Greetings to all readers of the site "I and the World"! More than 70 years have passed since the terrible war 20th century, but the central sculpture on the Mamaev Kurgan "The Motherland Calls!" (monument) to this day is a reminder of those terrible events.
General form
This sculpture is among the ten highest in the world. Its dimensions are huge - together with the length of the sword, it reaches 85 meters, and weighs 8,000 tons. In addition, the hill on which it stands is 14 m high. The description of the monument is grandiose: a Russian woman suddenly rose above the barrow and calls all her sons to go to protect their native land from the enemy.
A strong-willed face is turned back to the warriors - she screams loudly. Wind-blown hair and clothes are like a huge force moving her forward. The woman is like a bird that has taken off into the sky above the city. See the magnificence of the sculpture in the pictures.
Paths lead to the hill, along which there are tombstones with fallen soldiers-liberators of the city. Under the hill itself with the great sculpture, soldiers and ordinary residents are also buried - a total of 34,505 defenders.
Construction
For example, initially the Motherland held a red banner, and a warrior stood next to him on one knee. But then the woman was left alone. The statue itself "grew up" by several meters and became taller famous statue Freedom.
Many are interested in the question: from whom did the sculptor sculpt the Motherland? There are several options - an athlete-disco-bolt, the author's wife Vera, a waitress in a restaurant Valentina Izotova, and even a Marseillaise figure in Paris.
Inside, many cables are stretched to support the statue and prevent the heavy concrete structure from bending. The sculpture is not fastened to the foundation, but stands only due to its gravity.
- the image of the statue is drawn on the coat of arms and flag of the Volgograd region and on the postage stamp of Germany 83;
- a small copy was placed in Chinese Manchuria;
- so that the pouring of the statue went according to the schedule, a ribbon was hung on the cars carrying concrete to the mound, giving the right to drive through the red traffic light;
- special niches for jacks have been dug at the foot if the sculpture is in danger of falling.
In honor of what event was the famous monument built? The battle for the height near Stalingrad continued for 200 days, in winter and summer the ground remained black from shell explosions, and in the spring, after the city was liberated from the enemy, grass did not even grow on the mound. A sculpture was erected in honor of the terrible battle.
You can find a great monument to the soldiers-liberators at the address: in the city of Volgograd, Lenin Avenue, Mamaev Kurgan. Gorgeous photos of the statue from all sides.
Video
Who created it, where it is located, which means in which city it stands and when it was created - all this is shown in the article about the grandiose construction of the sculpture "The Motherland Calls!"
11/25/2015
Statue "Motherland is calling!" located in the center of the memorial composition "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" in hero city Volgograd on Mamaev Kurgan.
Statue of the Motherland in Volgograd - a general description and characteristics.
The statue is compositional center monument-ensemble "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad". It is one of the highest monuments in the whole world: height of Motherland statue in Volgograd without a sword is 52 meters, and together with the sword as much as 85! The weight of the statue without the sword is 8 thousand tons, the sword of the Motherland weighs 14 tons. Such a height and power of the statue testifies to the strength and uniqueness.
The author of the Motherland Mother statue in Volgograd is the sculptor Evgeny Viktorovich Vuchetich, it was according to his project that the statue was built from May 1959 to October 1967. Statue "Motherland Calls!" on Mamayev Kurgan takes 11th place in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the tallest monument statues in the world. At night, the statue is illuminated by multi-colored lights. Sculpture "Motherland Calls!" calls on people to unite and stand in a difficult battle.
Who is the prototype of the sculpture of the Motherland on Mamaev Kurgan?
According to rumors, the prototype of the statue "Motherland is calling!" three girls from Volgograd became: Ekaterina Grebneva, Anastasia Peshkova and Valentina Izotova. But this fact has not been confirmed by anything. It's most likely just a rumor. There is also a legend that the "Motherland" is modeled after the "Marseillaise" figure, which is located on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Statue "Motherland Calls!" in Volgograd - the history of construction.
The construction of the statue on Mamaev Kurgan began in 1959 and ended in 1967. The erection of the sculpture took exactly eight years, and this is a lot. Since 1972, construction and reconstruction work has been periodically carried out on Mamayev Kurgan. In 1978, the sculpture was strengthened, the stability calculation was carried out by Nikitin N.V., Doctor of Technical Sciences. It was he who did necessary calculations during the construction of the Ostankino Tower in Moscow. In 2010, work began to improve the security of the monument.
