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List of burials and memorials in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra

Coordinates: 59°55′22.8″N 30°23′02.4″E / 59.923000°N 30.384000°E / 59.923000; 30.384000
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The exterior of the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra

The Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra (Russian: Благовещенская церковь Александро-Невской лавры) is a historic church in the centre of Saint Petersburg. It is part of the monastic complex of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and contains a large number of burials dating back to the founding of the city, as well as monuments and memorials to notable figures that were brought to the church from other locations during the Soviet period.

Design and construction

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Construction of the church, designed by Domenico Trezzini, began in 1717.[1] It was initially planned that the ground floor would house the monastery's refectory, but this was altered to instead create a burial space for members of the royal family and prominent dignitaries.[1] As completed the building contained two churches.[2] The upper, dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky and used to hold his relics on their arrival into the city, was consecrated in 1724.[3] The lower, dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, was consecrated in 1725.[2] Underneath the building was a burial vault constructed in 1720.[3]

Imperial burials

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Gravemarkers of the Romanov family members

The first interment was that of Tsarina Praskovia Saltykova, the wife of Tsar Ivan V, on 24 October 1723.[1] On Peter's orders the remains of his sister, Natalya Alexeyevna, and his infant son Peter Petrovich, who had originally been buried in the monastery's Lazarevsky Church, were transferred to the burial vault.[1] Several other members of the imperial family were later buried in the church, including those who had lost their positions through palace coups. Among them were Anna Leopoldovna, mother of Tsar Ivan VI and regent during her son's brief reign; and Emperor Peter III who was deposed and killed in a palace coup that brought his wife to the throne as Empress Catherine II.[1] Peter III was quietly interred in the church in July 1762, thus denying him burial in the traditional resting place of the post-Peter the Great rulers, the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral. Peter III's remains were later removed from the church and reburied in the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral on the orders of his son when he ascended to the throne as Paul I.[1] Other members of the imperial family buried in the church include Catherine Ivanovna, Peter the Great's niece; Natalia Alexeievna, Paul I's first wife; and several children who died in infancy, including two daughters of Emperor Alexander I and Elizabeth Alexeievna; Olga Pavlovna, daughter of Emperor Paul I and Maria Feodorovna.[4][2]

Those with close connections to the imperial court were also buried here. Among them were courtiers Yevdokiya Yusupova, Anastasiya Trubetskaya, and Anna Matyushkina; as well as Alexei Razumovsky, lover and rumoured husband of Empress Elizabeth; and Maria Rumyantseva, mistress of Peter the Great.[2][5] Members of several important noble families were also buried here, including the Shuvalovs, Betskoys, Vyazemskys, Naryshkins, and Yusupovs. On 12 May 1800 the hero of the French Revolutionary Wars Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov was buried in the church, under a white marble slab with the simple inscription, chosen by the Generalissimo himself, "Here lies Suvorov".[1][2] An extension along the south-eastern part of the church was built in 1783, which came to house the family monuments of several noble houses, including the Shuvalovs, Betskoys, Vyazemskys and Naryshkins.[1] A small sacristy was attached to the eastern side of the church, which later housed the Yusupov family's monuments.[1] In the 1860s the Yakunchikov family had a small crypt built in the church's north-western corner, and in 1871 P. D. Sokhansky built a marble tomb for the Bobrinsky family under the staircase annex.[3]

Soviet museum

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The lower church, the grave of Alexander Suvorov at left.

Closed in 1933, the church was divided between office space and the forerunner of the State Museum of Urban Sculpture [ru] during the early Soviet period.[3][1] During this period, some of the funerary monuments from the Lavra's Nikolo-Fyodorovskaya and Isidorovskaya churches, which had been closed in 1931, were moved to the lower Annunciation Church.[2][1] In 1940, the entire building was transferred to the State Museum of Urban Sculpture.[1] The memorials of Napoleonic military leaders Mikhail Miloradovich and Dmitry Senyavin were placed in the church after the closure of the Dukhovskaya Church, while those of Ivan Lazarev and Gerasim Lebedev were brought from other locations as part of a general clearing of cemeteries and the concentration of funerary monuments into centralised museum necropolises.[6][7][8][9] In other instances parts of memorials, such as plaques and reliefs from the monuments of Alexei Turchaninov and Anna Vorontsova in the Lavra's Lazarevskoe Cemetery were installed in the church.[10][11] In the case of sculptor Mikhail Kozlovsky, his monument was transferred from the Smolensky Cemetery to the Lazarevskoe in 1931, with some of the reliefs installed in the Annunciation Church.[12]

