The Grand Ducal Burial Vault (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Великокняжеская усыпальница) is the purpose-built

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

of the Grand Dukes and Duchesses of Russia in the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s i ...

. The Neo-Baroque domed structure is frequently mistaken for a part of the Peter and Paul Cathedral due to architectural similarities. A covered passageway leads from the mausoleum to the cathedral, where the Russian emperors and empresses are buried. The building was designed by David Grimm in 1896. It was constructed in order to remove the remains of some of the non-reigning

Romanovs The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to t ...

from the cathedral, where there was scarcely any room for new burials. Antony Tomishko and

Leon Benois Leon Benois (russian: Леонтий Николаевич Бенуа; 1856 in Peterhof – 1928 in Leningrad) was a Russian architect from the Benois family. Biography He was the son of architect Nicholas Benois, the brother of artists Alexandr ...

were responsible for the actual construction work. The interior is richly decorated with marble, mosaics and

ormolu Ormolu (; from French ''or moulu'', "ground/pounded gold") is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold– mercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and for objects finished in this way. The mercury is driven off in a kiln le ...

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia (russian: Алексе́й Алекса́ндрович; in St. Petersburg – 14 November 1908 in Paris) was the fifth child and the fourth son of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alex ...

was the first to be interred in the mausoleum in 1908. The bones of eight other royals were brought to the vault from the cathedral. The last prerevolutionary burial, that of

Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia ( rus, Константи́н Константи́нович, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ, a=Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov.ru.vorb.oga; 22 August 1858 – 15 June 1915 ...

, took place seven years later. The mausoleum was expected to hold up to sixty tombs, but by the time of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

there were only thirteen. The Soviets destroyed the uniform tombs with a view to converting the building into a city history museum; the tombs were later restored. Grand Duke

Vladimir Kirillovich Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia (russian: Владимир Кириллович Романов; 21 April 1992) was the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia, a position which he claimed from 1938 to his death. Early life Vladimir was bo ...

was buried in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum in 1992. The remains of his parents, Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich and Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna, were transferred from Schloss Rosenau three years later. His wife, Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna, was buried there in 2010.

References

{{coord, 59, 57, 02, N, 30, 19, 02, E, region:RU_type:landmark_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1908 Burial sites of the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Baroque Revival architecture Mausoleums in Russia Buildings and structures in Saint Petersburg Burial sites of the House of Beauharnais 1908 establishments in the Russian Empire Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg Peter and Paul Fortress