Romanov graves in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Peter and Paul Fortress, grand ducal tomb. "Grand Duke's Tomb" in books
Since its foundation, crowned persons and members of the imperial family were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, but by the end of the 19th century there were no more places for burials. In this regard, the architect D. Grimm was commissioned to erect the Grand Ducal Tomb next to the cathedral.
Construction began in 1897. The architects connected the tomb with the Peter and Paul Cathedral using a covered gallery. In 1898, D. Grimm died, and the completion of the project was entrusted to L. Benoit. The architect changed the silhouette of the building and increased its height to 48 m. The draft version of the tomb was ready by 1906.
The courtyard in front of the main entrance to the building was surrounded by a lattice, which, at the request of Emperor Nicholas II, Benoit made similar to the lattice of the Summer Garden.
The facade of the Grand Ducal Tomb is richly decorated with stucco molding, porticoes, and decorative flowerpots. Benoit created the decor of the building by combining styles: late Renaissance with French classicism. The high rectangular dome is covered with slate. A tower with a gilded dome and cross was erected on the dome.
The interior space is amazing in volume and height. Benoit was able to achieve this effect by using white marble for the walls and dark columns made from the rare mineral labradorite.
The iconostasis with images by N. Bruni is installed near the eastern wing of the building. Mosaic icons by V. Frolov were placed on the façade of the tomb.
The building's space was enough to equip 60 concrete crypts. The depth of each grave is 3.2 m. The consecration of the tomb took place in 1908. There were no plans for permanent worship in the necropolis, only memorial services for the deceased members of the imperial family.
In November 1908, the first funeral of Prince Alexei Alexandrovich took place in the Grand Ducal Burial Vault. Until 1917, 30 people were buried in the building.
During the revolutionary years, all the crypts were destroyed, and the bronze parts of the building's interior were sent for melting down. The tomb was transferred to the Museum of the Revolution, then it housed the Book Chamber and library. Eventually, the building began to be used as a warehouse for pulp products.
In 1954, the Museum of the History of Leningrad became the new owner of the building. According to the project of I. Benois, restoration of the tomb began, upon completion of which an exhibition about the Peter and Paul Fortress was placed in the main hall.
In 1992, after almost a century-long break, the funeral of the head of the Romanov house, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, took place in the tomb.
Nowadays, the Grand Ducal Tomb is a completely restored object of the country's cultural heritage, one of the most important architectural monuments of St. Petersburg.
Peter and Paul Cathedral - the tomb of representatives of the Romanov dynasty
Imperial burials of the 18th century. are located in the southern nave of the cathedral in front of the iconostasis, where the icon of the Apostle Peter is placed in an icon case. They are located in two rows. In the first row, in addition to Peter I and his second wife, Empress Catherine I, their daughter Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was laid to rest. Empress Anna Ioannovna, Emperor Peter III and Empress Catherine II are buried in the second row. Thus, Peter I the Great and his grandson Peter III are buried in front of the icon of their patron saint, the Apostle Peter.
Imperial burials in the northern nave of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
In the northern nave, in the iconostasis, there is an icon depicting the Apostle Paul; Emperor Paul I, his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna, their eldest son Emperor Alexander I and his wife Empress Elizabeth Feodorovna are buried in front of it. In the first row there are three graves: Emperor Nicholas I, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the eldest daughter of Peter I, Princess Anna Petrovna, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp - the mother of Peter III. In the northern nave, in the same row as Emperor Alexander II and his wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna, their son Emperor Alexander III rests. On September 28, 2006, Empress Maria Feodorovna (nee Maria Sophia Frederica Dagmar of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, 11/14/1867–10/13/1928) was reburied in the Peter and Paul Cathedral next to her husband Emperor Alexander III. Maria Feodorovna died in Denmark and was buried in Roskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen.
All tombstones in the Peter and Paul Cathedral are made of white Carrara marble, except for two, created from semi-precious stones. The burial of Alexander II is decorated with a tombstone made of green Altai jasper, weighing about 5.5 tons. Above the grave of his wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, a tombstone made of rhodonite, weighing about 6.5 tons, was installed. These magnificent monolithic tombstones were made according to the design of A. L. Gun at the Peterhof Lapidary Factory near St. Petersburg and installed in 1906, when the 25th anniversary of the death of the Tsar-Liberator, who abolished serfdom, and the Tsar-Martyr, who died from a Narodnaya Volya bomb after multiple assassination attempts, were celebrated.
In addition to emperors and empresses, family members were also buried in the cathedral: at the beginning of the 18th century. Relatives of Peter I were buried here, and from 1831 the graves of grand dukes began to appear.
V. Reinhardt. Peter and Paul Cathedral. North nave This is what the graves of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna looked like before they were replaced in 1906.
In 1939, at the request of the Greek government, in the presence of representatives of the museum, both governments and the clergy, the grave of the nee Greek princess Alexandra Georgievna, wife of the son of Alexander II, Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, was opened. Her remains were sent home for reburial. In 1994, the body of Tsarevich Georgy Alexandrovich was exhumed to identify the remains of his brother Nicholas II. After the necessary research, Georgy Alexandrovich was buried in the same coffin and crypt in the presence of clergy, and a memorial service was served.
During the restoration work in the cathedral after the fire of 1756, a wall was built that separated from the main hall of the temple three rooms located under the bell tower: the vestibule through which parishioners enter the temple, the sacristy and the chapel, consecrated in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine. After this, the main building of the cathedral was often called the “Main Temple”, and the Catherine’s chapel was often called the “Small Temple”. Separate services were held here.
On July 17, 1998, in the Catherine's chapel of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the remains of members of the family of Emperor Nicholas II, a servant and a doctor, who were shot in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918, were interred. The tombstone is made of three types of Italian marble, the tombstone is made of Carrara white marble. Under it is a two-tier crypt, on the lower tier of which are buried: doctor E. S. Botkin, maid A. S. Demidova, footman A. E. Trupp, cook I. M. Kharitonov.
On the upper tier of the crypt there are coffins with the remains of Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and three daughters: Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia. Memorial plaques on the walls of the Small Church contain information about all family members, but for Grand Duchess Maria and Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, whose remains were not found, there is no indication of the burial place. The funeral was attended by: President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin, representatives of foreign states, and a large number of guests. The delegation of the Romanov family, consisting of 52 people, was headed by the great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, Nikolai Romanovich Romanov. More than 1,000 correspondents covered this event in the media. The funeral requiem service was celebrated by clergy of the St. Petersburg diocese, led by the rector of the cathedral, Archpriest Boris Glebov. During the burial, 19 shots were fired.
The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church believes that “...The decision to identify the remains as belonging to the family of Emperor Nicholas II raised serious doubts and even opposition in the Church and society. In this regard, the Holy Synod speaks out in favor of the immediate burial of these remains in a symbolic grave-monument.”
In August 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized members of the family of Nicholas II, but did not change its attitude towards burial in the Catherine Chapel.
From the moment of the consecration of the stone Peter and Paul Cathedral, church and service life was largely determined by its use as an imperial tomb. Over time, funeral services for persons of the reigning house became the main activity of the clergy. The sacraments of baptism and weddings were never performed here.
In May 1919, by order of the commandant of the fortress, the cathedral was closed. Since the early 1990s. services have resumed here.
On the eve of the revolution, the large Romanov family numbered more than 60 people. 18 of them died during the years of revolutionary terror (four were shot in January 1919 in the Peter and Paul Fortress). The rest managed to leave their homeland. Their lives in exile developed differently. Now the Romanovs live in many countries of the world, have different professions. During their visits to our country and St. Petersburg, descendants of emperors visit the graves of their ancestors in the Peter and Paul Cathedral to venerate their memory.
Grand Ducal Tomb
By the end of the 19th century. There was practically no room left in the cathedral for new burials, so the building of the Grand Ducal Tomb was erected next to it according to the design of the architect D. I. Grimm, with the participation of A. O. Tomishko and L. N. Benois.
Combining features of various styles, the building fits well into the architectural ensemble of the Peter and Paul Fortress and forms a single ensemble with the Peter and Paul Cathedral, being its chapel, consecrated in 1908 in the name of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, one of the patrons of St. Petersburg.
The tomb is connected to the building of the Peter and Paul Cathedral by a gallery where rooms were provided - the Royal Rooms, intended for rest of members of the ruling family when visiting the graves of loved ones.
Grand-ducal tomb. Photo beginning XX century
Unlike the cathedral, sixty concrete crypts with a depth of 2.2 m, located in rows from east to west, were immediately prepared in the Grand Ducal Tomb. The grave was closed flush with the floor with a white marble slab, on which the title, name, places of birth and death, and the date of burial of the deceased were engraved. When they were buried in this building, the funeral service took place in the cathedral. By 1916 there were thirteen burials here, eight of which were moved from the Peter and Paul Cathedral. After the revolution, the tomb, like the cathedral, was closed and sealed. The bronze decorations and bars of the altar were sent for melting down. The building was subsequently used as a warehouse, at which time the tombstones were broken. In 1954, the tomb was transferred to the State Museum of the History of the City.
Funeral procession of Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Photo 1911
Funeral of Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov. Photo 1992
Funeral of Leonida Georgievna. Farewell to the body in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Photo 2010
Currently there are seventeen graves here. The burial in 1992 of the great-grandson of Emperor Alexander II, Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov (08/30/1917–04/21/1992), whom supporters considered a contender for the Russian throne, served as a precedent for subsequent burials. In 1995, the remains of Vladimir Kirillovich’s parents – Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (30.09.1876–12.10.1938) and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna (13.11.1876–2.03.1936) were reburied in the Grand Ducal Tomb from Coburg (Germany). On June 3, 2010, next to Vladimir Kirillovich in the Grand Ducal Tomb, his wife Leonida Georgievna (nee Princess Bagration-Mukhranskaya, 09.23.1914–05.23.2010, Madrid) was buried.
Church and parish life of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
The first wooden church in the Peter and Paul Fortress was consecrated on April 1, 1704 in the name of the apostles Peter and Paul. Little information has been preserved about the services in this church, but it is known that solemn services were held there in honor of the victories of Russian weapons, and trophies obtained in the Northern War were kept. . In 1712, when St. Petersburg became the capital of the state, construction of a new stone church began around the wooden church, which lasted 21 years. During the construction period, the clergy was preserved and services were held. Already in the first wooden church, the daughter of Peter I, Catherine, was buried; the burials of the Tsar’s relatives continued during the construction of the stone temple. When the remains of Peter I and Catherine I were interred in the cathedral in 1731, the temple became the imperial tomb. Indications that the cathedral was created by the cathedral decree of Anna Ioannovna in June 1731 are found in the chronicle of the Peter and Paul Fortress and in Bogdanov-Ruban, but no such decree was found in the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire.
