallen Fighters

Before the Revolution

Until the mid-19th century, the site on which the modern square of the Fallen Fighters and the Heroes Alley are located was occupied by a ravine stretching from the Tsaritsa River, but later covered with improvised materials. The first significant building on the square was a wooden fire tower , built around 1854 at the entrance to the modern Medical University ^[4] . The area, which at that time was called the City Square, served as a place for bazaar trade; later on, merchant shops, taverns, and houses of wealthy tsaritsans also began to appear on it ^[5] .

On April 4, 1882, the stone chapel of Alexander Nevsky was consecrated, erected on City Square in memory of Emperor Alexander II , who died a year earlier , and on October 22, 1888, the Tsaritsyn City Council decided to build the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in order to perpetuate the miraculous salvation of the Emperor Alexander III and his family, survivors of the train crash ^[6] . Since that time, City Square began to be called Alexandrovskaya ^[7] . The first stone was laid on April 22, 1901, the cathedral was consecrated on May 19, 1918 ^[6] .

On May 1, 1906, an incident occurred on Aleksandrovskaya Square that claimed the lives of several citizens. Shortly before the event, rumors circulated about a planned general strike; May 1, workers of several large factories did not immediately go to work. Towards evening, not far from the square with songs, a detachment of mobilized militias passed by the police chief for the crowd of demonstrators marched to the assembly point. A detachment of Cossacks sent to the place began to disperse people with whips . By the time it became known that the detachment consisted of militias, a crowd of several thousand people had already gathered, from which they started shooting and throwing stones at the police. In response, the police opened fire on the crowd, as a result of which 8 people were seriously injured, for four they were fatal ^{[8] [5]} .

In 1909, the city was marked by the centenary of N.V. Gogol , during which voluntary donations for the installation of the monument were collected. In the summer of 1910, the first monument in the city was erected in the square in front of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in honor of the writer. In addition, in honor of Gogol, Elizavetinskaya Street and the square in which the monument was placed ^{[9] [10]} were renamed.

On June 2, 1913, the House of Science and Arts (now the building of the New Experimental Theater ) was laid in the northwestern part of the square. On December 20, 1915, its grand opening took place, later on the building housed music classes, a library, a museum of local lore, performances were given and lectures were held ^[11] .

In the summer of 1919, during the battles for Tsaritsyn during the Civil War , the troops of P.N. Wrangel managed to take over the city. On February 8, 1920, when the Red Army again managed to occupy Tsaritsyn, the funeral of 55 dead revolutionaries took place on the square, later an obelisk monument was erected over the mass grave with the words: “The proletariat of the Red Tsaritsyn freedom fighters”. From that day, the square began to be called the square of the Fallen Fighters of the Revolution ^{[12] [13]} .

Between Wars

On May 1, 1925, a monument to Lenin by the Leningrad sculptor V.V. Kozlov was unveiled on the square. It was located at the entrance to the kindergarten near the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, close to the current location of the medical university. The monument was executed in a constructivist manner and was a bronze sculpture of Lenin in a casual suit and with his right hand raised high, standing on a huge carved bolt placed on a high concrete pedestal ^[14] .

The beginning of the active formation of a new architectural ensemble of the Square of the Fallen Fighters dates back to 1928, when the design was completed and construction began on the first new building - the five-story building of the City Communal Department (Gorko). The construction was completed in 1930, later it was called the “Second House of Soviets”, but gained fame as the House of Pilots after the addition of the school of pilots to it in 1931, which was the beginning of the application of the architectural style new to the center of Stalingrad - constructivism ^[15] .

In 1932, the administrative center of the Lower Volga region was moved from Saratov to Stalingrad, which gave the construction a new impetus due to the need to place the institutions transferred from Saratov and resettle their employees. The Commune’s house was built on the fourth floor (the former Hotel Stalingradskaya, formerly Capital Rooms). In the same year, a four-story dormitory of the regional executive committee was built on the central axis of the Square of Fallen Fighters (in place of the current stands) ^[16] .

