The Avenue of the Brave in Kaliningrad starts from Dzerzhinsky Street, not far from the Friedland Gate, passes through residential areas, takes off above the railway, and ends at the intersection with Bolshaya Okruzhnaya Street near the church of St. Spiridon of Trimifuntsky. There are several objects on this unremarkable street of the city that I would like to talk about.
Why Bold Alley?
In the early days of April 1945, a large-scale and bloody operation took place to destroy the fascist group in the fortress city of Koenigsberg. Three rings of defense, underground factories, arsenals, warehouses and a citadel in the city center - all this was overcome by the Soviet troops with heavy fighting and huge losses on both sides. The battle went down in history as the “storming of Koenigsberg.”
The 3rd Belorussian Front went on the attack under the leadership of Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky. The 11th Guards Army, which included the 26th Infantry Division, stormed the southern approaches to the city, captured the defense line and broke through to the central streets of the city.
The Alley of the Brave in Kaliningrad got its name in honor of the feat of the 26th Guards Rifle Division, as evidenced by a memorial plaque on the wall of one of the houses.
Common grave in a military unit
According to official figures, 3,700 Soviet soldiers died in the battle for the city, German losses number in the tens of thousands. 390 Soviet soldiers are buried in a mass grave on this street in Kaliningrad. On the territory of the military unit, which is now located here, in 1956 a monument was erected to the soldiers who died in the last month of the war.
This is a black granite obelisk 3 meters high. The area around the area is more than 500 square meters. meters tiled. Six graves are located along the paths, memorial plates with the names of soldiers are installed on the grave hills. Two concrete slabs next to the granite obelisk contain information about the burial.
In 2007, this memorial complex was included in the list of cultural heritage sites of municipal significance. The commemorative memorial was reconstructed in 2010.
There is also a monument to V. I. Lenin, it is installed in a small square, reconstructed and well maintained. The author of the work is unknown.