In the Belgorod region, there is a museum-reserve known far beyond the borders of our country "Prokhorovskoye field". In the harsh year of 1943, one of the most famous Patriotic Wars took place on this land.
Battle on Prokhorovka field
This field became the springboard for a terrible and bloody tank battle. It takes pride of place with the battles of Borodino and Kulikovo in terms of its significance. It is not for nothing that it is called the third military field of Russia. The fiercest battle, which claimed the lives of 10 thousand Soviet soldiers in a day, is inscribed in blood in our history.
Witnesses of these events compare what happened on this earth on July 12, 1943 with hell: the sky was not visible from thousands of aircraft, the field turned black from tanks. The ground was shaken by the roar of artillery, explosions of aerial bombs that pierced the armor of tanks. Ammunition exploded in them. Not only equipment was engulfed in fire, but also the entire top layer of the earth, which gradually turned into charred clods. The surviving tankers left their vehicles and rushed into hand-to-hand combat.
800 Soviet and 700 fascist tanks met in a deadly battle. The most difficult tank duels began near Prokhorovka. They were an example of the skill and courage of the crews of armored vehicles.
Creation of the museum
The huge Prokhorovskoye Pole complex with an exhibition of military equipment, the Belfry memorial, monuments to Zhukov, Kutuzov, Dmitry Donskoy is located southwest of the village of Prokhorovka, five kilometers from it.
Today it is a well-maintained quiet place that keeps the eternal sleep of the soldiers and the bright memory of them. There are more than two dozen mass graves in the surrounding farms and villages.
In 1995, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Great Victory, the museum-reserve "Prokhorovka field" was opened here. It includes a large area with memorial buildings, military equipment, as well as monuments on the terrible battlefield and in Prokhorovka.
There is also a reconstructed monument of the Second World War on the territory of the complex - the command post of the 5th Tank Guards Army, from where this battle was led. The Belfry Memorial on the Prokhorovsky Field is the heart of the complex. It was erected on the very spot where the battle took place. The huge stele, on top of which there is a statue of the goddess of Victory, is crowned with a golden dome, under which there is an alarm bell. Its ringing can be heard every twenty minutes. The "belfry" on the "Prokhorovsky field" was consecrated by Alexy II - the most holy patriarch of All Russia - in 1995.
Military Glory Museum
In the center of Prokhorovka in 2010, a museum began its work, which was called the Third Military Field of Russia. This building is equipped with modern museum equipment: sound, video installations, information terminals in each hall.
The latest equipment is harmoniously integrated into the historical interior. For example, a plasma screen showing the chronicle of battles is decorated under an old TV. He stands on an old, rickety chest of drawers in the apartment of ordinary Soviet people. This was done so that people who grew up in the world could feel the atmosphere of that difficult time. Here you can also see clothes, letters from soldiers, newspapers, some samples of small arms. The second floor has a lucky find - which allows you to virtually be inside the battle.
Here you can also visit the local history section - get acquainted with the history of the region, its fauna and flora, find out what crafts and crafts developed in these parts. Peaceful exhibits tell about how the people of this region lived before the treacherous attack on them.
Monument to tank heroes
In 2010, the museum-reserve "Prokhorovskoye field" was replenished with one more monument - "Taran". Two formidable Soviet vehicles ram three German tanks. Inside this powerful sculptural group is a small monument to a soldier of Nazi Germany. Not to the Great Winner, but to him, a frightened and confused German who lost his iron armor and realized the horror of his situation.
Church of Peter and Paul
When visiting the Prokhorovskoe Pole Museum-Reserve, one cannot but pay attention to this majestic building. Memorial Church of Peter and Paul was built in 1995. It is often referred to as a "candle". And this is not accidental, she really is very similar to her - light, tall, decorated with curls.
Inside the temple are stored marble slabs with the names of 7,000 warriors carved on them, who fell in a fierce battle. This is not a complete list. All the names of the heroes that have been identified to date are running like a ribbon on a huge screen in one of the halls of the museum. According to the museum staff, this mournful tape is completely scrolled in thirty hours.
Unity Bell
Next to the temple is a symbolic, but at the same time functioning Bell of the unity of peoples. At the opening of this monument (2000), it was called from three sides by the heads of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Events at Prokhorovsky Field
This complex of roads is revered by Russians. It is regularly visited by schoolchildren, volunteer organizations conduct a lot of explanatory work. On Victory Day, it is especially solemn here, when veterans, youth, and government officials come here to bow to the memory of our heroes.