As for the materials for the construction of the statue, there were no restrictions on them. 5,500 tons of concrete and 2,500 metal structures were spent on the erection and construction of the Motherland Monument in Volgograd. Before the start of construction on Mamaev Kurgan, a foundation was laid 15 meters deep, on which a 2-meter-high slab was installed. For the construction of the "Motherland" 95 metal cables were used, it was they who held the frame of the statue in a vertical position. The thickness of the reinforced concrete walls of the statue is about 30 cm.
Sword of the Motherland.
Motherland Sword Length reaches 33 meters, the weight of the sword is 14 tons. It was originally made of steel. Over time, due to strong winds, the structure was deformed, and an unpleasant sound of metal appeared. In 1972, the sword was reconstructed: the blade was replaced with a new one, more resistant to weather conditions. This blade was made from fluorinated steel.
The Motherland Calls statue in Volgograd is an integral part of triptych. Its first part is located in Magnitogorsk and has the name "Rear Front!". The second part is Motherland in Volgograd. The third part of The Liberator Warrior is located in Treptow Park in Berlin.
According to the original idea, Motherland Mother was supposed to hold a banner instead of a sword in her hands, and a soldier was supposed to stand at her feet, kneeling.
Why was the statue erected on Mamaev Kurgan?
The place on which the majestic monument was erected was not chosen by chance. 200 meters from statues of Motherland in Volgograd there is the legendary height 102, behind which bloody battles took place during the Second World War for 140 days. Mamaev Kurgan evokes a sense of pride and pain among visiting tourists, forcing them to remember the sacrifices made in the name of Great Victory, and all the feats accomplished by simple Soviet people who were forced by the difficult time to take up arms and stand up for their native land. The atmosphere at the feet of the majestic statue of the Motherland invariably makes you plunge into memories, because every centimeter of this land is saturated with the blood shed by valiant soldiers, Defenders of the Fatherland. That is why Mamaev Kurgan was chosen as the place for the monument to Soviet soldiers. The Motherland Memorial was cast right here, only the head and sword were created separately and installed using helicopters. The work was carried out according to a model reduced tenfold, installed next to the future monument. Construction was in full swing day and night: the Soviet authorities sought to complete the construction as quickly as possible. In those days, the Motherland was the tallest statue in the world and was even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Over the years, other statues overtook its height, today it occupies only eleventh place in the list.
Few people managed to visit inside the statue of the Motherland in Volgograd, only occasionally there are excursions for high-ranking persons. There are no observation platforms here: only scientists who are instructed to monitor the state of the Motherland Calls statue manage to visit the tip of the sword, where they monitor the readings of the installed sensors. To perform this work, scientists have to walk to the very top of the sculpture, because there are no elevators here.
Recently, there have been rumors that the statue "Motherland is calling!" may fall, but local workers and scientists assure that the statue is not in danger of falling. To avoid this, to this day, at its foot, there are special niches designed for installing jacks, with the help of which the statue will be fixed in time and installed in its original place. These niches were designed simultaneously with the construction of the statue of the Motherland itself, and to date have never been used for their intended purpose. As you know, for the construction of the statue were used the most best materials, and from the inside, the statue of the Motherland is reinforced with stretched metal cables, which still securely hold the Motherland in its original place.
The Motherland Calls statue on Mamaev Kurgan remains the main attraction and pride of the city of Volgograd and all of Russia as a whole. Despite the fact that it is no longer the tallest statue in the world, for the people it has not lost its greatness. More than one generation of Russians and guests of the country will be able to come to statue of Motherland in Volgograd to express gratitude to the defenders of the Fatherland, in whose honor the Motherland raises its sword to heaven.
Sculpture "Motherland is calling!" - the main monument of the ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamaev Kurgan in Volgograd enchants. A unique design, included in the Guinness Book of Records, a recognized miracle of Russia. There are no other such monuments either in our country or in the world. And at the time of the construction of the monument, they did not even know about such construction technologies, and a lot was invented on the fly.
Getting inside the sculpture "The Motherland Calls" and climbing to its very top is not available to every visitor of the memorial. It’s not even the views that fascinate, but the very feeling of being able to visit such a place.
"Motherland" inside is not empty, but with a huge number of small rooms measuring 3x3 meters, for the stability of the monument weighing eight thousand tons, which, moreover, is not attached to its 2000-ton 16-meter foundation and is held like a figure on chessboard under its own gravity.
Inside, the statue is pierced with steel cables that keep the sculpture rigid. There are 119 of them in total and each of the cables is able to withstand a load of 60 tons.
Periodically, the cables are tightened, changing the tension. Each cable is equipped with sensors that monitor its operation.
