Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery (russian: Пискарёвское мемориа́льное кла́дбище) is located in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, on the Avenue of the Unvanquished (Проспект Непокорённых), dedicated mostly to the victims of the

siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...

Memorial complex

The memorial complex designed by Alexander Vasiliev and Yevgeniy Levinson was opened on May 9, 1960. About 420,000 civilians and 50,000 soldiers of the

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front The Karelian Front ...

were buried in 186

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...

s. Near the entrance an

eternal flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...

is located. A marble plate affirms that from September 4, 1941 to January 22, 1944 107,158 air bombs were dropped on the city, 148,478 shells were fired, 16,744 men died, 33,782 were wounded and 641,803 died of starvation. The center of the architectural composition is the bronze monument symbolizing the

Mother Motherland The personification of Russia is traditionally feminine and most commonly maternal since medieval times. Most common terms for national personification of Russia are: *Mother Russia (russian: Матушка Россия, tr. ''Matushka Rossiya'' ...

, by sculptors Vera Isaeva and Robert Taurit. By granite steps leading down from the eternal flame visitors enter the main 480-meter path which leads to the majestic Motherland monument. The words of poet

Olga Berggolts Olga Fyodorovna Bergholz ( rus, Ольга Фёдоровна Берггольц, p=ˈolʲɡə ˈfʲɵdərəvnə bʲɪrˈɡolʲts, a=Ol'ga Fyodorovna Byerghol'cz.ru.vorb.oga; – November 13, 1975) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, playwrig ...

are carved on a granite wall located behind this monument:

External links

Official sitePhotographs and Videos of the Cemetery
{{Authority control Cemeteries in Saint Petersburg Tourist attractions in Saint Petersburg Bronze sculptures in Russia World War II memorials in Russia Soviet military memorials and cemeteries 1960 establishments in the Soviet Union Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg