I suggest taking a walk through the Novodevichy cemetery, which is located on the territory of the currently operating Resurrection Novodevichy Convent. Many people do not even suspect the existence of the Novodevichy Cemetery in St. Petersburg, believing that a cemetery and monastery under that name exist only in Moscow. However, today the St. Petersburg Novodevichy Cemetery is beginning to be revived, tombstones are being restored, interesting excursions are held (both regular tourist and special pilgrimage), and more and more people are learning about this place.
Before the revolution, the Novodevichy cemetery was one of the most expensive and prestigious in St. Petersburg and, although it was badly damaged during the Soviet period, to this day it remains a valuable historical necropolis. A walk through the Novodevichy Cemetery will be interesting both for those who like to study the biographies of outstanding people and for connoisseurs of artistic tombstones. There are also shrines here, where people come to pray or simply make a wish. You can read about famous people buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in a separate article. In the meantime, we will tell you about the most beautiful and unusual tombstones of the Novodevichy cemetery, and also get acquainted with its history (and the history of the monastery itself).
The most beautiful and unusual tombstones of the Novodevichy cemetery in St. Petersburg
Among the tombstones at the Novodevichy cemetery there are sarcophagi, obelisks, slabs, steles with crosses, pedestals, slides with large chips, monuments in the form of an oncoming wave, chapels, miniature temples... There are also monuments with portraits of the deceased, but quite a few of them have survived because Busts, bas-reliefs and other similar details were the first to suffer when the cemetery was destroyed.
Although a significant part of the pre-revolutionary burials have not survived to this day, we can still admire the surviving monuments of the 19th - early 20th centuries, which are of undoubted historical and artistic value.
Many headstones are created from valuable materials, including rare types of marble and granite. On some you can still read the names of the owners of the workshops where they were made.
From the point of view of artistic merit, family chapels and tombs stand out especially.
Unfortunately, they are all ruined and are unlikely to be restored to their former splendor, but even today they amaze with the quality and variety of design.
Perhaps the most beautiful is the Art Nouveau tomb of Lucia Gilse Van der Pals, née Johansen.
The massive chapel with a decorative frieze is a stylization of an ancient Egyptian tomb.
The tomb was built in 1904 according to the design of the architect V. Yu. Johansen in the workshop of Yu. P. Korsak. Its walls are made of Radom sandstone, the base is made of granite, and the floor is marble.
Inside the tomb, a marble bas-relief by the Piedmontese sculptor Pietro Canonica (1869-1959) (sometimes his last name is written “Canon” or “Canonico”) has survived. During his long life, the master managed to work fruitfully in Russia, Italy, England, Turkey... Not everyone knows that once on Manezhnaya Square in St. Petersburg there was an equestrian monument to Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich by Pietro Canonica (1914). In 1918, the “ugly statue” was demolished, but in the Canonica House Museum in the Villa Borghese park in Rome, you can still see the models created for the monument to this day. Among other works of the Canon, we know the sculpture of the nun “After Taking a Vow” (one of the versions is currently exhibited in the St. Petersburg Museum of the History of Religion).
Buried in such an elegant chapel, Lucia (Lucy) was the daughter of the Danish professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Julius Johansen, and the wife of the Dutch consul, co-director of the Russian-American Manufactory of Rubber Products (the future “Red Triangle”), philanthropist and philanthropist Heinrich van Gilze van der Pals. Many people are familiar with the luxurious mansion of G. G. Gilze van der Pals on English Avenue (the current military registration and enlistment office). The mansion was built by Lucia's brother, the architect William Yulievich Johansen (who, as was said, designed this magnificent tombstone). Old photographs show that the rooms of the mansion were decorated with marble statues by Pietro Canonica, including the mentioned figure of a nun. Apparently, Gilse van der Pals was a connoisseur of Canonica’s work, so it is not surprising that he entrusted him with the sculptural design of the grave of his beloved wife.
Another interesting burial from the point of view of artistic merit is the grave of artillery general Dmitry Sergeevich Mordvinov (1820-1894). This is undoubtedly one of the most famous and beautiful tombstones of the St. Petersburg Novodevichy cemetery. Unfortunately, the side plates with the name of the buried person have been lost, but the artistic metal fence has survived.
The most notable feature of the tombstone is the bronze figure of a seated angel above a marble sarcophagus. A living flower is often placed in the hand of an angel.
The sculpture of the angel was created in the workshop of the French sculptor and artist Charles Bertault (Charles Bertault). The St. Petersburg bronze foundry Berto (formerly F. Chopin) specialized in the production of small bronze plastics. For participation in the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900, where the factory’s products were awarded a gold medal, Berto received the title “Supplier to the Court of His Imperial Majesty.” Despite this, due to financial difficulties, after two years he had to close the business and return to France.
Sculptural monuments with marble or bronze figures of angels standing or sitting at a tombstone were very common at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, but few such examples have survived to this day. Therefore, despite the fact that this is just a “standard” sample that is not related to the individuality of the customer, the tombstone is perceived as of great value.
As for the personality of D.S. Mordvinov, who is buried here, it is known that he served in the artillery from a young age. In 1856, he was appointed head of a separate office of the War Ministry, and ten years later he became director of the office of the War Ministry, to which he devoted almost half of his many years of service. In 1872, Mordvinov was granted adjutant general to His Imperial Majesty; in 1881 he was appointed a member of the Military Council and awarded the diamond insignia of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. In 1883, Mordvinov was promoted to artillery general, and in 1889 he celebrated his 50th anniversary of service in the officer ranks and received the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st degree.
It is also worth paying attention to the tombstone of the St. Petersburg architect, who, however, is not very well known to the public. This is Ivan Denisovich Chernik (1811-1874), who worked in the military department and built, in particular, the new building of the General Staff and the Kryukov (Naval) barracks.
The burial of I. D. Chernik is one of the most beautiful surviving monuments at the Novodevichy cemetery. It is a magnificent white marble sarcophagus on a high pedestal. The plaque with the epitaph and surname of the deceased has not survived, but the bas-relief portraits of I. D. Chernik himself and his wife have survived (the latter, unfortunately, was damaged by vandals and cannot be restored due to the specifics of Carrara marble.
The monument was made in the workshop of the Italian sculptor Domenico Carli in Genoa (1878).
One of the most unusual burials in Novodevichy cemetery is the grave of mathematician, professor Vladimir Pavlovich Maksimovich (1850-1889).
Maksimovich was born in St. Petersburg into a noble family and from an early age had outstanding mathematical abilities. He studied in St. Petersburg and Paris, worked at Kazan and Kiev universities. At the beginning of 1889, the mathematician was diagnosed with severe mental illness, and in the same year he died at the age of 39.
The tombstone of Vladimir Maksimovich is a stone sphere in an artistic metal fence. On the sphere are images of the zodiac signs and a quote from Byron’s poem “Euthanasia” in English (“ Count o"er the joys thine hours have seen...»).
This poem is known in translations by I. Golts-Miller and V. Levik (in the latter’s arrangement this quatrain sounds like this: “It is close, the day calling for a funeral feast, ||Count the blessings of past days, ||And you will understand: whoever you were in life, ||Not to be, not to live - it’s much more accurate”).
To be continued...
The cemetery is not the most pleasant place that most of us have ever visited in our lives. Literally, the deathly silence that envelops this place is terrifying, and the crows sitting on rickety crosses, whose cawing breaks the silence with a piercing sound, are truly terrifying. Although the tombstones that can be seen in a cemetery can be much creepier than the cemetery itself. Here are 25 of the strangest, most heartbreaking and sometimes funny gravestones from around the world.
Woman at the piano. I wonder if she played during her lifetime?
This Woman Really Loved Mickey Mouse
We hope that this man's death and smoking are not related.
Tomb of the creator of the labyrinth
Now they will sleep forever
The tree mercilessly swallowed up the old grave
This tomb is located in Paris, France and contains the inventor of the gas lamp, Charles Pigeon.
In this grave lies a 10-year-old girl who died in 1871, who during her lifetime was very afraid of thunderstorms. After the death of her daughter, her grief-stricken mother ordered the construction of a basement next to the girl’s grave, where she could go down during a thunderstorm and calm her daughter.
This life-size monument in a glass box was commissioned by the mother of the deceased
This is the grave of a 16-year-old girl whose sister commissioned this life-size headstone.
Lovers from Thailand
One of the most heartbreaking monuments we have ever seen, and one that reminds us that we are all in God's hands.
A tombstone in the shape of a mobile phone in one of the Israeli cemeteries
Happy forever
A terrifying tomb located in Genoa, Italy
In this grave with an eerie tombstone lies the writer Georges Rodenbach, who emerged from it.
Mortsafe: This appearance of the grave was common in 18th century Scotland and was done to protect graves from looting, which was a common occurrence among medical students who were so lacking in practical material
Nature is unforgiving
The frightening tombstone of Fernand Arbelot, who was a musician and actor
Tomb of an 18th century French journalist
Whoever's lying here really enjoyed playing Scrabble.
These are the interconnected graves of a husband and wife. The wife was a Protestant and the husband was a Catholic. They died at a time when Catholics and Protestants were buried in different cemeteries
This is the last remaining grave in an old cemetery in rural Indiana. Much of the cemetery was moved to make way for the state highway. The grandson of the woman buried there refused to allow his grandmother to move. The county eventually gave in and built a road around the grave
Colonel J. W. C van Gorcum, who died in 1880, is buried on the Protestant side. And his wife, Lady van Efferden (J.C.P.H van Aefferden) speaks Catholic. They married in 1842, when she was 22 and he was 33.
His wife, who belonged to a noble family, did not want to lie in the family tomb; instead, she wanted to be closer to her husband and asked to be buried as close to him as possible.
Her wish was granted, and the lovers are still holding hands.
The Argentine Cemetery of Recoleta - a famous cemetery located in the eponymous district of Buenos Aires - became the last refuge of Eva Duarta de Peron (Evita Peron) and not only. Many military leaders, presidents, scientists and poets are buried here.
David Alleno was an Italian immigrant who worked as a cemetery caretaker for 29 years. David also dreamed that his body would lie in this cemetery. He saved money to buy himself a place and built his own tombstone. He even returned to his homeland to find a stone-cutter there who would bring his idea to life. The caretaker wanted the carver to depict him with keys, a broom and a bucket of water. Rumors say that David invested his own life in this work, and, as soon as the tombstone was completed, he died.
Others object to this that David did not die until many years later.
The bust of this stern woman is also located in the Recoleta cemetery. The stone statue of a man sitting back to back with a lady is none other than her husband. Unlike the charming Catholic and Protestant couple, these spouses do not hold hands or even look at each other.
The husband died first, and a few years later the wife also died. They lived together for 30 years. Without saying a word to each other.
Fernand Arbelot was a musician and actor. He died in 1990 and was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery, and before his death he wanted only one thing - to look into the face of his wife forever.
A boy who spent most of his young life in a wheelchair, after death, was able to break these boundaries and fly - now he is free.
The Parisian Père Lachaise cemetery can rightfully be considered one of the most visited cemeteries in the world, where many of the monuments are real works of art. But perhaps the most dramatic of all comes from a writer most people have never even heard of.
Georges Rodenbach is a 19th-century Belgian writer, author of the symbolic story “Dead Bruges” (Bruges-la-Morte). The main character of the work is Hugues Vian, a widower inconsolably mourning his early departed wife.
The cemetery in the village of Sapinta, Maramures County, Romania, is known for its cheerful atmosphere. Surely those who asked to be buried in this cemetery had a strong sense of humor.
The graves reflect people's hobbies during life. Some were shepherds, others were soldiers, and others loved parties and poetry. Some tombstones tell the story of the death of those buried: some were killed by thieves, others were killed in a car accident...
Perfect Sense of Humor
Jack Crowell is the owner of the last wooden clothespin factory in the USA. He always wanted children to be able to play on his grave.
When Ray Tse Jr. died at the age of 15, his older brother, a successful businessman, decided to give his brother, who always dreamed of driving a car, a posthumous gift. The stone car cost $250 thousand, but maybe now Ray is happy driving his own Mercedes Benz. The grave is in Linden Cemetery in New Jersey.
Probably the second most popular French cemetery, Montparnasse, became the refuge of the inventor Charles Pigeon, who sits up in the bed where he lay with his wife and looks around in search of an angel.
