Tsaritsyn Monument

Downtown, where two of the main streets intersect there is a monument that captures your attention. The statue is of two bearded, 16th century sentinels, standing with spear in-hand, guarding the southern entrance to the Volga on behalf of the Tsar.

Below them, in large script is the date "1589." This monument commemorates the founding of Tsaritsyn, fortress on Russia's southern frontier dating back to the 16th Century. When Tsaritsyn was founded, it could hardly be called a city- an "outpost" at best. It was inhabited mostly by military personal who stood guard far from home to protect Russia's river trade-routes. The settlement was invaded, destroyed, occupied, re-captured, and rebuilt again and again at a time when the Russian empire was fighting to keep the Tatars at bay.

Eventually, the settlement developed into a city and kept the name "Tsaritsyn" until it was renamed "Stalingrad" in 1925. The Tsaritsyn monument roughly marks the location of the original settlement.