Photo: architectural monuments, other places, Mamayev Kurgan, Volgograd

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Mamayev Kurgan Hill and the Monument “The Motherland is Calling!”

Architectural Monuments • Other places

The huge work by the Soviet sculptor A.V. Vuchetich - a concrete statue of the Motherland in Volgograd - appeared on the Mamayev Kurgan in 1967. This hill on the right bank of the Volga river became a place of memory of all who fell fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943, during the Great Patriotic War.

The monument "The Motherland is Calling!" was included in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the tallest statues in the world: its height including the sword is 85 meters! In 2007, the statue was listed among the Seven Wonders of Russia. It is the 9th on the list of the world’s highest statues! The sculpture is the central part of a triptych dedicated to the victory in the Great Patriotic War: the first part is the "Rear to Front" monument in Magnitogorsk, and the third is the famous Monument to Liberator Soldier in Berlin. Opinions vary as to who served as a model for the sculptor. There is some suggestion that several Russian women were the prototypes of the Motherland monument. Another legend says that the sculpture created the statue bearing in mind the image of the Marseillaise in the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, as well as the image of the famous Nike of Samothrace. Anyway, the motherland calling its sons to fight is a kind of a symbol not only of Volgograd, but of the whole Russia. The sculpture’s location on the Mamayev Kurgan Hill is also symbolic. After all, during the Great Patriotic War it was the location of the legendary “Height 102”, for which the Russian soldiers fought hard and desperately.The statue "The Motherland is Calling!" is not intended for mass excursions. There are specially designed concrete-room cells inside it, joined with 99 metal cables, which are in constant tension. This provides strength and stability of the monument. You should look at this magnificent structure from the outside. There is a memory park with military equipment exposition around the statue. At night backlight gives the sculpture especially solemn appearance.

Mamayev Kurgan Hill and the Monument “The Motherland is Calling!”

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