On June 29, 1733, the consecration of this unique and huge “notoriously built church” took place in the presence of Empress Anna Ioannovna. The re-consecration of the cathedral took place on June 23, 1757, after a fire that destroyed the bell tower a year earlier.
On July 6, 1737, Anna Ioannovna imposed a resolution on the report of the Synod on the staff of the clergy and clergy of the St. Petersburg Peter and Paul Cathedral. The Synod drew the empress's attention to the small number of priests and their inconsistency with the high status of the temple: they are “unlearned people,” while for such a “noble church” they rely on “worthy, learned, skillful and benevolent people” and “infinite numbers” as ministers. The staff was significantly expanded, and from that time on, regular episcopal services began in the cathedral, led in turn by the highest hierarchs of the Russian Church.
Before the establishment of the St. Petersburg diocese in 1742, the cathedral was considered synodal and subordinate to the Holy Synod. In the Peter and Paul Cathedral, as a cathedral, clergy were promoted to the rank of bishop and St. Petersburg metropolitans were ordained, and here the new metropolitan was to hold his first service.
Already from the first years of its existence, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was not the only place for bishops' services. It was quite difficult to get to the Peter and Paul Fortress, especially in spring and autumn due to the “danger of the Neva,” so increasingly such services began to be held in other churches, and the Peter and Paul Cathedral began to lose its importance as the main one. In addition to the territorial inconvenience, it was important that members of the imperial family were buried in the cathedral; it became a memorial place, in which funeral services began to play a leading role.
In 1858, St. Isaac's Cathedral became the cathedral church of the St. Petersburg Metropolis, which is confirmed by the “Highly approved Ceremony of the consecration of the St. Petersburg Cathedral in the name of St. Isaac of Dalmatia on May 30, 1858.”
In 1859, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was transferred from the jurisdiction of the diocese to the court construction office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in 1883, together with the clergy, it was assigned to the Court Spiritual Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the cathedral received the status of a court, which was fully consistent with the historical situation, and retained it until 1917 In 2007, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir (Kotlyarov) named the Peter and Paul Cathedral the first cathedral of St. Petersburg.
Due to the fact that the cathedral is the tomb of the House of Romanov, a special church and service life of the temple developed: funeral services and memorials were held here for the deceased members of the imperial family, and such ordinary services as baptism and weddings were not held. Cathedral members took part in all ceremonies of the monarchs' funerals and memorial services. Sometimes the funeral service was held in the cathedral for the commandants of the fortress, who were buried in the Commandant Cemetery. By the end of the 19th century. a “List of church and service activities of the Peter and Paul Cathedrals” was established, indicating the regular holding of divine services. Due to the location of the cathedral in the center of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the duties of the clergy included performing religious rites for those who made up the parish of the church: soldiers of the fortress garrison, prisoners held in the fortress, workers of the Mint. On the eve of holidays, Sundays and highly solemn days, all-night vigils were served, after each liturgy all persons buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, starting with Peter I, were commemorated.
Another aspect of the activity of the cathedral clergy is the swearing in of Mint workers and young soldiers. The clergy of the cathedral taught the law of God to the young soldiers of the fortress bastion and oversaw the observance of penance (punishment) imposed on prisoners, soldiers and officers of the fortress garrison.
The temple holidays of the Peter and Paul Cathedral were: June 29 - the day of the patrons of the cathedral, the supreme apostles Peter and Paul; November 24 - Holy Great Martyr Catherine in memory of the patron saint of the small church - Catherine's chapel; August 30 (transfer of the relics to St. Petersburg) and November 23 (burial) are the days of the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, which began to be celebrated after the consecration of the Grand Ducal tomb in honor of this saint in 1908. Holidays were also dedicated to temple shrines, and religious processions were held.
After 1917, services continued for some time, but apparently stopped in 1919, when the temple was closed by order of the commandant of the fortress A.I. Poppel, however, the staff and income were maintained until 1922, after which the staff disintegrated.
In 1922, the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Grand Ducal Tomb were assigned as museum objects to the Glavnauka, created under the People's Commissariat for Education. In 1924, the Trubetskoy Bastion Prison, and in 1926, the cathedral and tomb were transferred to the Museum of the Revolution. A new page of history opened for the Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1954, when it came under the jurisdiction of the State. Museum of the History of Leningrad (since 1991 - St. Petersburg).
One of the first and basic legal documents initiating the transfer of religious property to believers in post-Soviet times was the Order of the President of the Russian Federation of April 23, 1993, in which the Government of the Russian Federation was entrusted with the gradual transfer of religious property in federal ownership into ownership or use religious organizations. In 1997, Minister of Culture E. Yu. Sidorov determined the forms of contractual relations with the church regarding monuments: 1. Form of ownership (rarely used); 2. Free use (often used); 3. Sharing (rarely used). The third type of use includes such monuments as the Moscow Kremlin, Peter and Paul Cathedral, etc.