Nowadays in large European cities you can find very unusual monuments and sculptures, often striking with their amusing, funny and even ridiculous appearance.
Well, is it really possible to take such a monument standing in Amsterdam seriously? “Don’t drink the branch you’re sitting on”:
By the way, a similar monument was erected in Yakutsk. Here it is:
And in Brussels on the street you can meet an old lady like this with a bag, counting her money.
There, in Brussels, there is this funny monument: a policeman and the prankish thief who caught him:
A queue monument was erected in Washington. Look how tourists organically join it:
The situation with passage through walls is very unusual. If in Los Angeles a clerk with a suitcase could only stick his head into the wall...
The French writer Marcel Aimé, in Paris, has already passed through the wall, and is now in the process of emerging from it...
But the bronze woman from Santa Fe, New Mexico lay down to rest right on the sidewalk. Tourists are joining!
People in Holland love music. Here, a violinist broke through the floor to please the ears of passers-by:
In Bratislava there is even a monument to a plumber leaning out of a sewer manhole:
By the way, there are plumbers not only in Bratislava, but also in Ukraine. This is such a sad “Santa” from Berdyansk. By the way, there are similar monuments in Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, and Yekaterinburg...
And in Oslo a stone man was seen fighting off stone children. Or is he juggling them? What's remarkable is that the man is naked...
In Seoul, street benches are held up not by supports, but by strong teeth! Look at these comrades!
By the way, the Danes also have a sense of humor. For example, a monument to uh... how can I put this mildly?
But the Danish madam from Ringkobing will probably have more:
Another rather unusual monument was erected in Melbourne. Something is wrong in the picture, isn't it?
By the way, you can’t hide anywhere from these cyclists... Even at the bottom of the sea!
In addition to stone or bronze people, the world is flooded with monuments to things, and this cannot be kept silent about!
The newest of them is a monument, let's say, political. Monument to the shoe thrown at Bush the Younger:
And in Paris there is a monument to the finger. And he sticks out from under the ground:
In Australia - to the wallet:
In Nakavik, Canada - an axe:
In Springfield (USA) - a monument to a fork:
And in Norway, Oslo - a paper clip:
And even books - in Berlin:
And in Russia they responded to this with a powerful three-meter stool! “Monument to the first stool of the Russian land” was installed in the former estate of the Arshenevsky brothers on Taganka:
And in Germany, in Braunschweig, stray cats were spotted (it’s good that at least these ones don’t yell):
And the tap in Cadiz pouring water from the sky:
London is famous for its traffic lights, and on this occasion there is this monument erected there:
And in Prague - a monument to a woman’s shoe:
And now, let's move to Russia. What is there in Russian land? Let's start with animals. The Russian people love their little brothers!
For example, in St. Petersburg, on Malaya Sadovaya Street, there is a cast-iron cat, who was christened Elisha Kotovich Pitersky. The cat climbed high - to the second floor of the Eliseevsky grocery store, and therefore it is not so easy to notice:
Another cat (or rather a cat) “hangs” at the window of the creative center “Mitki VKHUTEMAS” (Pravdy St., 16) on the 6th floor. Dressed like a famous cartoon character, she was immediately nicknamed Matroskin's cat:
And in Moscow, in a park by the lake near the Novodevichy Convent, a whole sculptural composition “Make way for ducklings!” was opened. Little ducklings look around, quack, look for a worm in the grass - in a word, they behave as if they were alive. It’s not for nothing that a guard was placed at the monument - the ducklings are trying to steal them!
By the way, the sculptors did not ignore even such a tiny creature as a bee. In Kuzminki Park, for example, they erected a monument to the bee Kuza, who sits on one of the columns depicting a honeycomb:
“The Nose” is ranked among the most unusual monuments in St. Petersburg. By the way, he, like his prototype, loves to take a walk. For example, in 2002 he suddenly disappeared from his pedestal. He was found a year later on the landing of house No. 15, not far from Voznesensky Prospekt, where his rightful place was located:
I am also placing here a selection of monuments whose location is unknown to me, but it is simply impossible not to show them to you, dear readers!