March 21, 1932 the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was blown up. The adjacent Gogolevsky garden was expanded and reconstructed, flowerbeds were planted, trees planted, benches installed ^[17] . In 1933, from the old place on the axis of Moskovskaya Street, an obelisk monument to the defenders of the red Tsaritsyn was transferred to the garden ^[18] .

In 1934, according to the project of P. Kalinichenko and I. Ivaschenko, the Red Army house (the former Yablokov house) was built on two floors, and in 1935 the largest hotel in the city of Bolshaya Stalingradskaya was built with 230 rooms (Maslov, F. Dyuzhenko, V. Kochedamov ), as well as the Intourist Hotel and the administrative-residential building of Oblmestprom (Legprom) according to the designs of V. Kochedamov and I. Ivaschenko. These buildings were also designed in a constructive style, with strict lines of facades and large areas of glazing ^[19] .

In 1936, the reconstruction of the Main Post Office building (before the revolution belonged to the merchant A. A. Repnikov ) was completed according to the project of V. Stepanov, after which the offices of the People's Commissariat of Food and Food Industry were located in it, and later the model stores "Meat", "Fish" and "were equipped Tobacco". A year later, at the intersection of Lomonosovskaya and Pervomaiskaya streets, the building of the Regional Executive Committee was commissioned by the architect I. Ivaschenko, also built in the constructivist style and balancing the north-western side of the Square of the Fallen Fighters ^[20] .

The formation of the pre-war ensemble of the Square of the Fallen Fighters was completed in 1938, when the Central Department Store was erected according to the project of M. Tsubikova, I. Ivashchenko and A. Chekulaev ^[21] .

In general, the pre-war ensemble of the square was quite diverse in architectural terms: on the one hand, the brick-style building was preserved, on the other hand, buildings appeared in the constructivist style. In addition, the architectural ensemble was supplemented by reconstructed buildings built on the former merchant mansions. In total, during this period 8 new buildings were built and 4 old buildings of the Tsaritsyno period were reconstructed ^[22] .

Battle of Stalingrad

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the square became the scene of fierce battles.

By January 1943, the Germans had turned the square into the main stronghold of the southern Paulus forces. The buildings and streets adjacent to it: Krasnoznamenskaya, Surskaya, Lomonosovskaya were seriously fortified, and when the headquarters of the 6th Army was located in the basement of the department store , the command of the encircled troops further strengthened the defending garrisons.

On January 30, 1943, units of the 38th motorized rifle brigade, under the command of Colonel I.D. Burmakov, overcame fire resistance of German troops on the streets adjacent to the square, and by morning on January 31 they went out onto the Square of Fallen Fighters and took possession of the buildings of the Gorky Drama Theater and the VKP Regional Committee ( ) By this time, under the blows of the troops of the 62nd Army, German resistance knots fell in the city ​​garden and railway station . Despite their surroundings, the Germans continued to resist. Then, the building of the department store, where the headquarters of Paulus, was opened fire from guns and mortars. Simultaneously with the shelling, Soviet fighters managed to get closer and block the building, forcing Paulus to negotiate.

Officers of the 38th brigade F.M. Ilyichenko, N.F. Gritsenko and A.I. Mezhirko were the first to go to the headquarters of the 6th army and held preliminary negotiations on the surrender of the southern grouping of German troops, and by nine o’clock in the morning the chief of staff 64 Army I.A. Laskin , commander of the 38th motorized rifle brigade I.D. Burmakov and several other officers who completed the negotiations ^[23] .

On February 4, a solemn meeting was held on the Square of the Fallen Fighters, dedicated to the defeat of the Nazi troops near Stalingrad. During his speech, the secretary of the regional party committee and the chairman of the city defense committee A. S. Chuyanov , pointing to the ruins of the city, said: “In battles with the hated enemy - the Nazi invaders - our city has been turned into piles of ruins. Today we swear to our Motherland, the party and the government that we will revive our beloved city! ” ^{[24] [25]} .

