Before reading Text A, tell the groupmates what sights Volgograd has.

2. Read the text and decide if the following statements are True or False:

1) The main sights are located in Voroshilovskiy District.

2) The Battle of Stalingrad Museum shows the details of the famous battle which is considered one of the most crucial battles of the First World War.

3) The fountain " Children dance" was reinstalled in 2013 in Lenin square.

4) The ruins of the mill have been preserved as a memorial in order to give insight into the destruction which the city suffered.

5) The 25 men managed to defend the building (" dom Pavlova" ) for 48 days.

6) Fallen Fighters’ Square is decorated with an obelisk and an eternal flame.

Mikhail Panikakha Monument was erected in 1945.

8) The Lenin statue stands 27 meters high on a 30-metre pedestal.

Text A

Welcome to Volgograd!

Now when you know the city’s heroic history, let’s make a tour to get to know its main places of interest that are dear to Volgograders and worth seeing for tourists. Due to the harsh past military attractions make up a large part of all the sights of the city. If you want to honor the memory of the ancestors who laid down their lives during the Second World War, Volgograd is perhaps one of the best places for it.

If you arrive in Volgograd by train you’ll get to the Station Square built in 1954. Here one can see the symbolic fountain " Children dance" which was recreated and reinstalled in 2013 outside the city's railway station. A replica was also installed outside the ruins of the mill at the Battle of Stalingrad Museum-Panorama Complex. This fountain has become a symbol of the undefeated Stalingrad, a symbol of the victory of life over death.

From the Station Square we come along the shortest street in Volgograd, Gogol street, into the central square of the city Fallen Fighters’ Square (Ploschad Pavshikh Bortsov). It traces its history back to Alexander Square, founded at the foot of the fortress as a large city’s market with shopping arcades, taverns and merchant stores. It was laid in a strict monumental style – 274 m in length and 90 m in width. The main part of it is occupied by the square itself, holding major celebrations and parades, and gradually ending with Memorial Square. There is a common grave of 55 defenders of Tsaritsyn killed in the Civil War and a monument erected above it to their memory in 1920. From that day the square was renamed Fallen Fighters Square. Later, in 1942-1943, over 100 fallen defenders of Stalingrad were also buried there. In memory of the fallen heroes the city erected a monument – a 26-m granite obelisk with an Eternal Flame over which school pupils of Volgograd stand guard on anniversaries. Also worth noting here is the oldest tree in Volgograd to survive the battle – a poplar tree.

To get to the river bank from here you can walk through the adjacent Alley of Heroes, which turns into a grand Soviet-style set of steps down to the embankment and the river port. At the top of the stairs, there is the Fountain of Art (Friendship) which depicts dancing women. The Central Embankment which is named after the 62nd Army is definitely a beautiful part of the city. There are lovely gardens to wander through and lively bars and restaurants that offer plenty of food and spirits.  Live performances are held outside in the summer time.

In the Central District you will find the Battle of Stalingrad Museum-Panorama Complex. It consists of four halls exhibiting more than 3, 500 items which detail the famous battle which is considered one of the most crucial battles of the Second World War and a turning point in the conflict. Expositions include a model of the city which clearly shows the extent of the city’s destruction at the end of the battle and presents given to the city for its heroism. The museum has four dioramas in addition to the main panorama which depicts the defeat of Nazi troops at Stalingrad. Finally there is also a Hall of Triumph, which lists the names of the divisions which took part in the battle. Outside the museum, military equipment is on display as well as various other memorials.

Standing next to the Battle of Stalingrad Museum is the shell of the city's mill which was destroyed during the Battle of Stalingrad. The ruins have been preserved as a memorial and to give an insight into the destruction which the city suffered. Rather ironically the mill was originally built in 1904 by Germans.

Pavlov's House (" dom Pavlova" ) is the name given to a four-storied apartment block which became a base for Sergeant Yakov Pavlov and his platoon in September 1942. The 25 men managed to defend the building for 58 days until they were relieved by Soviet troops in November 1942. This was despite being bombarded by the Nazis several times a day, each day. After the war the building was restored and it now features a memorial to the heroic defense, demonstrating the absolute determination of Soviet troops against the enemies.

The main sights are predominantly all located in Volgograd's Central District around Lenin Prospect and the Mamaev Hill. But not all of them. Volgograd stretches approximately 90 km along the right bank of the great Russian river, having 8 districts and making it one of the longest cities in Russia. In each district there’s something worth seeing.

In the Krasnooktyabrskiy District you can see Mikhail Panikakha Monument. In October 1942 Red Army soldier Mikhail Panikakha went up against a German tank armed with only two Molotov cocktails. When one of the bottles was shot Panikakha was set alight by its contents. He then proceeded to use himself as a human torch and ran at the tank and set off the second bottle, killing the tank driver and stopping the tank, sacrificing his own life in the process. The 28-year-old soldier was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and this impressive statue depicting Panikakha throwing himself at the enemy was erected in 1975.

It is also worth venturing down to Volgograd's southern Krasnoarmeiskiy District to see the massive Lenin statue there guarding the start of the Volga-Don Canal. Here Lenin stands 27 meters high on a 30-metre pedestal, appearing above the trees at the start of the Volga-Don Canal overlooking the water and towering above even the nearby lighthouse.

There are attractions in Volgograd not associated with the feats of arms of Stalingrad people as well. The theater life of Volgograd is rich and interesting. Performances of  Don Cossack Theater are well-known both in Russia and in other countries. It is the only theater in Russia which performances are completely based on historic and folk traditions of the Cossacks. The repertoires of Volgograd Musical Theater, New Experimental Theater, Theater of the Young Viewer, Puppet Theater, Youth Theater and Theater of One Actor are of great interest. Such Volgograd attractions as the Planetarium, the railway for children, the Cathedral of All Saints and the Church of John the Precursor should be also pointed out.

It is no doubt that Volgograd leaves no one indifferent. It is good to come and stay here for a few days in order to enjoy the atmosphere and the spirit of the city which did not give up and survived in spite of everything.

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