On 15 May 1950, the building opened as a museum display of historic funerary monuments under the auspices of the State Museum of Urban Sculpture.[1][2] On 7 April 2013, the 300th anniversary of the monastery, it was announced that the Annunciation Church would be returned to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.[1] The return of the church to the monastery authorities has however been complicated by questions around the ownership of the memorials.[13][14]

Originally buried in the church

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House of Romanov

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Image Name Born Died Occupation Monument Reference
Anna Leopoldovna 1718 1746 Daughter of Tsarevna Catherine Ivanovna, mother of Emperor Ivan VI, regent of Russia. [15]
Anna Petrovna [ru] 1757 1759 Daughter of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, the future Emperor Peter III, and Grand Duchess Yekaterina Alekseyevna, the future Empress Catherine the Great. [16]
Catherine Ivanovna 1691 1733 Daughter of Tsar Ivan V and Praskovia Saltykova, eldest sister of Empress Anna of Russia, niece of Peter the Great, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. [4]
Natalya Alexeyevna 1673 1716 Daughter of Tsar Alexis and Natalya Naryshkina, sister of Peter the Great. Originally buried in the Lazarevskoe Church in 1717, reburied in the Annunciation Church in 1723. [17]
Natalya Alexeyevna 1755 1776 Wife of Tsarevich Paul Petrovich, the future Tsar Paul I, daughter in law of Empress Catherine the Great. [18]
Peter III 1728 1762 Emperor of Russia, son of Anna Petrovna and grandson of Peter the Great. Wife of Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, who succeeded him as Catherine the Great. Remains transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral in 1796. [19]
Praskovia Saltykova 1664 1723 Wife of Tsar Ivan V, mother of Empress Anna of Russia. [20]
Elizabeth Alexandrovna 1806 1808 Daughter of Emperor Alexander I and Elizabeth Alexeievna. [21]
Maria Alexandrovna 1799 1800 Daughter of Emperor Alexander I and Elizabeth Alexeievna. [22]
Olga Pavlovna 1792 1795 Daughter of Emperor Paul I and Maria Feodorovna. [23]
Peter Petrovich 1715 1719 Son of Peter the Great and Ekaterina Alekseyevna. Originally buried in the Lazarevskoe Church in 1719, reburied in the Annunciation Church in 1725. [24]

Georgian royalty

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Image Name Born Died Occupation Monument Reference
Vakhtang 1761 1814 Son of King Heraclius II and Queen Darejan Dadiani. [25]
Darejan Dadiani 1738 1807 Queen Consort of King Heraclius II. [26]

Orthodox clergy

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Image Name Born Died Occupation Monument Reference
Vasilije Petrović 1709 1766 Metropolitan bishop of Cetinje, Prince-Bishop of Montenegro. [27]