After the war

After the war, a wide front was the design and construction of facilities that make up the city center. Particular attention was paid to the area of ​​the Fallen Fighters, the development of the project of which was carried out since 1945. Initially, the construction of the monumental house of the Soviets was planned on the site occupied by the modern buildings of the Medical University and the Volgograd Hotel, however, two all-Union competitions for its best project did not bring satisfactory results, and it was decided to move the place of construction of the House of Soviets to the north of the square, where at present stands are located ^{[26] [27]} , and in connection with the design of a number of objects - a regional party school , a communal hotel (now the Volgograd Hotel), the Intourist Hotel appeared on the symmetrical composition of the square and on the nature of the architecture of the buildings that formed it ^[28] .

The first in the post-war ensemble of the Square of Fallen Fighters was the party school building built in 1951, which determined the nature and scale of the architecture of the entire ensemble. Then, in 1956, the Volgograd Hotel was built, and a year later, the Intourist Hotel and the Gidrostroy administrative building. At the same time, the obelisk of the mass grave and the square were reconstructed, thus the ensemble of the square was completed ^[28] .

In general, as a result of the post-war reconstruction, the layout of the Square of Fallen Fighters basically retained its shape, but was somewhat expanded towards the railway station when the ruins of buildings located in the northern part of the square, in place of the current stands, were demolished. Glapochtamt was built on the site of the destroyed Hotel Bolshaya Stalingradskaya, and the buildings on the south side of the square were demolished, giving way to the Heroes Alley . In addition, the architectural appearance of the building itself changed: almost all the buildings were designed different from their predecessors, with the exception of the restored building of the Central Department Store and, to a lesser extent, the House of the Commune, on the foundations of which the Volgograd Hotel was built ^[29] .

In 1964, the facade of the Central Department Store overlooking the square was reconstructed ^[30] .

In 1999, at the intersection with Mira Street , a zero kilometer sign was set for the roads of the Volgograd Region. The sign is made of granite, located directly in the pavement, and is a compass pointer to the four cardinal points ^[31] .

In February 2016, the construction of a copy of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which was blown up in 1932, began in the tributary part of the square, on the site of the House of Soviets planned in Soviet times ^[32] .

Currently, various events are regularly held on the Square of Fallen Fighters: on the New Year's holidays the main Christmas tree of the city is established and attractions are held, parades are held on February 2 and May 9, concerts, rallies, and demonstrations are also held from time to time ^[33] .

Main Post Office (9 Mira Street)

  monument of architecture (regional) ^[3]

The post office building is five-story, made of brick, in the plan has an L-shaped shape: the northeast facade closes the area of ​​the Fallen Fighters, and the southeast facade goes to Mira Street , both main facades are lined with silicate tiles ^[34] . The building is original in its architectural solution, since it combines the features of both Gothic and classical architecture ^[35] .

The façade overlooking the square is solved symmetrically, the axis of symmetry is fixed by the entrance portal and a high parapet on the roof, decorated with the state emblem of the USSR . Facade plastic is built on metric repetition through every two windows of profiled pilasters of complex outline ^[34] . The large details of the three entrances and the portal solution of the windows of the first floor give the building monumentality ^[35] . The corners of the building at the roof level are fixed by symmetrically located cubic towers that simulate a clock. The initial project in these towers provided for the installation of a clock mechanism, but a clock mechanism was already mounted on the building of the railway station , which was being constructed nearby; in order to save money, it was decided to refuse hours at the main post office ^[36] .

The author of the project was the Stalin Prize laureate E.I. Levitan . The construction of the Communications House was begun in 1953, and on June 30, 1955, it was completed, and the state commission determined that the building is suitable for operation ^[34] .

Intourist Hotel (14 Mira Street)

  architectural monument (regional) ^[3]

The building of the Intourist Hotel is located on the corner of Mira Street and the Square of the Fallen Fighters, which determined the L-shaped form of the plan. The slanted corner of the building is solved in one axis. The architecture is in the neoclassical style of the mid-1950s. Elements of the classical order system and stucco decorations were widely used in the decoration: pilasters , a parapet with a balustrade on top of the crowning cornice , bandlets , stucco molding in the form of acanthus leaves . The facades are divided into two tiers, the lower one is rusticated . Two equivalent entrances are provided in the building - from the Square of the Fallen Fighters and from Peace Street . Both inputs are designed as separate portals ^[37] .