In the early 1990s. two parishes were registered: one for the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the other for the Grand Ducal Tomb with its rector, Archpriest Boris Glebov. In 2001, the current parish was registered, the chairman of the parish council (headman) of which is B. A. Almazov, and the treasurer is N. N. Valuysky. The rector of the cathedral is Abbot Alexander (Fedorov). There was no new consecration of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in post-Soviet times; after the registration of the parish before the celebration of the temple holiday on July 12, 2002, a new antimension was issued by Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir (Kotlyarov).
1992 can be considered the beginning of the resumption of services, mainly of a memorial nature; this became possible after the burial of Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov in the Grand Ducal Tomb. In 1997, the cathedral hosted the first all-night liturgy after the revolution; a year later, on July 17, 1998, Father Boris Glebov held a service for the innocent murdered, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the execution of the family of the last Russian emperor and the burial of Yekaterinburg remains in the Catherine Chapel. On July 12, 1999, on the day of the apostles Peter and Paul, the first all-night and metropolitan liturgy was held in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which was conducted by Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga. From this time on, services became regular.
In 2007, the St. Petersburg Diocesan Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church turned to the Chairman of the Federation Council S. M. Mironov with a request to head the Board of Trustees of the Imperial Peter and Paul Cathedral, the result was the signing between the diocese and the museum of an agreement on the joint use of the cathedral and the organization of regular services from the beginning of 2008.
On the night of April 27, 2008, for the first time in the post-Soviet period, the rector of the cathedral, Abbot Alexander Fedorov, held an Easter service, and on July 12, 2009, Patriarch Kirill performed the Divine Liturgy in the cathedral, thus marking the city’s name day. This was the first patriarchal service in the entire history of the temple. Previously, even if the patriarchs visited the cathedral, but did not conduct divine services, there is no need to talk about the Russian Empire in this context due to the absence of the institution of patriarchy in it. The Patriarch presented the cathedral with a copy of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which is now kept in the central nave on the salt to the left of the Royal Doors. Vicar Bishop Ambrose, on behalf of the diocese, presented the bishop with an icon of the apostles Peter and Paul as a gift. Patriarchal services have become a new tradition. On July 12, 2010, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church also celebrated the day of the apostles Peter and Paul.
On September 30, 2009, a historic agreement on services was reached between the metropolis and the museum; in accordance with it, excursion work is not conducted during services. Divine services are held on Saturdays - All-night vigil and on Sundays - liturgy. Services mark all the main twelfth holidays and Easter, memorial services are held for the deceased emperors, some empresses and members of the imperial family, temple holidays are traditionally celebrated: the days of the apostles Peter and Paul, the Great Martyr Catherine and the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky.
In the general list of churches of the St. Petersburg Metropolis, the cathedral is listed as the “Imperial Memorial Cathedral in the Name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul” at No. 126.
In November 2010, President D. Medvedev signed the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the transfer of state or municipal property for religious purposes to church organizations. The future will show how this law will affect the fate of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
From the book of Mukhtasar “Sahih” (collection of hadiths) by al-BukhariChapter 1188: Arrival of the Ash'arites and (other representatives of) the inhabitants of Yemen. 1611 (4385). It is reported that Abu Musa, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “(Once) we, several people from among the Ash’arites, came to the prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and asked him to give us
From the book Orthodox Holidays [with calendar for 2010] author Shulyak SergeyFebruary 12 - Council of Ecumenical Teachers (or Council of Three Hierarchs) Council of Ecumenical Teachers and Hierarchs is a holiday of the Orthodox Church dedicated to the memory of the great Cappadocians Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople John Chrysostom,
From the book Lectures on the History of the Ancient Church author Brilliantov Alexander IvanovichChristological views of representatives of various movements in the era of the Nestorian and Eutychian
From the book 1115 questions to a priest author section of the website OrthodoxyRuDid one of the most authoritative representatives of modern Judaism really admit that the name of the Messiah is Jesus? Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) On January 29, 2006, at the age of 108, Kabbalist Isaac Kaduri (real name Diba), who was the spiritual leader of the Sephardic
From the book The Complete History of the Christian Church author Bakhmeteva Alexandra NikolaevnaWhen did the practice of appointing only black clergy as bishops finally develop? Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) In the first centuries, people who had a wife and children could be bishops. St. Apostle Paul in his 1st Epistle to Timothy says that a bishop should be
From the book The Complete History of the Christian Church author Bakhmetyeva Alexandra Nikolaevna From the book Optina Patericon author author unknownChapter VIII The Heresy of Nestorius and the Third Ecumenical Council. The Heresy of Eutyches and the Fourth Council. Fifth Ecumenical Council The debate about Pelagianism had barely subsided in the West when strong excitement began in the East over the false teachings of Nestorius. Antiochian presbyter Nestorius was elected in 428
From the book The Greatness of Babylon. History of the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia by Suggs HenryThe influence of Optina Pustyn on representatives of Russian culture “Optina Pustyn historically turned out to be the place where the Russian intelligentsia met the Church. And they met not at some debates or “official” services, but with the very depth of faith
