Where Peter I and Catherine I are buried
Where Peter I and Catherine I are buried
The funeral ceremony for members of the royal family was strictly regulated. Preparation and holding of all mourning events was conducted by the Sad Commission, created after the death of the monarchs.
Death and funeral of the royal couple
The Russian Emperor Peter the Great died inThe Winter Palace in January 1725 at the age of 52 years. The cause of death was the inflammation of the bladder, which turned into gangrene. The body of the emperor was exhibited in the mourning hall of the Winter Palace, so that everyone could say goodbye to him. The farewell period lasted more than a month. Peter lay in a coffin in his brocade jacket with lace, in boots with spurs, with a sword and the Order of St. Andrew on his chest. As a result, the corpse began to decompose, an unpleasant smell began to spread throughout the palace. The emperor's body was embalmed and moved to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. However, only after 6 years the body of the emperor was buried in the Imperial Tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, before that the coffin with the embalmed body simply stood in the temporary chapel of the cathedral still being built. Catherine survived the wife of Peter I only for 2 years. Balls, entertainment and binges, which the Empress Dowager indulged in days and nights, severely undermined her health. Catherine died in May 1725 at the age of 43 years. If Peter I, by birth's right, was supposed to rest in the Tsar's tomb, his wife could not boast of a noble birth. Catherine I, nee Martha Skavronska, was born in a Baltic peasant family. She was captured by the Russian army during the Northern War. Peter was so fascinated by a captive peasant woman that he even married her and crowned her with the empress. The body of the empress, like her husband, was betrayed to the land only in 1731 by order of Anna Ioannovna.Imperial Tombs
In the pre-Petrine era, all members of the rulingDynasty in Russia was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. All Moscow princes and kings rest there, beginning with Ivan Kalita. During the reign of Peter I there was no concrete burial place for royalty. Members of the imperial family were buried in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1715 the youngest daughter of Peter and Catherine Natalia died. The emperor ordered to bury her in the cathedral of Peter and Paul, which at that time had not yet been completed. From this year the Peter and Paul Cathedral became the new royal burial vault. In the walls of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, all Russian tsars are buried: from Peter I to Alexander III. The burials of Peter and his wife Catherine are near the southern entrance to the cathedral. Their graves are small vaults, which are located under the stone floor. In these crypts there are metal arcs with coffins. Above the graves are marble slabs, decorated with inscriptions and gold crosses.History of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
The construction of the Peter and Paul Cathedral began in1712, the Emperor Peter personally laid the first stone in its foundation. The work was led by the Italian architect Domenico Trezzini. The interior of the temple impressed with its luxury and splendor. Vaults adorned 18 paintings with scenes from the New Testament. In the cathedral there was a special royal place under the canopy, which during the services was occupied by the monarch. With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the cathedral and the burial-vault were closed and sealed. All church values were confiscated to help the hungry. In 1998, the remains of Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their daughters Tatyana, Olga and Anastasia were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