The hotel project was developed by the Staligradproekt Institute, the author is the architect B. G. Goldman. Construction began in May 1953 by the Stalingradstroy construction department. The building was put into operation on December 25, 1957, and the next day its grand opening took place ^[37] .

Department Store (2 Fallen Square)

  historical monument (federal)   architectural monument (regional) ^[3]

The building of the Volgograd Central Department Store was built in 1937 according to the project of architect M.P. Tsubikova. The 4-storey building, L-shaped in plan, occupied an important place in the development of the pre-war area of ​​the Fallen Fighters, creating the main landmark in the plan and silhouette of the center of Stalingrad. The rounded corner at the intersection of the Square of Fallen Fighters and Ostrovsky Street was the center of composition, the main entrance to the store, which existed until 1965, was also located there ^[30] .

On August 23, 1942, during the massive bombing of Stalingrad, the upper floor of the building was destroyed. In January 1943, in the basement of the department store was the headquarters of the commander of the 6th Army, Friedrich Paulus . In the same basement, on January 31, the field marshal was captured by the brigade of I. D. Burmakov ^{[38] [39]} .

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the building was significantly damaged, but in 1949 it was restored according to the project of the architect I.K. Beldovsky. The facade of the building, as well as the main planning decision, were restored to their original form, however, due to the construction of the Hydrostroy building and the Intourist hotel in 1957, which covered the facade of the Central Department Store, as well as the general post-war redevelopment of the square, the facade line of the department store began to “break out” from the general plan ^{[ 39]} . In 1964, in order to complete the development of the Square of the Fallen Fighters, according to the project of architects E.I. Levitan and B. G. Goldman, an extension was added to the building of the department store on the side of the square in the form of a five-story building made of glass and concrete, with a common cornice adjacent to the buildings of Intourist and Gidrostroy; from the side of Ostrovsky street, the facade of the department store is preserved in its original form ^[30] .

Gidrostroy Building (15 Lenin Avenue)

  architectural monument (regional) ^[3]

The administrative building of Gidrostroy was built in 1957 according to the project of architect E.I. Levitan ^[3] . Like other buildings framing the square in the center of the square on the north and south sides, the architecture of the building is solved as a crowning part two stories high with a rhythmic row of pilasters of the Corinthian order , raised to a three-story, rusticated wall ^[28] .

Since 1956, the premises on the ground floor have been occupied by the Volgograd Regional Puppet Theater ^[40] .

Square

The square, which occupies part of the area of ​​the Fallen Fighters, was formed on the site of the Tsaritsyno Gogolevsky Square, which was laid out in front of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral towards the railway station ^[41] . After the demolition of the cathedral, the square was expanded and planned in a new way ^[42] .

At present, part of the square is also solved in the form of a square, as if framing the mass graves of the fallen heroes Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad, located on the axis of the entire esplanade ^[1] . The square is divided according to the canons of park style with a wide main avenue with a flower garden in the middle and ends with an obelisk monument to participants of the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars. On the side diagonal paths of the square, places for recreation for residents and visitors of the city are organized ^[35] .

Zero kilometer of the Volgograd region

It is located on the Square of the Fallen Fighters, when leaving the square towards the stands, behind the Obelisk and the Eternal Flame. It is an eight-pointed metal star mounted in pavers, indicating the cardinal points, with the inscription "0" in the center and "Zero kilometer of roads of the Volgograd region" in a circle. Near the sign in the cobblestones in front of the star there is an inscription: “From here the roads of the Volgograd region begin. The sign was opened on September 12, 1998. "

Obelisk and Eternal Flame

  historical monument (federal)

Above the mass grave there is a granite obelisk, which commemorates at the same time the memory of the defenders of the Red Tsaritsyn who died in the Civil War and the memory of the Soviet soldiers who fell during the Battle of Stalingrad ^[43] .