Contrary to speculation, there are no elevators or other amenities inside the statue - the staircase to a height of 52 meters has 203 steps and 11 tiers.
On some tiers, the steel cables holding the statue end and new ones begin.
Information from special sensors located inside the statue flows into a single information center, also located inside the statue, and this information is taken weekly by specialists from a specialized institute that monitors the condition of the monument.
The most complex structures are located at the chest level of the statue, where all the same steel cables hold enormous tension and tighten the arms of the monument.
There are only two large technical rooms inside the statue - in the chest area and in the head of "Motherland!". The most sophisticated equipment is also located there, taking into account the slightest vibrations of the reinforced concrete structure.
One of the most common myths about the greatest monument - after its discovery, a man was lost inside - is nothing more than a beautiful legend. Of course, if you want to get lost there, given the huge number of small cells and passages, but the desire to get lost must be extremely strong. But the hole in the right hand of the monument, despite small size leads to a huge room where a car can fit ...
Here, surrounded by instruments, we leave things that constrain movement.
By the way, it is not customary to speak loudly inside the statue. Apparently because of the echo ...
There are no wooden structures inside the statue. These are just traces of the old formwork that the concrete walls have preserved. In some places, after almost half a century, even chips remained.
Warning signs are everywhere inside the monument, and there are fire extinguishers on each tier, and a powder fire extinguishing system, which, fortunately, was not used. And in general, thanks to reliable operation, there was no emergency in 47 years.
Inside the head of the memorial there is a narrow passage in the throat area. Enough fat man It is quite possible to repeat the famous story of Winnie the Pooh.
But in the head it is quite comfortable and spacious. There is even an opportunity to take a break and look at the inscriptions made by our predecessors.
Dispelling another myth about the monument - there are no viewing platforms inside. From the sculpture, in addition to the entrance at the foot, there are only three exits for industrial climbers who monitor the external condition of the statue. One of them is located in the head, and the other two are in the hilt of the sword held by "Motherland!".
Our guide opens the hatch and takes our breath away! Words can not describe the amazing feelings! It must be experienced!
The view from the man-made monument to Mamaev Kurgan and Volgograd is mesmerizing...
There is a huge number of marks on the hand, set aside by industrial climbers from the Height 102 group. The inscription "REBUS" was left by them, why - history is silent.
Volgograd from a bird's eye view - about 170 meters.
Not to take a photo for memory in such a unique place, it would be at least simply stupid...
I would like to say words of gratitude for the opportunity to tour the administration of the panorama museum "Battle of Stalingrad".
This report is available in high definition.
The sculpture "The Motherland Calls" is the center of the monument-ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamaev Kurgan in Volgograd. She is one of the tallest statues in the world, as evidenced by the entry in.
Getting inside the sculpture "The Motherland Calls" and climbing to its very top is not available to every visitor of the memorial. It’s not so much the views that fascinate, but the very fact that you can visit such a place.
First, let's see what our Motherland is made of, what it's like inside, and then we'll look out of the hatch at the top together.
I had a truly unique opportunity to look at Mamaev Kurgan and Volgograd through the eyes of the Motherland itself. A dream that seemed unrealizable came true.
There is a small door in the non-ceremonial part of the sculpture. The engineer took out a ladder from it, and we, in a small company of four people, went into the most secret and desirable room of the memorial.
Sculpture specifications. The sculpture is made of 5,500 tons of concrete and 2,400 tons of metal structures (without the base on which it stands). The total height of the monument is 85-87 meters. It is installed on a concrete foundation 16 meters deep (most of it is hidden underground). The height of the female figure is 52 meters (weight - over 8,000 tons).
The statue stands freely on the slab, like a chess piece on a board. The thickness of reinforced concrete walls is only 25-30 centimeters. Inside, the entire statue is made up of individual cell cells, like rooms in a building. The rigidity of the sculpture is supported by ninety-nine metal cables that are constantly in tension.
All this I will show you now!
This picture shows the compartment in which the fire extinguisher is located, and the tension cables. Such cables are pulled together.
The cables pull the arms to the body, and the body is stretched vertically.
Vertical cable attachment:
Fastening the cables of the right hand with a sword:
Cable tension is monitored by special sensors:
And this design follows the vibrations:
Laz in the right hand of the sculpture "Motherland Calls":
No safety instructions anywhere. The images reminded me of life safety lessons at school, which we didn’t take very seriously, but I still know how to bandage my head (-:
A rare chance to get the monument across the throat:
"Welcome to the head," says security engineer Viktor Grigoryevich.
