Smolensk Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Smolenskoye Cemetery (in German Smolenski Friedhof) is a Lutheran cemetery on Decembrists' Island in Saint Petersburg
, Russia
. It is one of the largest and oldest non-orthodox
cemeteries in the city. Until the early 20th century it was one of the main burial grounds for ethnic Germans
.
on Vasilievsky Island
. This cemetery contained the burials of the parishioners of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Katarina
and the Catholic Church of St. Catherine
, including Leonhard Euler
, Xavier de Maistre
, Germain Henri Hess
, José de Ribas
, Moritz von Jacobi, Agustín de Betancourt
, Jean-François Thomas de Thomon
, Ludvig Nobel
, Fyodor Litke, Georg Friedrich Parrot
, Karl Nesselrode
, and Vladimir Lamsdorf.
Some tombstones of notable people were transferred to the necropolis of famous people at Alexander Nevsky Lavra
. Among them are Thomas de Thomon (relocated in the 1930s), Euler (1956), Betancourt (1979), and others.
In the last perestroika
years of the Soviet Union
two parts of the cemetery were destroyed. The first was a large section in the far north west corner of the cemetery which was entirely flattened to make way for a building for a local fire department
in 1985. The second was a small section at the entrance which was replaced with a petrol station in the early 1990s.
Between 1988 and 1991 Leinonen went on countless personal visits to the cemetery itself and compiled an inventory of all those graves which are still standing today copying the exact writing on each headstone
.
He has published a 2 volume book on the cemetery detailing its history. The second volume contains a list of all those buried there whose graves are still standing today with the writing on each headstone.
The publications are used by genealogists for family research in pre-revolutionary Russia and the early soviet period when vital records are missing or prove difficult to find. Historian
s use them to research the social histories of the city.
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It is one of the largest and oldest non-orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
cemeteries in the city. Until the early 20th century it was one of the main burial grounds for ethnic Germans
History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union
The German minority in Russia and the Soviet Union was created from several sources and in several waves. The 1914 census puts the number of Germans living in Russian Empire at 2,416,290. In 1989, the German population of the Soviet Union was roughly 2 million. In the 2002 Russian census, 597,212...
.
History
The Lutheran cemetery on Dekabristov Island is known to have existed in 1747. The Smolenka River divides it from the Smolensky Orthodox CemeterySmolensky Cemetery
Smolensky Cemetery is the oldest continuously operating cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia. It occupies a rectangular parcel in the western part of Vasilievsky Island, on the bank of the small Smolenka River, and is divided into the Orthodox, Lutheran, and Armenian sections.- Orthodox cemetery...
on Vasilievsky Island
Vasilievsky Island
Vasilyevsky Island is an island in Saint Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the rivers Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva in the south and northeast, and by the Gulf of Finland in the west. Vasilyevsky Island is separated from Dekabristov Island by the Smolenka River...
. This cemetery contained the burials of the parishioners of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Katarina
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Katarina
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Katarina is an Evangelical Lutheran church located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Its building was built in 1885...
and the Catholic Church of St. Catherine
Catholic Church of St. Catherine
The Catholic Church of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg is one of the oldest Catholic churches in Russia. It is part of the Archdiocese of Moscow headed by H.E. Msgr. Paolo Pezzi. It is located on the Nevsky Prospekt.- Construction :...
, including Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion...
, Xavier de Maistre
Xavier de Maistre
Xavier de Maistre of Savoy , lived largely as a military man, but is known as a French writer. The younger brother of noted philosopher and counter-revolutionary Joseph de Maistre, Xavier was born to an aristocratic family at Chambéry in October 1763...
, Germain Henri Hess
Germain Henri Hess
Germain Henri Hess was a Swiss-born Russian chemist and doctor who formulated Hess's Law, an early principle of thermochemistry.-Early days:...
, José de Ribas
José de Ribas
José Pascual Domingo de Ribas y Boyons known in Russia as Osip Mikhailovich Deribas was a Russian admiral of Spanish-Irish origin who founded the city of Odessa...
, Moritz von Jacobi, Agustín de Betancourt
Agustín de Betancourt
Agustín de Betancourt y Molina was a prominent Spanish-Canarian engineer, who worked in Spain, France and Russia. His work ranged from steam engines and balloons to structural engineering and urban planning...
, Jean-François Thomas de Thomon
Jean-François Thomas de Thomon
Jean-François Thomas de Thomon was a French neoclassical architect who worked in Eastern Europe in 1791–1813. Thomas de Thomon was the author of Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns on the spit of Vasilievsky Island in Saint Petersburg and the first building of the Odessa...
, Ludvig Nobel
Ludvig Nobel
Ludvig Immanuel Nobel was an engineer, a noted businessman and a humanitarian. One of the most prominent members of the Nobel family, he was the son of Immanuel Nobel and Alfred Nobel's older brother...
, Fyodor Litke, Georg Friedrich Parrot
Georg Friedrich Parrot
Georg Friedrich Parrot was an Livonian scientist. He was the first rector of the Imperial University of Dorpat founded in 1802.-Biography:Georges-Frédéric Parrot was born in Montbéliard, France...
, Karl Nesselrode
Karl Nesselrode
Baltic-German Count Karl Robert Nesselrode, also known as Charles de Nesselrode, was a Russian diplomat and a leading European conservative statesman of the Holy Alliance...
, and Vladimir Lamsdorf.
Some tombstones of notable people were transferred to the necropolis of famous people at Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg supposing that that was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexander Nevsky, a prince, defeated the Swedes; however, the battle...
. Among them are Thomas de Thomon (relocated in the 1930s), Euler (1956), Betancourt (1979), and others.
In the last perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
years of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
two parts of the cemetery were destroyed. The first was a large section in the far north west corner of the cemetery which was entirely flattened to make way for a building for a local fire department
Fire department
A fire department or fire brigade is a public or private organization that provides fire protection for a certain jurisdiction, which typically is a municipality, county, or fire protection district...
in 1985. The second was a small section at the entrance which was replaced with a petrol station in the early 1990s.
Current research
The person who has done the most work in investigating the current status of the cemetery is Robert Leinonen, a long time resident of Saint Petersburg who moved to Germany in 1991.Between 1988 and 1991 Leinonen went on countless personal visits to the cemetery itself and compiled an inventory of all those graves which are still standing today copying the exact writing on each headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
.
He has published a 2 volume book on the cemetery detailing its history. The second volume contains a list of all those buried there whose graves are still standing today with the writing on each headstone.
The publications are used by genealogists for family research in pre-revolutionary Russia and the early soviet period when vital records are missing or prove difficult to find. Historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s use them to research the social histories of the city.
External links
- Photos of cemetery
- History of the cemetery (in very poor English) with a further link to a list of names of gravestones which had fallen into disrepair and were removed in the year 1882
- A further site dealing with the history of the cemetery and others in the nearby area. The information relating to this cemetery is towards the bottom of the entry.