According to the established good tradition, on July 12, a festive program dedicated to the anniversary of the battle is held here. On this day, guests gather near the belfry. Then, at 10.00, flowers are laid at the memorial. This is followed by a memorial service. Usually an ensemble of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia takes part in these events. The culmination of the holiday is the performance of the Russian aerobatic team Swifts.
This year, the Victory Park was opened at the festival, as well as the sculptural compositions "Farewell", "Halt", "Attack", "Women of War", "Attack", "Warrior Soldier".
Museum features
On the "Prokhorovsky field" there is a unique monument and a cafe "Blindage". Inside it, on the walls, plans and maps are hung, songs of the war years, which are so dear to veterans, are played.
Prokhorovka field is the site of a bloody battle that took place in 1943. Also, this battle is known as one of the largest tank battles in the history of World War II. And some military historians call it the largest battle with the use of armored forces in general, out of the context of time.
In the Battle of Prokhorovka, during the defensive phase of the Battle of Kursk, the forces of the German and Soviet armies converged. The battle took place on July 12, 1943 in the south of the Kursk Bulge in the Belgorod direction in the Voronezh Front, not far from the Prokhorovka station (hence the name). Opponents fought on the territory of the Oktyabrsky state farm.
The tank formations were commanded by Lieutenant General Pavel Rotmistrov from the Soviet side and SS Oberstgruppenführer Paul Hausser from Nazi Germany.
The result of the battle did not bring satisfaction to either side. The Germans failed to capture the strategically important point of Prokhorovka, and the Red Army failed to enter the operational space and could not surround the enemy.
Participated in the battle:
- From the side of the Soviet Army: 5th Guards Tank Army and 5th Guards Army - 597 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, 130,000 people.
- From Nazi Germany: 2nd SS Panzer Corps - 311 tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts, 70,000 people.
The memorial museum-reserve in honor of the battle was opened in Prokhorovka in 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Great Victory of the Red Army over Nazi Germany.
Museums of the Prokhorovsky field
The main monument of the museum-reserve on the Prokhorovsky field is 59-meter belfry symbolizing victory. It consists of 4 white stone pylons - one for each year of the war. At the top of the belfry is a 7-meter sculpture of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, the protector of Russia.
Also, everyone can see exhibits of military equipment near the Victory Monument. The exposition is presented in the open air.
Also, several exhibitions operate as part of the military-historical museum-reserve "Prokhorovskoye Pole".
Museum "The Third Military Field of Russia" talks about how the Prokhorovsky district lived during the war years. The exhibition has been running since 2010 and occupies 5,000 square meters. Here you can see clothes, personal belongings, letters from soldiers, photographs of that time, historical materials.
Museum of Armored Vehicles has an area of 2830 square meters. Opened since January 27, 2017. Here you can learn the history of tank building - from the most ancient times to the present day. You will learn what the first tanks looked like and how different they are from modern ones. This is a spectacular exposition, equipped according to all modern standards. There are touch screens, installations, and even a model of a Leonardo da Vinci tank. You can also see the "Factory" scenery, which shows the stages of production of tanks. For lovers of military equipment, this is one of the most interesting museums in the region.
Also on the territory of the museum-reserve "Prokhorovskoye field" you can see:
- Monument to Soviet tankers;
- A memorial sign at the site of the feat of Senior Lieutenant P. I. Shpetny;
- There is a sculptural composition "Tank landing";
- As well as the bell of the unity of the Slavic peoples;
- The Church of Peter and Paul was built on the territory of the museum-reserve (the day of the celebration of these saints just falls on July 12, when the battle happened). The names of 7 thousand soldiers who died here are carved on the marble slabs of the walls of the temple;
- There is a reconstructed observation post;
- There are also military burials here;
- Tankodrome;
- Library of N. I. Ryzhkov;
- Cultural and historical center (with a hotel, conference hall, museum cafe).
Virtual tour of the museum
Prices in the museums of the Prokhorovsky field
You can find the prices for visiting the museum, travel on armored vehicles and the cost of staying in a hotel on the territory of the museum-reserve on the official website. Prices change every year.
How to get to Prokhorovsky field
Getting to the Prokhorovsky field is easy from Belgorod, the regional center. The road takes 60 km. It takes about an hour by public transport. Buses, trains and even long-distance trains run to Prokhorovka several times a day.
You can also visit the museum-reserve, having arrived as part of an excursion group.
Or you can order a taxi using one of the popular applications like Uber or Yandex.Taxi.
You can also come by your own car from Belgorod (the journey will not take more than 1-1.5 hours). The route map is shown below:
All transport along the route is on the Yandex. Schedules.
Prokhorovka field from above
A month has passed since our blog tour to Belgorod, and only now I was able to write about this place. Hard. Prokhorovskoye Pole made a very strong impression on me. so do not blame me, my story will be either overly emotional or dry - this is how I deal with feelings.
