Even the ancient Greeks had a custom of hanging captured enemy weapons and armor from a tree growing on the battlefield. The Romans, who were proud of the first victories of their fleet in the wars against Carthage, began a tradition of cutting off the prows of defeated ships ("rostra"). They mounted them on a special "rostral" column.Since then, the public display of the spoils of war has been a frequent practice in different countries, especially during World Wars I and II. Russia, of course, was no exception in this regard: large "expositions" of captured weapons were held under Peter I during the Northern War, under Tsar Alexander I during the Napoleonic Wars, during World War I, and then again during the Russian Civil War, but the most grandiose in scope and scale were the trophy exhibitions during the Great Patriotic War.The Great Patriotic War has played a huge role in Russia's history, forever changing the face of the country. The Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure was no exception. The park acquired its modern form in the so-called "post-war reconstruction" of the early 1950s. The main entrance was built at that time. It was a 29-meter-high monumental architectural structure with 24 columns and two circumferences on its sides. Initially, the main entrance to the park was located directly next to Krymsky val Street. During remodeling, it was moved deeper into the park, which made it possible to construct a circular square in front of it that was named after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Rallies, visits by guests of honor and other large-scale events were held on this square. Although Gorky Park today and the park that existed at the time of the Great Patriotic War no longer resemble each other, and over the course of 70 years the appearance of the park has undergone significant changes, a lot of what we see today in Gorky Park represents a legacy of the war. Therefore, during this tour, you will not only be able to observe the modern appearance of Gorky Park, but will also find out what the park looked like during the war. Since virtually no object of the time has been preserved in the park, this guided tour is supplemented with photos illustrating various points inside the park from the wartime period.#gorkypark