The monumental building of the Volgograd-I railway station was built in 1954 and is an architectural monument. During the war (World War II), the most fierce battles were fought around the station, so there was practically nothing left of the former station building.
The three-story building with a tall tower in the center is a classic example of the monumental Stalinist Empire style. The exterior of the building is faced with granite and the interior – with marble.
A fountain in the square in front of the station is of particular interest. The fountain has various names: Barmaley, Children and Crocodile, Children`s Khorovod (Round Dance). During the war this fountain was located in the same square but closer to the Museum of the Defence of Tsaritsyn.
The days of August 23-26, 1942 was the most difficult for Volgograd (then Stalingrad). Over 600 German bombers made several sorties a day. The city was subjected to such a devastating bombardment that virtually no buildings were left there.
On August 23, photographer Emanuel Evzerikhin made the famous photo of the Children`s Khorovod fountain on the background of burning buildings, which became a symbol of the Battle of Stalingrad. After the war the fountain was initially repaired and then dismantled in the 1950th. It was restored in the railway station forecourt only in 2013.
