Close to the ruins of the Gerhardt Mill in Volgograd is the city’s main exhibition area - the Stalingrad Battle Panoramic Museum. The modern round building was built in 1968 on the anniversary of the great battle. It was designed by the architects to contrast with the destroyed mill and is a must-see during a visit to Volgograd.
There are several rooms dedicated to the defense of Stalingrad inside the panoramic museum. They contain an exhibition of scenic battle paintings, four dioramas, describing in detail the cost of the defense of the city, as well as gun collections, collections of personal belongings of famous Soviet military leaders and much more. The small exhibition of military equipment near the museum is only a small part of what was once exposed there. Gradually most of the tanks, howitzers and aircraft were moved to the Mamayev Kurgan Hill, and only the key exhibits remained at the museum. The equipment moved includes, for example, an old steam locomotive of the Great Patriotic War period and an SU-2 bomber.