Gergardt mill in Volgograd (photo)

Volgograd to this day keeps a memory of the horrors of World War II. Almost the whole city was destroyed, and the surviving buildings looked like ghosts, crippled by shells and bullets. With incredible efforts, exhausted, but victorious in the war, the people rebuilt and rebuilt Stalingrad. Then there were new high-rise buildings, wide areas and avenues, but the memory of those terrible events is alive.

Description

Gergardt Mill is a silent witness who survived the desperate battle of the Soviet people with fascism. The mutilated building was deliberately not restored and left in this form, for edification to future generations. Now the ruins of the milling enterprise are included in the museum complex "Battle of Stalingrad".

Appearance

The Gergardt mill in Volgograd has an interesting pre-war history that began in the distant 1899, when businessman Alexander Gerhardt from the German colony Straub Novouzensk district of the Samara province received a patent for the construction of a flour mill. Already in the summer of 1900 on the outskirts of Tsaritsin appeared the mill of Gergardt. Then the production and sale of flour began.

The Gergardt mill in Volgograd. History

In the fire of 1907, the mill burnt down almost to the ground. But in May 1908, it was rebuilt, in the construction of reinforced walls and reinforced concrete structures, at that time such a method was advanced.

The building turned out to be extremely powerful, the thickness of its walls - about a meter, so that the mill of Gergardt only from the outside seems completely made of red brick. Internal equipment was also distinguished by high technologies for that time. Own generator allowed the company to avoid interruptions due to lack of electricity, and mechanical conveyors increased productivity. There was also a granary, a boiler room and a warehouse for finished products. The production complex of Gergardt, apart from the milling mill, included oil processing, bakery and fish-smoking production.

1911-1942

By the beginning of 1911, the enterprise had already yielded a decent income, and 78 workers were working in the factory, the work shift lasted ten and a half hours. After the revolution of 1917, the mill of Gergardt was nationalized and until 1929 the mill No. 4 was modestly named. After the death of K. Grudinin, who had previously worked as a turner in the company of Gerhardt, and after the revolution took part in his nationalization, the mill was given the name of the deceased communist. The founder himself died on April 21, 1933, after the arrest of the NKVD.

The mill continued its work until 1942, the production of high-explosive bombs dropped on the roof of the enterprise. As a result of their falling into the mill building, many workers were killed. Partly workers were evacuated, the rest began to protect the city and strategically important access to the river.

1942-1943

The mill continued to serve its city faithfully, after the building was taken under control by the division of fighters of Lieutenant Chervyakov. In it and the neighboring houses Pavlov and Zabolotniy the command post of the Thirteenth Guards Rifle Division began to be located. This place turned into the center of a bloody confrontation: the enemy's positions were very close to each other and the shooting continued unabated. The building and the people in it stood to death. Their morale was not broken even by bombs and artillery fire.

The soldiers of the Red Army, who occupied a circular defense in the besieged mill, fought off enemy attacks for 58 days. Fights were fought for every inch of the earth. The proximity of the mill to the river was a real salvation for our fighters. There they arranged a ferry. In the afternoon the river was fired regularly, and even at night it was extremely dangerous to use the ferry, but there was no other way out.

In 1943, a large-scale offensive of our troops began in the area of the Mamayev Kurgan, and through the "9 January" square that was being shot through, ceased to be the center of fire. Then the soldiers of the Red Army were able to assemble the corpses of their colleagues, buried the fallen heroes in the square in a mass grave, and in peacetime, they erected a granite monument.

Postwar years

In the post-war years, the active restoration of the city began, the mill of Gergardt remained untouched. Stalingrad was built anew, but several buildings, including the mill, were left as is in memory of the terrible and bloody battle.

Participant of the Great Patriotic War Malyutina Yekaterina Yakovlevna told that the city, cleared of the Nazi invaders, was visible from afar. It was an ashes and ruins, the stone could not stand the deadly fire, and the soldiers survived.

The tallest building of the 4th Stalingrad was the ruins of a mill and Pavlov's house, everything else is not above the knee. In order to begin the reconstruction work, it was necessary to clear the city. So only on the demining of the territory of the mill Gergardt and Pavlov's house took a year and a half. Although the building was surrounded by wire, it was difficult to stop the curious children. Therefore, fascist shells continued to kill already in peacetime.

For a long time there were still explosions all over Stalingrad, German shells persistently did not want to leave the Russian land. But the Soviet people did not despair and took up construction. People lived then often where they have to. For example, in the area of the 2nd Stalingrad there were three German bombers, that's where the men's hostel was built. The restoration of the city destroyed by the war was carried out quickly. Soon people began to enter new homes.

The construction of the panorama museum of the Battle of Stalingrad began in 1967, now this museum and the mill building are undoubtedly the business card of the city. Today, the Gergardt mill is included in the museum complex of the defense of Stalingrad.

Volgograd is now a blooming city that does not forget its heroes: local people regularly visit the burial places of fighters defending their homeland. And the panorama of the Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad clearly demonstrates the whole horror of the battle, and the scale of destruction, in the skeletons of ruined buildings, is difficult to recognize the current Volgograd. At the events dedicated to the Victory Day, surviving veterans with tears in their eyes tell us about those terrible military events, and the building of the old mill stands as a symbol of the steadfastness of our fighters. The concrete collapsed, the stone melted, and the people stood firm!

The mill at the present time

Thirty years ago, the mill of Gergardt (Volgograd) was still open to inspect the building from the inside. Today, for fear of collapses and accidents, they are allowed to inspect it only from the outside, and they are allowed to visit rare sightseeing groups of journalists. Stair flights are closed from the curious grille. But even through it you can see what terrible battles took place inside each floor of the building. While conducting excursions and telling about those terrible days, museum employees show potholes from bullets and shells on the walls of the building.

It survived due to its powerful design, but now its main enemy is time. Therefore, the museum plans to preserve the building and treat it with hydrophobic coating to protect it from further destruction.

year 2013

In 2013, a small copy of the sculptural composition of the fountain, a children's dance, was installed near the mill building. For greater reliability, we wanted to make several potholes on it, then we decided not to spoil the fountain very much and only hit the hammer a couple of times.

Guests of the city must visit this sad museum. The Gergardt mill in Volgograd (the photo can not convey all the sensations from the seen) will be remembered for a long time.