The first obelisk on the mass grave of Tsaritsyn’s defenders was built of brick before the war, after the capture of Tsaritsyn by the Red Army ^{[41] [43]} . In 1933, after the demolition of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the monument, located on the axis of the former Moskovskaya Street, was moved to a new place, where it is located now ^[44]

At the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, over one hundred people were buried in the mass grave near the obelisk to the defenders of the Red Tsaritsyn - soldiers of the 62nd and 64th armies who died during the battle for the square ^[45] . The monument, combining the graves of those who died in two wars, acquired its present form in April 1957 as a result of reconstruction, designed by architect V.E. Shalashov. Currently, it is a reinforced concrete structure lined with red granite and consists of an obelisk 26 meters high and a tombstone granite platform, the slopes of which are lined with turf . On the trunk of the obelisk there are inscriptions “ Here are buried the heroic defenders of the Red Tsaritsyn, brutally tortured by the White Guard executioners in 1919 ” on the one hand, and “The proletariat of the Red Tsaritsyn - freedom fighters ” on the other. On a common with the obelisk granite base is a monument to the defenders of Stalingrad, which is a bronze laurel wreath. Also on the granite slab is another text: “ Here soldiers and officers of the 62nd and 64th armies are buried - the heroic defenders of the city who died the brave in the days of the Great Battle of Stalingrad 1942-43. Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in the battles for freedom and independence of our Motherland ” ^[5] .

On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, on February 1, 1963, the Eternal Flame was solemnly opened on the mass grave: Hero of Socialist Labor I.P. Strizhenok lit a torch from the spark of the generator of the Volga Hydroelectric Power Station , which was delivered by athletes to the square in the form of a relay The heroes of Socialist labor, the steelmaker A.F. Serkov and the builder V. Rudnitsky, lit the Eternal Flame from this torch ^[13] .

Since 1965, Post No. 1 has been operating in front of the Eternal Flame, on which Volgograd schoolchildren are on guard of honor ^[46] .

In 2014, the obelisk and the foundation of the Eternal Flame site were restored ^[47] .

Grave of Three Heroes

  historical monument (federal)

On the south side of the square is the mass grave of the defenders of Stalingrad, which is crowned by a vertical stela of red and black granite with a bronze bas-relief depicting a kneeling warrior kissing a banner and taking an oath to avenge the death of comrades. The authors of the monument are the Leningrad sculptor I. I. Petin and the Volgograd architect E. I. Levitan ^[12] .

A memorial inscription is engraved below the bas-relief: “ Here the glorious son of the Spanish people, Hero of the Soviet Union, commander of a machine-gun company of the guard Captain Ibarruri, Ruben Ruiz , Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot-major Maj. V. Kamenshchik and those who died in battle with the Nazi invaders during the defense of Stalingrad are buried artilleryman captain Kh. Fattyakhutdinov posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin ” ^[48] .

Poplar

Next to the mass grave in the park is the famous poplar, which, according to the official version, survived the Battle of Stalingrad. In 1975, a granite memorial plaque was erected near the surviving poplar, on which was carved: “ This poplar carried life through the great battle ” ^[49] .

Chapel of Alexander Nevsky

A brick octagonal chapel in a pseudo-Russian style , completed with a low tent with a chapel. It was built in 1882 in memory of Emperor Alexander II with money donated by citizens and the city. Since 1883, the chapel was in charge of the clergy of the Assumption Cathedral . Demolished in the 1920s. It was again built in 2005 in its original forms somewhat away from its former place, at the site of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral destroyed in 1932 ^{[50] [6]} .

Medical University (Square of Fallen Fighters, 1)

  historical monument (federal)   architectural monument (regional) ^[3]

Before the revolution, a wooden fire tower and the house of the merchants Kazeevs were located on the site of the modern building of the medical university. In the early 1930s, the entire southern side of the square underwent large-scale reconstruction, as a result of which the buildings of the fire department and the Kazeev houses were demolished, and the Pilot House was built in their place ^[4] .