From the book New Russian Martyrs author Polish Protopresbyter Michael From the book Jesus Christ and the Bible Mysteries author Maltsev Nikolay Nikiforovich From the book Suzdal. Story. Legends. Legends author Ionina Nadezhda12. Methodius, Bishop of Petropavlovsk Bishop Methodius, former priest Mikhail Krasnoperov of the Sarapul district of Vyatka province, graduated from the Kazan Theological Academy. In 1913, the Vicariate of Petropavlovsk and Akmola was established in the Omsk diocese. The first bishop was
From the book Sad Rituals of Imperial Russia author Logunova Marina Olegovna8. Nicholas II - the last tsar of the Romanov dynasty. Visual evidence of the gradual spiritual purification and improvement of the hereditary hereditary Orthodox monarchs of the reigning dynasties is the life and sacrificial death of the last representative
From the author's bookCelebration in Suzdal of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov At the beginning of 1913, not only both capitals - Moscow and St. Petersburg, but all of Russia lived with one event - the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov. Preparations for the festivities have begun
From the author's bookTomb of Prince D.M. Pozharsky Prince D.M. Pozharsky died in the sovereign's service, and in the boyar lists about him (as well as about Kuzma Minin) it was noted: “dropped out.” They were buried as befits the Orthodox rite: they sang “eternal memory” over the coffin, but over time, memories of
From the author's bookCathedral of the Holy Archangel Michael (Arkhangelsk Cathedral) The Cathedral of the Holy Archangel Michael (Archangel Cathedral) in the Kremlin was the tomb of the great princes and Russian tsars. In the old days it was called the Church of St. Michael on the Square. The current cathedral was erected
From the author's bookPETROPAUL CATHEDRAL In 1703, soon after the construction of the timber-earth fortress of St. Petersburg (Peter and Paul) began, two wooden churches were erected on its territory. Orthodox in honor of the apostles Peter and Paul was founded by Peter I himself. The second -
During the turbulent history of Peter and Paul Fortress, not only its external architectural appearance, but also its memorial appearance was formed. In fact, today it is a whole necropolis, with facade, half-open and not yet explored sides.
Who is buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress
Official burials appeared on the territory of the fortress even before the completion of the construction of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which became known as the Peter and Paul Cathedral. In the wooden church in 1708, the first to be buried in infancy was Catherine, the daughter of Peter I. In 1715 - 1717, the graves of three more young children of the sovereign appeared in the unfinished cathedral - daughters Natalya, Margarita and son Paul. At the same time, Tsarina Marfa Matveevna found her last refuge here.
Despite inter-family feuds and accusations of conspiracy, at the behest of Peter the Great, his disgraced eldest son Alexei (died under unclear circumstances in 1718) and sister Maria (March 1723) were laid to rest in the imperial tomb. Their graves are located under the bell tower in the chapel of St. Catherine. In 1725, the body of the deceased Peter I was also transferred to the church.
Peter the First
The last Tsar of All Rus' (from 1682) and the first Emperor of All Russia (from 1721) died at the age of 52 in January 1725 in the Winter Palace. In accordance with the regulations of the ceremony, which he himself developed, the body for farewell was initially exhibited there in the funeral hall. The Emperor was in the coffin in brocade clothes embroidered with lace with a sword and St. Andrew the First-Called on his chest.
After a month, he was embalmed and transferred to a temporary wooden church, specially erected in honor of the sad occasion, installed directly in the unfinished Cathedral of Peter and Paul. And only six years later, in 1731, at the behest of Anna Ioannovna, who reigned at that time, Peter the Great, together with his wife Catherine I, who died two years later than the sovereign, were buried in the imperial tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Their crypt tombs, the chambers of which are located under the floor, are located at the southern entrance to the temple. As evidenced by inscriptions and crosses made of pure gold.
Tombs in the Peter and Paul Fortress
The fortress church became the last home for almost all the sovereigns of Russia, including Alexander III.
Catherine II
The tomb of Catherine the Great located in the Peter and Paul Cathedral is missing the epitaph that the empress personally composed during her lifetime. “Having ascended the Russian throne, she wished well and tried to bring happiness, freedom and property to her subjects,” the empress wrote about herself. Her death was as turbulent and shrouded in gossip as her life.
But the most tragic thing is that his son Paul, who inherited the crown, ordered his mother to be buried next to the body of the murdered Peter III, delivered from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and personally crowned by him. The crippled former spouses lay side by side in the mourning tent of the Winter Palace for 4 days in early December 1796, and then were moved to the cathedral for burial.
“You will think that these spouses spent their entire lives together on the throne, died and were buried on the same day,” Nikolai Grech wrote about this event.
The general list does not include only Peter II, who was laid to rest in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin, as well as John VI Antonovich, who was killed in the Oreshek fortress. After the burial in 1831, at the request of Nicholas I of his brother Konstantin Pavlovich, funeral services for members of the imperial family began on the territory of the temple.
Ekaterina Mikhailovna, Grand Duchess
The granddaughter of Paul I found her last refuge in the cathedral on May 4 (16), 1894, dying after a long illness. The Grand Duchess was known for her charitable work in Russia, her promotion of women's education, and her conservative views.
After her death, a funeral litany was held in her home - the Mikhailovsky Palace. Alexander III took part in the burial in the imperial tomb. The name of Ekaterina Mikhailovna went down in history as an example of philanthropy and care for one’s neighbor.
Due to the overcrowding of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, a Grand Ducal Tomb was erected nearby in 1897 - 1908, connected to it by a covered gallery. During the period from 1908 to 1915, the graves of 13 people appeared in it, 8 of whom were reburied from the cathedral. Since 1992, the tradition has been resumed, and to date, 4 burials of members and close associates of the imperial family have been added.