The world-famous monument to the elephant from Salvador Dali's painting "The Temptation of St. Anthony" is simply stunning!
And these are the real Thick and Thin:
Oh, how the mother hyped up her daughter. If only she didn't let go!
Here the boys jump into the water and squeal with anticipation:
And the girls, remaining on land, play leapfrog:
Who is this? A handsome knight on horseback? But what about the horse?
And lastly: a cow on a tree! Take a closer look. What does she remind you of? Maybe a carton of milk?
None of the people living on earth knows what awaits us after death. The grave puts an end to a person’s earthly life, however, in some cases, even in it the deceased cannot find peace. Next you will find the most mysterious burial places in the world, around which there are many mystical legends.
Rosalia Lombardo (1918 - 1920, Capuchin catacombs in Italy)
At the age of 2 years, this girl died of pneumonia. The inconsolable father could not part with his daughter’s body and turned to Alfredo Salafia to embalm the child’s body. Salafia did a tremendous job (drying the skin with a mixture of alcohol and glycerin, replacing the blood with formaldehyde and using salicylic acid to prevent the fungus from spreading throughout the body). As a result, the girl's body, located in a sealed coffin with nitrogen, looks as if she had fallen asleep.
Cages for the Dead (Victorian era)
During the Victorian era, metal cages were built over graves. Their purpose is not exactly known. Some believe that this was how the graves were protected from destroyers, others think that this was done to ensure that the dead did not leave their graves.
Taira no Masakado (940, Japan)
This man was a samurai and during the Heian era he became the leader of one of the largest uprisings against the rule of Kyoto. The uprising was suppressed and in 940 Masakado was beheaded. According to historical chronicles, the samurai's head did not rot for three months and all this time he quickly rolled his eyes. Then the head was buried, and later the city of Tokyo was built on the burial site. Tair's grave is still preserved, as the Japanese believe that if it is disturbed, it can bring disaster to Tokyo and the whole country. Now this grave is the oldest burial site in the world, which is kept perfectly clean.
Lilly Gray (1881-1958, Salt Lake City Cemetery, USA)
The inscription on the tombstone reads "Sacrifice of the Beast 666." Lilly's husband Elmer Gray called the US government that way, which he blamed for the death of his wife.
Chase Family Crypt (Barbados)
The family crypt of this couple is one of the most mysterious places in the Caribbean. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was discovered on several occasions that coffins had been moved after being placed in the crypt, but it was established that no one had entered the crypt. Some coffins stood upright, others were on the steps near the entrance. In 1820, by order of the governor, the coffins were transported to another place, and the entrance to the crypt was closed forever.
Mary Shelley (1797 - 1851, St Peter's Chapel, Dorset, England)
In 1822, Mary Shelley cremated the body of her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, who died in an accident in Italy. After cremation, the man's intact heart was found among the ashes; his woman took it home to England and kept it until her death. In 1851, Mary died and was buried with her husband’s heart, which she kept in the manuscript “Adonai: Elegy of Death.”
Russian mafia (Ekaterinburg, Russia)
Many of us have seen life-size monuments installed on the graves of representatives of the criminal world. At some monuments you can even find video cameras protecting them from vandals.
Inez Clark (1873 - 1880, Chicago, USA)
In 1880, 7-year-old Inez died from a lightning strike. By order of her parents, a sculpture-monument in a plexiglass cube was installed on her grave. The sculpture is made in the height of a girl, depicting her sitting on a bench with a flower and an umbrella in her hands.
Kitty Jay (Devon, England)
The nondescript hill overgrown with grass is called Jay's grave by locals. At the end of the 18th century, Kitty Jay committed suicide, and her grave became a cult site for ghost hunters. Since suicides could not be buried outside the cemetery, Kitty was buried at a crossroads so that her soul could not find a way to the afterlife. To this day, fresh flowers constantly appear on her grave.
Elizaveta Demidova (1779 - 1818, Père Lachaise cemetery, Paris, France)
At the age of 14, Elizaveta Demidova was married to the first prince of San Donato, whom she did not love. The unfortunate woman was one of the richest women of her time, and she bequeathed her entire fortune to the person who could spend a week in her crypt without food. Until now, no one has done this, and therefore her fortune remains unclaimed.