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the Pilot House was almost completely destroyed. In the mid-40s, in its place (as well as on the site of the former “Capital Rooms” standing nearby), it was planned to build a huge building of the Stalingrad House of Soviets , in connection with which the question of the possibility of restoring the Pilot House was not considered. Despite the competitions of architectural projects, none of them was implemented and the planned place for the House of Soviets was moved to the western part of the square, and the building of the Higher Party School was later built in 1951, later transferred to the Medical Institute ^[4] .

Becoming the first building erected on the square after the war, the building of the Higher Party School determined the tone for the development of the entire central part of the city in the spirit of the Italian palazzo ^[51] . The building has a calm expressive character, the architectural theme of the facade is based on two-part articulation: the lower two floors are a deeply rusted wall with wide arched windows, the upper three floors are a smooth wall with small-sized and simple-shaped rectangular windows alternating with metro-rhythmic pilasters of the Corinthian order , on the capitals of which are open books ^[35] . A feature of the building are arched openings and cornices of large extension. The top of the building is crowned with a parapet with a balustrade . The main entrance from the square is made in the form of a semicircular arcade ^[52] , over which there are bas-reliefs with portraits of communist figures ^[53] . For the development of the building project, architects E. I. Levitan and V. N. Simbirtsev in 1951 were awarded the Stalin Prize ^[52] .

At the main entrance to the university building there is also a five-copeck monument dedicated to the student omen that the five-copeck heel helps pass the exam “excellent” ^[54] , as well as a memorial sign in honor of the doctors Tsaritsyn-Stalingrad-Volgograd, made in the form a two-meter granite stele in the form of the Latin letter "V", resembling a split heart, inside which is located the " tree of life ", symbolizing the good hands of a doctor ^[55] .

Volgograd Hotel (12 Mira Street)

  architectural monument (federal)   monument of architecture (regional) ^[3]   historical monument (regional) ^[3]

In 1890, Vasily Voronin, one of the largest merchants of Tsaritsyn, opened the Capital Rooms Hotel on Alexander Square. In addition to the hotel, the building housed shops, a restaurant, and an assembly hall; literary evenings, concerts, various social events, meetings were held in it, the theater worked, and since 1895 the Tsaritsyno Exchange also met ^[56] . With the outbreak of World War I, the building of the best, at that time, hotel in the city was transferred to the infirmary for wounded soldiers ^[57] .

In the aftermath of the revolution, the Extraordinary Regional Committee on Food and Supply of the South of Russia under the People's Commissariat of the RSFSR was located in the building of the Metropolitan Rooms, which was in charge of procurement in the south of Russia. In addition, the editors of the newspaper “Soldier of the Revolution” were located in the building. In June 1918, I.V. Stalin and G.K. Ordzhonikidze lived and worked in the building ^[58] .

In the mid-30s, due to the lack of residential and office space in the city, the building was built on the fourth floor and was called the “House of the Commune” or “The First House of Soviets” ^[56] .

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the hotel building was damaged, like all the houses surrounding it, but the damage did not lead to the collapse of the walls. However, despite the possibility of restoration, it was decided to demolish the construction of the monumental House of Soviets, planned on the site of the quarter currently occupied by the hotel and medical university, and by the time this plan was abandoned, the building was basically dismantled ^{[56 ]} .

In 1956, the construction of the new building of the Stalingrad Hotel was completed according to the project of the architect A. V. Kurovsky ^[57] . During construction, the foundation of the “Capital Rooms” was used, which determined the exact coincidence of its location with the place of the old building ^[56] . The architectural theme of the facade is based on two-parting: the lower two floors are a deeply rusted wall, and the upper three are a wall with rhythmically arranged rectangular windows and richly decorated pilasters . The corners of the building are cut off. The main entrance is located on the side of Mira Street and represents a columned entrance with five semicircular arches two stories high. The basement and entrance to the building are finished with granite. The top of the building is crowned with a large eaves and a parapet with a balustrade ^[57] .

In 1961, together with the city it was renamed “Volgograd” ^[57] .

