Over the course of the last hundred years, Volgograd has often been a prominent figure on the Russian and global stage. Many events have left their mark on the city in monuments, places and traditions. Over the last century the city has changed its name three times: at the beginning of the twentieth century it was called Tsaritsyn and it was a backwater place on the banks of the Volga River. Then it became Stalingrad - the fortress that played a pivotal role in World War II, and later was renamed Volgograd, having become in the process a sunny and hospitable city whose residents love fishing, football, boat rides and beaches.