Still buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress
Next to the cathedral there was a commandant's cemetery, where almost all the commanders of the fortress were buried. In addition, from the moment the first prisoners appeared in Petropavlovka in 1717 until the official closure of the Trubetskoy Bastion prison in 1923, cases of suicide and natural death were repeatedly recorded here. Therefore, it is possible that not all the dead were taken outside the citadel for burial.
Periodic random discoveries since the late 80s of the last century of so-called execution pits with the remains of those killed in 1917 - 1921 indicate that these little-studied graves are chronologically the last in the history of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the tomb of the Russian Tsars. February 6th, 2014
Today, as every time I visit St. Petersburg, I visited the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the resting place of members of the Romanov dynasty.
I believe that this is a holy place for every Russian person, because here are the ashes of those who built our country, its cities, ports, roads, and created the basis of its industry. The ashes of those who created Russia in the understanding and idea familiar to everyone. Those who for centuries defended Christianity and Orthodox peoples from foreign enslavement.
The current Russian Troubles began exactly at the moment when the Russian monarchy ceased to exist, and there is very little left to wait until the centennial anniversary of this event.
Orthodox Russian tsars built and protected our state for centuries, collected new lands, making the Russian Empire, or simply Russia, the largest country in the world. In the end, it was the monarchical form of the state that existed in our history by an order of magnitude more than all other forms of Russian statehood
Anthem of the Russian Empire.
Gate to the fortress.
Peter and Paul Cathedral. Until the year before last, the tallest building in St. Petersburg. It was finally built by 1733.
Interior decoration of the temple.
It was unpleasant that when visiting excursion groups, guides and caretakers do not make comments to men who do not take off their hats, but there were some, especially among foreigners. Unfortunately, many perceive the cathedral not as a sacred temple, but as a museum exhibit.
Catherine's Chapel, where the remains of the family of the last Russian Tsar, who were brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg in 1918, rest.
The Russian Orthodox Church has already canonized them in our time.
Burial of the founder of the Russian Empire and the city of St. Petersburg, Peter the Great.
The burial of the greatest Russian Empress Catherine the Second, thanks to whose actions, including the current state of Ukraine, owns a third of its territory.
Photos of other members of the dynasty who lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The winner of Napoleon Bonaparte, Tsar Alexander the First.
Nicholas the First, who successfully suppressed the first liberal rebellion in the history of the Russian state - the Decembrist uprising.
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, mother of the last Emperor Nicholas II, who escaped death only because she was in Kyiv in 1917.
She died in Western Europe and was reburied here in 2006.
In Kyiv, in her honor, in 1916, the current Petrovsky railway bridge was named. In general, she did a lot of useful things for our city, she sincerely loved it and always stayed in it for a long time.
Later, in Soviet Russia, her memory was, of course, consigned to oblivion.
Her husband, Emperor Alexander III, who died suddenly in Crimea from illness in 1894. After him, power passed to their son Nicholas, who was destined to become the last Russian Tsar.
The builder of Kyiv is Emperor Nicholas I. It was thanks to his personal participation that Kyiv, from a city of monasteries and pilgrims, began to turn into a large provincial center with developed industry and transport infrastructure. Under him, most of the streets in the center of Kyiv were laid out, as we can see them to this day.
Alexander II - Tsar Liberator. He freed the peasantry from serfdom and the Balkan peoples from the Turkish yoke.
He was killed in 1881 in St. Petersburg by Narodnaya Volya terrorists. This is how the predecessors of the current enemies of the Russian state called themselves in those years, from pro-Western liberals to Trotskyists and Islamic militants.
Family of the last Russian Tsar.
Trinity Bridge of St. Petersburg, built in 1903 for the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg. Under the USSR it was called Kirovsky.
And the frozen Neva.
View of the Peter and Paul Cathedral from the Trinity Bridge.
Peter and Paul Cathedral
The Peter and Paul Cathedral, whose gilded spire has become one of the symbols of St. Petersburg, is widely known as an outstanding architectural monument of the first half of the 18th century. Its history as a tomb of the Russian Imperial House is much less covered.
Meanwhile, contemporaries perceived the Peter and Paul Cathedral primarily as a necropolis of the House of Romanov, and its church services were largely dedicated to this. Many leading architects and artists of the city took part in the sad design of the cathedral for mourning ceremonies - D. Trezii, A. Vist, G. Quarenghi, O. Montferrand and others. Unfortunately, only contemporaries of the events could see all this, since after the funeral the funeral decorations were dismantled, and the cathedral took on its usual appearance.
The Cathedral in the name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in the St. Petersburg Fortress, called “Peter and Paul” since 1858, was built in 1712-1733 according to the design of the architect Domenico Trezzini.
Consecrated on June 29, 1733, the cathedral is one of the most interesting architectural monuments of the Baroque era. The temple is a rectangular building stretched from west to east, above the eastern part of which rises a drum topped with a dome, and above the western part is a bell tower with a gilded spire. The latter remains the tallest (122.5 meters) architectural structure in the city to this day.
The Peter and Paul Cathedral occupied a special place among the churches of St. Petersburg. Being a cathedral, it was also the tomb of the Imperial House of Romanov.