And these are excellent photos of the construction period of the monument:
The sword, 33 meters long and weighing 14 tons, was originally a steel frame sheathed with titanium sheets. The high "sail" of the sword caused it to swing strongly in the wind - excessive mechanical stress led to deformation of the structure, an unpleasant rattle of metal sheets appeared. In 1972, the blade of the sword was replaced with a frameless one made entirely of steel. Shorter, 28 meters, with holes to reduce windage and dampers to dampen vibrations from wind loads.
Ready! The prototype of the sculpture was Valentina Izotova (according to other sources - Peshkova Anastasia Antonovna, a graduate of the Barnaul Pedagogical School in 1953).
Victor Grigorievich opens the hatch at the very top and allows us to enjoy the view and take photos to our heart's content.
Sculpture "Motherland is calling!" is the compositional center architectural ensemble"To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad", is a 52-meter figure of a woman rapidly moving forward and calling her sons behind her. AT right hand sword 33 m long (weight 14 tons). The height of the sculpture is 85 meters. The monument stands on a 16-meter foundation. The height of the Main Monument speaks of its scale and uniqueness. Total weight it is 8 thousand tons. The main monument - a modern interpretation of the image of the ancient Nike - the goddess of victory - calls on her sons and daughters to repel the enemy, to continue the further offensive.
The construction of the memorial was given great value. There were no restrictions in funds and building materials. The best creative forces were involved in the creation of the monument. Evgeny Viktorovich Vuchetich, who had already created a monument-ensemble to soldiers ten years earlier, was appointed the chief sculptor and project manager. Soviet army in Treptow Park in Berlin and the sculpture “Let's beat swords into plowshares”, which still adorns the square in front of the UN building in New York. Vuchetich was assisted by architects Belopolsky and Demin, sculptors Matrosov, Novikov and Tyurenkov. Upon completion of construction, all of them were awarded the Lenin Prize, and Vuchetich was also awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of Socialist Labor. The head of the engineering group working on the construction of the memorial was N.V. Nikitin is the future creator of the Ostankino tower. Marshal V.I. became the chief military consultant of the project. Chuikov is the commander of the army that defended Mamaev Kurgan, whose reward was the right to be buried here, next to the dead soldiers: along the serpentine, in the hill, the remains of 34,505 soldiers - defenders of Stalingrad, as well as 35 granite tombstones of the Heroes of the Soviet Union, participants in the battle of Stalingrad 
Monument construction "Motherland" was started in May 1959 and completed on October 15, 1967. The sculpture at the time of creation was the highest sculpture in the world. Restoration work on the Main Monument of the monument-ensemble was carried out twice: in 1972 and 1986. It is also believed that the statue was modeled after the Marseillaise figure on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and that the statue's pose was inspired by the statue of Nike of Samothrace. Indeed, there are some similarities. In the first photo of the Marseillaise, and next to it is Nika of Samothrace 
And in this photo Motherland 
The sculpture is made of blocks of prestressed reinforced concrete - 5500 tons of concrete and 2400 tons of metal structures (without the base on which it stands). The total height of the monument " Motherland is calling”- 85 meters. It is installed on a concrete foundation 16 meters deep. The height of the female figure is 52 meters (weight - more than 8 thousand tons). 
The statue stands on a slab only 2 meters high, which rests on the main foundation. This foundation is 16 meters high, but it is almost invisible - most of it is hidden underground. The statue stands freely on the slab, like a chess piece on a board. The thickness of the reinforced concrete walls of the sculpture is only 25-30 centimeters. Inside, the rigidity of the frame is maintained by ninety-nine metal cables, constantly in tension.
The sword is 33 meters long and weighs 14 tons. The sword was originally made of stainless steel sheathed with sheets of titanium. In a strong wind, the sword swayed, and the sheets rattled. Therefore, in 1972, the blade was replaced with another - entirely consisting of fluorinated steel. And they got rid of problems with the wind with the help of blinds at the top of the sword. There are very few similar sculptures in the world, for example - the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, "Motherland" in Kyiv, a monument to Peter I in Moscow. For comparison, the height of the Statue of Liberty from the pedestal is 46 meters. 
The most complex calculations of the stability of this structure were made by N.V. Nikitin, Doctor of Technical Sciences, the author of the calculation of the stability of the Ostankino TV tower. At night, the statue is illuminated by spotlights. “The horizontal displacement of the top of the 85-meter monument is currently 211 millimeters, or 75% of the allowable calculations. Deviations have been going on since 1966. If from 1966 to 1970 the deviation was 102 millimeters, then from 1970 to 1986 - 60 millimeters, until 1999 - 33 millimeters, from 2000-2008 - 16 millimeters, "said the director of the State Historical and Memorial Museum-Reserve" Battle of Stalingrad" Alexander Velichkin. 