Busts of Dmitry Donskoy, M.I. Kutuzov, G.K. Zhukov - winners on the military fields of Russia: Kulikov, Borodino, Prokhorovsk.
We arrived at Prokhorovskoye Pole - the Third Military Field of Russia after visiting the Klyuchi Park, which I already wrote about. Fog fell on the ground, and the Belfry, to which we were driven, was almost invisible.
The bell rings 3 times an hour, every 20 minutes
Prokhorovka field was also hidden by fog. Old military equipment emerged from the fog...
This is the first monument erected on Prokhorovsky Field
You know, I don't really believe in "energy" and stuff like that, but... even now everything gets cold inside when I write, and even then emotions just overwhelmed me.
________________________________________ _________________
I'll take, perhaps, drier intonations.
We all went to history lessons at school, heard about the Kursk Bulge and the terrible tank battles, right? Just in case, let me remind you, literally in a nutshell, of the events that took place on the Prokhorovka field on July 12, 1943.
On this day, there was a collision with a total participation of more than 1200 units of tank equipment. More than 700 tanks were disabled on both sides. It was then that the first tank ram in history was used as a necessary measure to defeat the enemy.
From the sky, the tank battle was supported by aircraft. Survivors compared what was happening to hell: the ground was blackened from tanks, the sky was completely hidden by thousands of aircraft. When the equipment failed, the surviving tankers continued hand-to-hand combat. What a terrible noise was on the battlefield, you can not even imagine.
The Porokhov tank battle was a turning point for the events of the Kursk Bulge and made an invaluable contribution to the development of military advantage over the German troops. The tank forces of the Wehrmacht were no longer able to recover their losses after these events. The end of the battles near Belgorod took place just south of Porokhovka on July 16, 1943, after a series of defeats, German troops began to bypass the side of Belgorod and its environs.
Irretrievable losses of the Red Army in the battle of Prokhorovka - 10 thousand people.
On April 26, 1995, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the military-historical museum-reserve "Porohovskoe Field" was created to preserve all historical exhibits and the memory of the "battle of Porokhovka".
On the territory of the complex are marked places of burial and turning points in the history of battles. The workers of the complex carefully preserved a lot of historical evidence of the battle that took place and created access for everyone who wants to touch those events.
To commemorate the relatives who died on Prokhorovsky Pole, you can look into the dugout cafe, at the entrance to which Vasily Terkin himself will meet you.
The Dugout menu includes soldier's porridge for 25 rubles per serving, borscht, tea and, of course, front-line 100 grams. And there is even a bust of Stalin.
Through Victory Park, past the apple orchard. planted by veterans, along the Alley of the Defenders of the Motherland we go to the Prival cafe, where we have planned lunch.
Alley of military leaders. The strategists of the Prokhorovsky battle are Rokossovsky, Konev, Vatutin, Vasilevsky.
Alley of warriors-heroes. Collective images of a platoon commander and a nurse.
We approach the cafe Prival. It is also part of the composition of the memorial complex.
Literally for 200 rubles, you can have a very decent lunch here.
After lunch, our path lay to the Museum "Third Military Field".
Near the museum you can see the Monument to the Tanker and Infantryman. The infantry suffered the greatest losses in battle, it was on the infantry, rifle units, that the line of defense was held.
It is impossible not to pay attention to another majestic building - the Memorial Church of the First Apostles Peter and Paul, erected in 1995, since the decisive battle of the Battle of Kursk took place on the day of these saints - July 12.
The Museum of Military Glory of the Third Military Field of Russia opened in May 2010. It covers 5000 square meters.
This building is equipped according to the latest museum standards: sound accompaniment, video installations, information interactive terminals in each hall. For the very young (although... what am I saying, for everyone :-)) there is a hall dedicated to the computer game World of Tanks. And after visiting the exposition, you can test yourself in a tank simulator (I experienced, yes... hard, you know)
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Girl - tour guide
German propaganda in Ukrainian, printed in Kharkov
Field kitchen
Tanks used by the enemy (captured T-34s were also used)
There was also enough strength for humor :-) Such is the Knight in the Tiger :-) skin.
Bullet-riddled aircraft tail
Tank. Yes, there is a tank right in the museum building.
Tanks :-)
After visiting the museum exposition, we examined the sculptural composition Taran both from the outside and from the inside.
The plot of the composition - two Soviet tanks literally pounced on the fascist "tiger" - is an episode a few seconds before the explosion.
In the interior there is a sculpture of a defeated German artilleryman. A photograph of a German soldier after the battle was taken by military photojournalist Viktor Kinelovsky in July 1943. According to her, this sculpture was created.