The custom of burying members of the ruling dynasty in temples, based on the ancient idea of the divine origin of their power, was widespread throughout the Christian world. In pre-Petrine Rus', such a temple was the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. With the transfer of the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 1712, its functions were transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The creation of the tomb in St. Petersburg was supposed to serve as one of the many proofs of the new era of Russian history begun by Peter I.
<...>The Peter and Paul Cathedral absorbed features characteristic of that culture - active Europeanization while simultaneously preserving the foundations of Orthodoxy. These features also explain the cathedral’s numerous connections with other monuments of Russian and world history.
Painting "The appearance of an angel to the myrrh-bearers at the tomb of the Savior"
Painting "Christ's Prayer for the Chalice"
In the events of Russian history, it took the place of the Archangel Cathedral. On this occasion, one of the first historians of the cathedral wrote: “...The Archangel Cathedral in Moscow is very rightly called the “Sanctuary of Russian History”, as it contains the remains of our Grand Dukes from Kalita... to Tsar Ivan Alekseevich. This name, just as rightly, belongs to the Peter and Paul Cathedral - as it serves as the tomb of the Most August Persons of our Imperial House since the founding of St. Petersburg...” In world events, Peter I, having turned the Peter and Paul Cathedral into a tomb, seemed to continue the tradition of the first
Christian Emperor Constantine, who in the 4th century built the Church of the Holy Apostles in the new capital of his empire, Constantinople, with the intention of turning it into his mausoleum and tomb of the entire dynasty. In the 6th century, the Frankish king Clovis built the Basilica of the Apostles Peter and Paul on the left bank of the Seine, which also became his tomb.
Over the course of two centuries, almost all Russian emperors from Peter I to Nicholas II (the only exceptions were Emperors Peter II and John VI Antonovich) and many members of the imperial family were buried under the arches of the cathedral.
The first to be buried in the Church of the Apostles Peter and Paul was the one-and-a-half-year-old daughter of Peter I, Catherine, who died in 1708. (Subsequently, the wooden church, built in 1703-1704, was dismantled in connection with the construction of a stone church on this site that began in 1712.)
Stucco molding on the sail of the cathedral
Fragments of paintings on the cathedral vaults
By the time of the death of Peter I, the cathedral had not yet been completed. Therefore, inside it, according to the design of Domenico Trezzini, a temporary wooden church was built. There, on March 10, 1725, with an appropriately magnificent ceremony, the bodies of Peter I and his daughter Natalya, who died on March 4, were transferred. Both coffins were placed on a hearse under a canopy upholstered in gold fabric.
In 1727, a coffin with the body of his wife, Empress Catherine I, was also placed there. In May 1731, Empress Anna Ioannovna ordered the ashes of Peter I and his wife to be interred. The burial, according to the Vedomosti of that time, “took place with a special ceremony on May 29, Saturday, at eleven o’clock in the morning. Gentlemen from the generals and the admiralty and many collegiate officials were present. During the placing of the coffins in the Imperial Cemetery, which had been specially prepared for this , fifty-one shots were fired from the fortress." The exact date of interment of his daughter’s ashes is unknown.
After the fire of 1756, as a result of which the wooden dome and spire of the cathedral burned and its interior was damaged, the idea arose of turning the cathedral into a kind of mausoleum of Peter the Great. The project presented by Academician M.V. Lomonosov won the announced competition. However, this project could not be implemented for a number of reasons.
During the 18th - first third of the 19th centuries, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was, as a rule, a burial place for crowned heads. The remaining members of the imperial
families were buried in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and other places. Since 1831, by order of Nicholas I, grand dukes, princesses and princesses also began to be buried in the cathedral.
In the first half of the 18th century, tombstones made of white alabaster stone were placed over the burial sites, and in the 70s, when the cathedral was restored and rebuilt, they were replaced with new ones made of gray Karelian marble. The tombstones were covered with gold brocade, lined with ermine, and had coats of arms sewn on top. On ordinary days, covers made of dark green or black cloth were placed on them, lined with gold braid on top and bottom and bearing a monogram image of the name of the deceased. In the 40-50s of the 19th century, the first tombstones made of white Italian (Carrara) marble appeared.
Tomb of Peter I. Modern view
In March 1865, Alexander II, visiting the cathedral, drew attention to the unsightly appearance of the covers on the tombstones. The preservation of the tombstones themselves also turned out to be poor. He ordered that all tombstones, “which have fallen into disrepair or are not made of marble, should be made of white, according to the model of the last ones.” According to the design of the architect A. A. Poirot, fifteen tombstones were made of white Italian marble.
they stood on the graves of Peter I, Catherine I, Anna Petrovna, Anna Ioannovna, Elizaveta Petrovna, Peter III, Catherine II, Paul I, Maria Fedorovna, Alexander I, Elizaveta Alekseevna, Konstantin Pavlovich, Alexandra Maximilianovna, Alexandra Mikhailovna and Anna Mikhailovna. The tombstones of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich and Grand Duchesses Alexandra Nikolaevna and Maria Mikhailovna were cleaned and repolished.
The tombstones have the shape of a quadrangular prism, on the top cover of which lies a large bronze cross, gilded with red gold. At the heads, on the side wall, bronze plaques are attached indicating the name of the deceased, title, date and place of birth and death, and date of burial. On the tombstones of emperors and empresses, in addition to the cross, four more bronze coats of arms of the Russian Empire are placed in the corners.