Nobility

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Image Name Born Died Occupation Monument Reference
Ivan Betskoy 1704 1795 School reformer, advisor on education, President of the Imperial Academy of Arts, architect of Russia's first unified system of public education. [28]
Alexander Bezborodko 1747 1799 Grand Chancellor of Russia, chief architect of Catherine the Great's foreign policy. [29]
James Bruce 1732 1791 General, Commander of the Finland Division, Governor-General of Moscow and Saint Petersburg Governorate. Grave lost. [30]
Ivan Chernyshyov 1726 1797 Diplomat, military leader, Field Marshal and General Admiral, Chief Plenipotentiary in London, vice-president of the Admiralty. [31]
Mikhail Dolgorukov 1780 1808 Military leader, general. Finnish War, Battle of Virta Bridge. [32]
Peter Dolgorukov 1777 1806 Military leader, general. Napoleonic Wars. [33]
Vasily Dolgorukov c. 1667 1746 Military leader and politician, Field Marshal, member of the Supreme Privy Council, president of the College of War. Grave lost. [34]
Alexander Golitsyn 1718 1783 Field marshal, governor of Saint Petersburg, Seven Years' War, Russo-Turkish War [35]
Ekaterina Golitsyna 1720 1761 Noble woman, maid of honour to Elizabeth of Russia. [36]
Anna Matyushkina 1722 1804 Maid of honour to Elizabeth of Russia, lady in waiting to Empress Catherine the Great, chief lady in waiting to Empress Maria Feodorovna. [37]
Lev Naryshkin 1785 1846 Military leader, general, Napoleonic Wars. [34]
Ekaterina Orlova 1785 1846 Courtier, lady in waiting to Empress Catherine the Great, wife of Grigory Orlov. [38]
Nikita Panin 1718 1783 Statesman, political mentor to Catherine the Great, Northern Alliance. [39]
Tatiana Potemkina 1797 1869 Noblewoman, philanthropist. Daughter of Boris Golitsyn wife of Alexandr Potemkin. Funded restoration of Sviatohirsk Lavra. Grave lost. [34]
Alexei Razumovsky 1709 1771 Registered Cossack, lover and rumoured husband of Empress Elizabeth of Russia. [40]
Maria Rumyantseva 1699 1788 Lady in waiting, royal mistress of Peter the Great. Grave lost. [41]
Ivan Shuvalov 1727 1797 Russian Enlightenment, first Russian Minister of Education. [42]
Alexander Suvorov 1730 1800 Military leader, Generalissimo, Seven Years' War, Bar Confederation, Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792, French Revolutionary Wars. [43]
Anastasiya Trubetskaya 1700 1755 Noblewoman, courtier, princess of Moldavia and landgravine of Hesse-Homburg, honorary member of the Imperial Russian family. Lady in waiting to Empress Elizabeth, noted philanthropist. [44]
Sava Vladislavich 1669 1738 Merchant-adventurer and diplomat in the employ of Peter the Great. Treaty of Kiakhta. [34]
Alexander Vyazemsky 1727 1793 Prosecutor General of the Senate. [45]
Pavel Yaguzhinsky 1683 1736 Statesman and diplomat, associate of Peter the Great, Chamberlain, Ober-Stallmeister, General-in-chief, Attorney General. [46]
Sergey Yaguzhinsky 1731 1806 Chamberlain, lieutenant general, industrialist. [47]
Yevdokiya Yusupova 1743 1780 Courtier, Duchess consort of Courland. [34]