During the tour, a three-minute soundtrack still sounds here - explosions, the rattle of tank armor, the death cries of soldiers. Full dive...
Monumental sculpture "Tank landing". Its task is to show the feat of a soldier in the Battle of Prokhorov. The landing force was placed on the hull of the tank, and during the attack, when the tank came close to the enemy trenches, the soldiers jumped off it and went hand-to-hand.
Exhibition of armored vehicles
Opened there in the spring of 2010. I admit right away - I was very impressed by the museum. On the development of tourism in the Belgorod region they say a lot, but when they start make- it turns out "parochial" and for the most part primitive. In this regard, the "Third Military Field of Russia" is a pleasant exception. I'm not afraid to say that this museum is not even at the federal level, but at the international level - modern, high-quality, on a grand scale. Highly recommend to everyone if possible to visit. Under the cut - 20 photos and some text.
The complex is located in Prokhorovka itself on Parkovaya Street, next to the Church of Peter and Paul.
The first thing that caught my eye was the sculptural composition "Tank battle near Prokhorovka. Taran". A huge array of metal very clearly conveys the spirit of the largest tank battle in world history.
The museum is open from ten in the morning to five in the evening (except Mondays), but for the whole of September on Saturdays, the opening hours were extended until nine in the evening. The ticket costs 50 rubles. Another 25 I gave for the opportunity to take pictures. On the first floor there are several thematic halls - from the beginning of the Great Patriotic War to its end. The lighting in the rooms is equipped with motion sensors - the light comes on when you enter the hall. A lot of multimedia equipment - information displays, projectors. You choose what and when to click and see.
Near each module there is a touch monitor, where you can learn in detail about the exhibits.
For the longest time, I "stuck" on stands with mock-ups of military equipment. If you're a big history buff like me, you can get stuck here for hours.
As you move through the museum, "at the end of the tunnel" you see a light - an exit to a large hall. And there you can see a real tank.
From the hall a staircase leads to the second floor. All this time, he never ceased to be surprised at the good quality of the pavilions. No money was spared for the construction.
The "multimedia center" is located in the left (from the main entrance) wing of the museum's second floor. Yes, by the way, absolutely all the inscriptions are duplicated in English.
The media center has a large screen that shows (your choice) military-themed films. In the most diverse places of the museum, soft bean bags are scattered, on which you can sit and ... (at this moment a completely crazy thought flashes through my head, and I turn on wi-fi on my phone. And it finds a network here! Everything has been thought out).
But the most important discovery for me I saw a little further. I won’t lie if I say that I always dreamed of having such a layout. Model of the Belgorod region!
All regional centers of the Belgorod region are schematically placed on this map at a scale of 1:300,000, next to them are schematic plastic figures - models of the main attractions. The monitor located next to the map allows you to select a separate area, settlement, highlight their contours, or turn on the "auto" mode, making the entire Belgorod region blink with multi-colored lights.
Also on the information display you can read the main information about any locality of the Belgorod region. And here a surprise awaited me. Choosing from the list, of course, the city of Korocha, I was very surprised to find under its description ... my photos from. You know, the impression is twofold. On the one hand, I don't mind at all. But you could contact me and ask - I would be happy to provide photos not only of Korochi, but also of other settlements in our region. And so - just "stole". And the copyright was cut off somewhere, and sketched somewhere. And I gave another 25 rubles for photography ...
In the opposite wing of the second floor there is an exhibition of exhibits of non-military subjects. It tells about the history of the Belgorod (and in particular Prokhorovka) land from ancient times to the present day. I really liked the layout of the wooden fortress - it would be great if we could recreate one in full size. I am sure that it would be very attractive for the development of tourism.
Showcase with stuffed animals and birds living in the Belgorod region:
The series "life of the Russian village" is very extensive - from bast shoes and kokoshniks to Soviet televisions and Zenith cameras.
In general, I will say that the museum made an unexpectedly strong and pleasant impression on me. The only one of the minuses noted (which, in my experience, is common to all settlements of the Belgorod region) is the lack of a sane place where you can have lunch. There is a buffet, but it leaves much to be desired. As well as the surrounding cafes. As a result, I decided that it would be possible to eat normally only in Belgorod.
Behind the museum, by the way, there is an open-air exhibition - trenches, military equipment, randomly scattered parts of German tanks ...
On the way to Belgorod, of course, there was one more stop - at the Belfry on the Prokhorovsky field. I am sure that I will return to Prokhorovka this autumn again - I hope that the weather will not let you down. I really liked it. Well, I can take two or three people with me - just tell me;)