The sculpture "Motherland Calls" is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest sculpture-statue in the world at that time. Its height is 52 meters, the length of the arm is 20 and the length of the sword is 33 meters. The total height of the sculpture is 85 meters. The weight of the sculpture is 8 thousand tons, and the sword - 14 tons (for comparison: the Statue of Liberty in New York is 46 meters high; the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro is 38 meters). On the this moment the statue takes 11th place in the list of the tallest statues in the world. Motherland is threatened with collapse due to groundwater. Experts say that if the slope of the statue is increased by another 300 mm, it could collapse due to any, even the most insignificant reason. 
A 70-year-old pensioner Valentina Ivanovna Izotova lives in Volgograd, with whom the sculpture "The Motherland Calls" was sculpted 40 years ago. Valentina Ivanovna is a modest person. For more than 40 years, she was silent about the fact that, as a model, she posed for sculptors who sculpted almost the most famous sculpture in Russia - Motherland. She was silent because Soviet times to talk about the profession of a model was, to put it mildly, indecent, especially for a married woman raising two daughters. Now Valya Izotova is already a grandmother and willingly talks about that distant episode in her youth, which has now become perhaps the most significant event of her whole life. 
In those distant 60s, Valentina was 26 years old. She worked as a waitress in a prestigious, by Soviet standards, Volgograd restaurant. This institution was visited by all the eminent guests of the city on the Volga, and our heroine saw with her own eyes Fidel Castro, the Emperor of Ethiopia, Swiss ministers. Naturally, only a girl with a real Soviet appearance could serve such persons during lunch. What that means, you probably already guessed. Strict face, purposeful look, athletic figure. It is no coincidence that one day a frequent guest of Volgograd, a young sculptor Lev Maistrenko, approached Valentina with a conversation. He conspiratorially told the young interlocutor about the sculpture that they, together with their comrades, should make for the sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich, already eminent in those days. Maistrenko walked around for a long time, scattering compliments in front of the waitress, and then invited her to pose. The fact is that the Moscow model, who arrived in the province directly from the capital, did not like the local sculptors. She was too arrogant and pretentious. Yes, and the face of the "Mother" was not like.
I thought for a long time, - recalls Izotova, - the times were strict then, and my husband forbade it. But then the husband relented, and I gave the guys my consent. Who in his youth did not embark on various adventures?
The adventure turned into serious work that lasted two years. Vuchetich himself claimed Valentina's candidacy for the role of the Motherland. He, having listened to the arguments of his colleagues in favor of a simple Volgograd waitress, nodded his head in the affirmative, and it began. Posing turned out to be a very difficult task. Standing for several hours a day with outstretched arms and forward left foot was tiring. According to the plan of the sculptors, a sword was supposed to be in the right hand, but in order not to tire Valentina too much, they put a long stick in her palm. At the same time, she had to give her face an inspired expression calling for feats.
The guys insisted: "Valya, you must call people after you. You are the Motherland!" And I called, for which I was paid 3 rubles per hour. Imagine what it's like to stand with your mouth open for hours.
Was during work and one juicy moment. The sculptors insisted that Valentina, as befits a model, pose naked, but Izotova resisted. Suddenly the husband comes. At first they agreed on a separate swimsuit. True, then the upper part of the swimsuit had to be removed. Breasts should come out as natural. By the way, there was no tunic on the model. It was only later that Vuchetich himself threw a fluttering robe over Rodina. Our heroine saw the finished monument a few days after its official opening. It was interesting to look at myself from the outside: the face, hands, legs - everything is native, only made of stone and 52 meters tall. More than 40 years have passed since then. Valentina Izotova is alive and well and is proud that a monument was erected to her during her lifetime. For a long life. 
The sculpture "Motherland Calls", created by E.V. Vuchetich, has an amazing property psychological impact to anyone who sees her. How the author managed to achieve this, one can only guess. Sharp criticisms of his creation: it is de and hypertrophied-monumental, and frankly similar to the Marseillaise that adorns the Parisian triumphal arch, - absolutely do not explain its phenomenon. We must not forget that for a sculptor who survived the most terrible war in the history of mankind, this monument, as well as the entire memorial, is first of all a tribute to the memory of the fallen, and only then a reminder to the living, who, in his opinion, and so they can never forget
Sculpture Motherland, together with Mamaev Kurgan, is a finalist of the competition "Seven Wonders of Russia"