Volkovo Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Volkovo Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest non- Orthodox
cemeteries in Saint Petersburg
, Russia
. Until the early 20th century it was one of the main burial grounds for Lutheran Germans in Russia. It is estimated that over 100,000 people have been buried at this cemetery since 1773.
, issued an edict
which decree
d that, from that point on, any person who died (regardless of his social standing or class origins), no longer had the right to be buried within church crypt
s or adjacent churchyard
s. New cemeteries had to be built across the entire Russian empire and from then on they all had to be located outside city limits.
One of the main motivations behind these measures was overcrowding in church crypts and graveyards. However the true deciding factor which lead to the new laws being enforced on such a mass scale across the entire Russian empire was to avoid further outbreaks of highly contagious diseases, especially the black plague which had led to the Plague Riot
in Moscow in 1771.
The Volkovo cemetery was founded in 1773. The first person to be buried in this cemetery was Johann Gebhard Brethfeld, a merchant in Saint Petersburg.
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.
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 Saint Petersburg
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...
. Until the early 20th century it was one of the main burial grounds for Lutheran Germans in Russia. It is estimated that over 100,000 people have been buried at this cemetery since 1773.
Origins 1770–1773
Between late 1771 and 1772, Catherine the Great, empress of the Russian empireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, issued an edict
Edict
An edict is an announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism. The Pope and various micronational leaders are currently the only persons who still issue edicts.-Notable edicts:...
which decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
d that, from that point on, any person who died (regardless of his social standing or class origins), no longer had the right to be buried within church crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
s or adjacent churchyard
Churchyard
A churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language or Northern English language this can also be known as a kirkyard or kirkyaird....
s. New cemeteries had to be built across the entire Russian empire and from then on they all had to be located outside city limits.
One of the main motivations behind these measures was overcrowding in church crypts and graveyards. However the true deciding factor which lead to the new laws being enforced on such a mass scale across the entire Russian empire was to avoid further outbreaks of highly contagious diseases, especially the black plague which had led to the Plague Riot
Plague Riot
Plague Riot was a riot in Moscow in 1771 between September 15 and September 17, caused by an outbreak of bubonic plague.-History:...
in Moscow in 1771.
The Volkovo cemetery was founded in 1773. The first person to be buried in this cemetery was Johann Gebhard Brethfeld, a merchant in Saint Petersburg.
Current research
The person who has done the most work in investigating the history of the cemetery is Dr. Benedikt Böhm in Saint Petersburg. As of 2007, Dr. Böhm and published 4 volumes on the history of the cemetery, each of which contain extensive lists of names of those people who were buried there between 1773 to 1936. His 2 main sources for these publications are as follows:- The original parish registers of burials at the cemetery kept in the states archives in Saint Petersburg.
- Countless personal visits to the cemetery itself since 1989 in which he compiled an inventory of all those graves which are still standing today complete with photographs of each gravestone.
Dr Böhm's publications
- Volume 1 contains 3700 names of the those buried in the cemetery between 1773 and 1936 whose graves are still standing today and a further 17,000 names of the those interred who were sold a burial plot for eternity, but which no longer have a headstoneHeadstoneA 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 :...
. The book contains a present day map detailing the location of all headstones and burial plots.
- Volume 2 contains 40,000 names of the those buried between 1863 and 1919, based on the original parish registers of burials.
- Volume 3 contains 40,000 names of the those buried between 1820 and 1862, based on the original parish registers of burials.
- Volume 4 is a partial repeat of the information in Volume 3. It contains the names of the those buried between 1820 and 1867 indicating which of the 27 non orthodox parishParishA parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
es the deceased person belonged to in Saint Petersburg.
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
- Most famous part of cemetery - Literatorskie mostki (writers' footways)
- History of the cemetery by Dr Böhm, contains a link to a list of the those buried between 1773 and 1936 whose graves are still standing today.