New Experimental Theater (5 Mira Street)

  architectural monument (federal)   monument of architecture (regional) ^[3]   historical monument (regional) ^[3]

The building of the New Experimental Theater was erected in 1915 at the initiative and at the expense of Tsaritsyn's philanthropist Alexander Repnikov as the House of Science and Arts, where lectures were held, there were music classes, a library, a museum of local lore, amateur and professional performances were given. The facade of the building overlooking Alexander Square was a portal with a stucco image of a laurel wreath supported by four massive columns; a high granite staircase led to the main entrance, and large white sculptures of lions stood below. On the sides of the facade were placed bas-relief images on the theme of science and art ^[59] .

After the revolution, the Tsaritsyno City Council of workers, soldiers, peasants and Cossack deputies worked in the building; Since 1918 the theater has been located in the building. During the Battle of Stalingrad, the building received significant damage, but was found to be restored. The reconstruction was completed in 1952 according to the project of the architect Kurenny with preservation of many details of the original building. At the same time, the exterior of the building underwent major changes: a colonnade appeared in front of the main entrance, which is crowned with sculptures of three muses and the central entrance was significantly expanded. Inside the colonnade, the original facade has been preserved ^[60] .

Monument to Alexander Nevsky

On February 24, 2007, a monument to Alexander Nevsky , the heavenly patron of Volgograd, who was widely revered in the pre-revolutionary Tsaritsyn, was unveiled on the square. In addition, until 1932, the largest temple in the Lower Volga region dedicated to this saint existed on the square ^[61] . According to the idea, the monument should be moved to the building of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral after its restoration in the tributary part of the square, now at the same time circular traffic is organized around it ^[62] .

The monument is a prince in military vestments, walking with a combat banner in his right hand, on which the Holy Savior is depicted. The author of the monument is Volgograd sculptor, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Sergey Shcherbakov. The height of the sculpture is 3.2 meters, the granite pedestal is almost 4 meters ^[63] .

The part of the square

In Tsaritsyn and pre-war Stalingrad, on the site of the square, located in the tributary part of the area of ​​the Fallen Fighters, was a densely built-up quarter, number 34 ^[64] . Historically, approximately on the site of modern stands, there were a number of one-story wooden buildings. With the beginning of the intensive growth of the city, at the end of the 19th century, almost all of these buildings were demolished and new, capital two-story brick houses were built in their place, most of which existed until the end of the 1940s. By the time the Battle of Stalingrad began, facades were entering the square five buildings : the House of the Red Army, the dormitory of the Regional Executive Committee, the House of Military Commissariat, the residential building (the former pharmacy Zabelina) and the Regional Executive Committee ^{[29] [65]} .

After the war, the buildings that formed the 34th quarter were damaged, but despite the possibility of restoration, they were demolished, and in their place it was planned to build a monumental high-rise building of the House of Soviets , which would complete the composition of the square ^[64] . After numerous competitions, in 1952 L.V. Rudnev and V.O. Munts developed a project according to which the building was to be located exactly along the axis of the esplanade leading from the Volga. The project largely repeated the composition of Moscow skyscrapers and was practically the “twin” of the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw ^[66] . After the death of Stalin, the construction projects of Stalingrad began to be simplified and curtailed dramatically. A square was set up at the site of the planned construction, although construction of the House of Soviets in the tributary part of the square has not yet been refused: for example, in the 1970s, architects Y. Kossovich, V. Maslyaev , A. Leshukanov, A. Savchenko and G. Kovalenko developed a new project, however, and he was ultimately not implemented ^[64] . Until the beginning of the 60s, a monument to I. V. Stalin by the sculptor N. V. Tomsky and architect I. E. Fialko was located behind the stands, after demolishing the personality cult, it was demolished ^[33] .

From the beginning of the zero years, the idea arose of erecting a copy of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral , located earlier on Alexander Square, but blown up by the Soviet government in 1932 ^[67] . According to the initial project, in addition to the temple, it was also planned to build a shopping center, but as a result, these plans were abandoned ^{[64] [68]} . At the same time, some architects were criticized by the fact that the place chosen for construction was located almost three hundred meters from the historical one - the original was located approximately on the site of the current chapel next to Lenin Avenue. There are also fears that the cathedral in the Russian-Byzantine style will not fit into the existing ensemble of the square ^[69] .

