Volgograd is a big industrial city on the Volga, better known as Stalingrad. It was just there that the Stalingrad battle took place. It was the most important battle of the World War II, during which the city was completely destroyed. This battle is considered the most bloody in the world history as over 2 million people were killed on both sides.
The city was founded in 1555 and was called Tsaritsyn until 1925. The city quickly developed as it was located at the convenient place on the Volga. There were built the industrial enterprises and the first in Russia Nobel storages of oil, which was produced at the fields of Azerbaijan.
Considering that the city was almost completely destroyed during the World War, the same as German cities Dresden or Nuremberg, it has no historical sites. After the war there were doubts about the possibility of rebuilding the city, however, in the course of a decade Stalingrad was completely rebuilt.
Mamay Mound is the main sight of Volgograd. This is a hill near the city for which they fiercely fought for several months. Today it is the location of the world`s largest Memorial to the Heroes of Stalingrad Battle devoted to the World War II. From the foot of the memorial to the top of the hill where the Statue of the Motherland is located, there is a stair of 1.5 km long. Along the stair several terraced compositions are placed: the Monument "Fight to the Death", the ruined walls of the buildings destroyed during the battles, the Square of Heroes and the Square of Sorrow. The Eternal Flame is burning at the Hall of Glory. The Statue of Motherland is towering above the hill for 87 meters.
As any other Volga city, it has a beautiful embankment where there are always a lot of walking people. You can have a walk on the nearby Alley of Heroes where there is a memorial devoted to the Heroes of the Soviet Union. Also, you should see the «Pavlov House», where, as on Mamay Mound, there were cruel battles.
200 km from Volgograd in Astrakhan Region the Barsunchak Lake is located. The water of the lake is as salty as that of the Dead Sea in Israel. Many people are going there to have a dip in its waters. As on the Dead Sea, you can lie and read a newspaper on the water of Barsunchak Lake. The lake is dominated by the Bogdo Mount with red slopes.