Memorials transferred from other sites during the Soviet period

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Image Name Born Died Occupation Monument Reference
David 1767 1819 Georgian prince, writer and scholar, regent of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti. Monument transferred from the Feodorovskaya Church in 1930. [48]
Mikhail Kozlovsky 1753 1802 Sculptor, teacher, Professor of the Imperial Academy of Arts, Russian classicism. Originally buried in the Smolensky Cemetery, monument and remains transferred to the Lazarevskoe Cemetery in 1931, with part of relief to the Annunciation Church. [49]
Ivan Lazarev 1735 1801 Jeweler, patron, Catherine the Great. Monument originally in the Smolensky Armenian Cemetery [ru]. [9]
Gerasim Lebedev 1749 1817 Adventurer, linguist, translator, musician and writer. Pioneer of Indology. Monument originally in the Bolsheokhtinskoe Cemetery [ru], tablet transferred in the 1930s. [50]
Mikhail Miloradovich 1771 1825 Military leader, general, Napoleonic Wars, Italian and Swiss campaigns of 1799, Governor General of Saint Petersburg, Decembrist revolt. Monument transferred from the Dukhovskaya Church in 1937. [51]
Dmitry Senyavin 1763 1831 Military leader, admiral, Napoleonic Wars, Second Archipelago Expedition. Monument transferred from the Dukhovskaya Church in 1937. [6]
Alexei Turchaninov c. 1774 1787 Business magnate and industrialist, metallurgist, philanthropist. Originally in the Lazarevskoe Cemetery, remains and monument still in there, two bronze reliefs to the Annunciation Church. [52]
Anna Vorontsova 1722 1775 Lady in waiting, salonist and noble, cousin of Elizabeth of Russia. Wife of Chancellor Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov. Originally in the Lazarevskoe Cemetery. [11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Церковь Благовещения Пресвятой Богородицы и святого благоверного князя Александра Невского" (in Russian). lavra.spb.ru. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Благовещенская церковь" (in Russian). lavra.spb.ru. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "Церкви БЛАГОВЕЩЕНИЯ ПРЕСВЯТОЙ БОГОРОДИЦЫ и благ. вел. кн. АЛЕКСАНДРА НЕВСКОГО в Александро-Невской Свято-Троицкой лавре" (in Russian). Sankt Peterburg Entsiklopediya. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Екатерина Иоанновна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  5. ^ Rounding, Virginia (2007). Catherine the Great. Random House. p. 39. ISBN 9780099462347.
  6. ^ a b "Сенявин Дмитрий Николаевич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Милорадович Михаил Андреевич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Лебедев Герасим Степанович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Лазарев Иван Лазаревич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Турчанинов Алексей Федорович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Воронцова Анна Карловна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Козловский Михаил Иванович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  13. ^ Shuvalov, Vadim (15 April 2013). "Благовещенскую церковь отдают РПЦ. Как быть с надгробием Суворова?" (in Russian). 812 Online. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Пресс‑центр Александро‑Невской Лавры выступил с официальным заявлением по поводу Благовещенской церкви" (in Russian). lavra.spb.ru. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  15. ^ "Анна Леопольдовна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  16. ^ "Анна Петровна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  17. ^ "Наталья Алексеевна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  18. ^ "Наталья Алексеевна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  19. ^ "Церковь Благовещения Пресвятой Богородицы и святого благоверного князя Александра Невского". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Прасковья Федоровна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  21. ^ "Елизавета Александровна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  22. ^ "Мария Александровна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  23. ^ "Ольга Павловна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  24. ^ "Петр Петрович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  25. ^ "Вахтанг Ираклиевич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  26. ^ "Дарья Георгиевна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  27. ^ "Василий Петрович (Негош)". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  28. ^ "Бецкой Иван Иванович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  29. ^ "Безбородко Александр Андреевич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  30. ^ "Брюс Яков Александрович". encyclopedia.mil.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  31. ^ "Чернышев Иван Григорьевич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  32. ^ "Долгоруков Михаил Петрович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  33. ^ "Долгоруков Петр Петрович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  34. ^ a b c d e "Благовещенская церковь". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  35. ^ "Голицын Александр Михайлович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  36. ^ "Голицына Екатерина (Смарагда) Дмитриевна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  37. ^ "Матюшкина Анна Алексеевна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  38. ^ "Орлова Екатерина Николаевна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  39. ^ "Панин Никита Иванович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  40. ^ "Разумовский Алексей Григорьевич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  41. ^ "Краткая биография Марии Румянцевой (Матвеевой) любовницы Петра I". Петр I Великий (in Russian). Retrieved 22 April 2019. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  42. ^ "Шувалов Иван Иванович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  43. ^ "Суворов Александр Васильевич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  44. ^ "Гессен-Гомбургская Анастасия Ивановна". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  45. ^ "Вяземский Александр Алексеевич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  46. ^ "Ягужинский Павел Иванович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  47. ^ "Ягужинский Сергей Павлович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  48. ^ "Давид Георгиевич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  49. ^ "Козловский Михаил Иванович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  50. ^ "Лебедев Герасим Степанович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  51. ^ "Милорадович Михаил Андреевич". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  52. ^ "Турчанинов Алексей Федорович". lavraspb.ru. Retrieved 15 April 2019.

59°55′22.8″N 30°23′02.4″E / 59.923000°N 30.384000°E / 59.923000; 30.384000

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