In February 2016, the construction of the temple began ^[32] . The total height of the temple under construction along with the cross will be 62 meters, length - 51 meters, width - about 42 meters ^[32] . When erecting the walls, a specially made brick is used, which is close in size to the material used in the original temple. Completion is scheduled for 2021 ^[70] .

• One of Valentin Pikul ’s novels is called “Square of the Fallen Fighters”.
• The area of ​​the Fallen fighters and the silhouette of the unfinished House of Soviets are depicted in a panorama in the star hall of the Volgograd Planetarium ^[71] .
• One of the missions in the game Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad is dedicated to the battles for the square ^[72] .
• In some parts of the Call of Duty series of games, the Square of the Fallen Fighters appears under the name Red Square ^[73] .
• In the game Battlefield 1: In the Name of the Tsar on the Tsaritsyn map, battles are fought around the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral ^[74] .

Currently, Mira Street crosses the square, and Volodarsky and Gogol Streets adjoin; automobile traffic is carried out in all three.

There are no public transport stops on the square of the Fallen Fighters, however, in the southern part it is adjacent to Lenin Avenue - one of the central city highways that separates the square from the Heroes Alley . In the immediate vicinity of the square, the following municipal transport stops are located:

• Medical academy (towards Voroshilov district ):

• Buses No. 2, 35, 52e, 65, 88, 89e, 95;
• Trolleybuses No. 9, 10, 12, 15a.

• Central Market (towards the Krasnooktyabrsky District ):

• Buses No. 2, 6, 21, 35, 52e, 65, 95;
• Trolleybuses No. 9, 10, 12, 15a.

• Alley of Heroes (final, opposite the Medical University):

• Bus number 20.

The nearest metrotram stations are Pionerskaya and Komsomolskaya . In addition, four hundred meters from the square is located Volgograd I station, serving long-distance trains and commuter trains.

• Argastseva S. A., Gurenko L. V., Zhorova E. P. [et al.] Code of historical and architectural heritage of Tsaritsyn — Stalingrad — Volgograd (1589-2004). - Volga. : Publishing house "Panorama", 2004. - 240 p. - ISBN 5-9666-0003-1 .
• Kovaleva G.N. On the classics of Volgograd architecture of the postwar period // Symbol of science. - 2016. - No. 5-3 (17). - S. 217-221. - ISSN 2410-700X .
• Kozlova D. Yu. Historical stages of development of the area of ​​the Fallen Fighters // Annual scientific and technical conference of VolGASU: Collection of articles. - Volgograd, 2007 .-- S. 66–69 .
• Oleinikov P.P., Antyufeev A.V., Ptichnikova G.A., Sharyga N.P. Formation of the town-planning ensemble of the Square of the Fallen Fighters in Stalingrad // Internet bulletin of VolGASU. Ser .: Political. - 2011. - No. 1 (15). - ISSN 1994-0351 .
• Yanushkina Yu. V. Architectural images of post-war Stalingrad // Internet bulletin of VolGASU. Ser .: Political. - 2013. - No. 1 (25). - ISSN 1994-0351 .

• A series of articles "Evolution of the Square of the Fallen Fighters" (neopr.) . Tsaritsyn.rf .
• The program "Arkhigrad" dated 04/13/2016 on the Volgograd channel 24. The Square of the Fallen Fighters, part 1. on YouTube
• The program "Archigrad" from 05/05/2016 on the Volgograd channel 24. The Square of the Fallen Fighters, part 2. on YouTube
• Transfer "Archigrad" on the Volgograd Canal 24. Walk along the pre-war area of ​​the Fallen Fighters. on YouTube
• The program “Tsaritsyn stories” on the First Volgograd channel. The Square of the Fallen Fighters and the Alley of Heroes. on YouTube
• The program "Urban stories" from 09/05/2015 on the channel Russia 24 Volgograd. Hotel Volgograd. on YouTube