The date of accession to the throne was also written on the board. The texts of the inscriptions on the bronze plaques were compiled by the Russian historian N. G. Ustryalov. After the installation of tombstones in 1867, a decree followed to abolish all covers on them.
<...>
In 1887, Alexander III ordered the white marble tombstones on the graves of his parents, Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna, to be replaced with richer and
elegant. For this purpose, monoliths of green Altai jasper (for Alexander II) and pink Ural rhodonite - orlets (for Maria Alexandrovna) were used.
Graves of Alexander II and the Empress
Maria Alexandrovna. Modern look
The production of tombstones (according to the sketches of the architect A. L. Gun) was carried out at Peterhof-
skaya lapidary factory for eighteen years. They were installed in the cathedral in February 1906.
By the end of the 19th century, there were forty-six burials in the Peter and Paul Cathedral and there was practically no room left for new burials. Therefore, in 1896, next to the cathedral, construction began on the Grand Ducal Tomb, officially called the Tomb of the Members of the Imperial Family, or the New Tomb, at the Peter and Paul Cathedral. It was built from 1896 to 1908 according to the design of the architect D. I. Grimm with the participation of A. O. Tomishko and L. N. Benois. On November 5, 1908, the newly built Shrine building was consecrated. First, they consecrated the throne in the altar in honor of the holy Prince Alexander Nevsky, who was considered
patron of St. Petersburg, and then the building itself. Three days after this
ceremony, the first burial took place - the son of Alexander III, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, was buried near the southern altar.
A delegation of St. Petersburg elders goes to the Peter and Paul Cathedral to lay a medal on the grave of Peter I. 1903
In 1909-1912, the ashes of several family members were transferred to the Burial Vault from the cathedral. At the same time, the reburial took several days, since the crypts in the Tomb were smaller than the arks transferred from the cathedral.
In 1916, there were thirteen burials here, eight of which were moved from the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Unlike the cathedral, there were no tombstones in the Shrine. The grave was covered flush with the floor with a white marble slab, on which the title, name, places and dates of birth and death, and date of burial were engraved. In 1859, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was transferred from the jurisdiction of the diocese to the court construction office of the Ministry of the Imperial Household, and in 1883 it, together with the clergy, was included in the Court Spiritual Department.
Delegation of the city of Gatchina with a wreath on the grave of Alexander III. 1912
The special position of the Peter and Paul Cathedral made significant adjustments to its church activities. Christian sacraments such as baptism and weddings were never performed here. The funeral rite was performed only for deceased members of the imperial family, and only in certain cases were exceptions made for the commandants of the fortress, who were buried in the Commandant's Cemetery near the cathedral wall.
By 1917, there were more than a thousand wreaths on the walls, columns and at graves in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. For example, at the grave of Alexander III there were 674 of them. There were icons and lamps on almost every grave and near it. On the tombstones of Peter I, Nicholas I and Alexander II lay gold, silver and bronze medals, embossed on the occasion of various anniversaries.
German Emperor Wilhelm II at the southern entrance to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Photographer K. Bulla. 1906
In September-October 1917, by order of the Provisional Government, all icons and lamps, gold, silver and bronze medals from the graves, gold, silver and porcelain wreaths were removed, placed in boxes and sent to Moscow. The further fate of the removed cathedral valuables is still unknown.
On May 14, 1919, by order of the commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress, the cathedral and tomb were closed and sealed. On April 21, 1922, the remains of church valuables were confiscated to help the starving. It took place in the presence of the commandant of the fortress, the patron of the cathedral, the manager of its property and a representative of the Main Museum.
In 1926, the cathedral came under the jurisdiction of the Museum of the Revolution.
The Duke of Connaught at the entrance to Peter and Paul Cathedral. Photographer K. Bulla. Beginning of the 20th century
In 1939, the grave of Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna, wife of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich (he was shot in 1919), was opened. She was born a princess of Greece, and her ashes, at the request of the Greek government, were transported to her homeland.
The fate of the Grand Ducal Tomb turned out differently. In December 1926, a commission that examined the building came to the conclusion that “all bronze decorations, as well as the bars of the altar, as being of no historical or artistic value, are subject to melting down.” The decorations were removed, and their further fate is unknown.
Italian King Victor Emmanuel III at the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Photographer K. Bulla. 1902
In the early 1930s, the Tomb was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Leningrad branch of the Central Book Chamber and was used to store books seized during searches. After the Great Patriotic War, the building housed for some time
there was a paper mill warehouse.
In 1954, the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Grand Ducal Tomb were transferred to the State Museum of the History of Leningrad. In the 1960s, after repair and restoration work was carried out, the exhibition “History of the Construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress” was opened in the Tomb building. It was dismantled in May 1992 in connection with the burial of the great-grandson of Alexander II, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, and the beginning of restoration work. After When completed, the building will be returned to its original appearance.
Arrival of the Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand at the Grand Ducal Tomb. 1909
According to one historian, “every Russian considers it his sacred duty to visit the Tomb of our Royal House; foreigners who arrived in St. Petersburg also rush to venerate the tombs of the High Departed."
PETROPAUL CATHEDRAL
Peter and Paul Cathedral. Tomb of the Imperial House of Romanov