Previously, cemeteries were simply a territory where burials were carried out, but now they have become historically and culturally valuable open-air museums. In the world there are many cemeteries that are so beautiful and wonderful places that attract millions of tourists. Fans consider it their duty to visit the graves and pay tribute to the famous composers and poets, musicians, political figures and historical figures.
What is the largest cemetery in Russia?
Tops and ratings are inherent not only to museums and monuments, mountain peaks and tourist points on the map. Cemeteries are also qualified and subdivided into groups according to popularity, scale and number of burials.
The largest cemetery in Russia, which is even mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records, is located in Rostov-on-Don. By area, it is considered the largest in Europe. According to statistics, the cemetery occupies about 360 hectares. This is despite the fact that burial places (by law) should not exceed forty hectares in the territory. According to 2003 data, there were more than 321 thousand graves. Now this figure is much larger and more significant.
The largest cemetery in Russia was opened in 1972. Both traditional burials and urns with ashes are common here. On the territory of the cemetery there is a crematorium and several large memorial offices that offer burial services, the manufacture of commemorative plates, etc. In addition, there is a large temple and chapel located directly on the territory of the cemetery. Nearby is a columbarium and administrative buildings.
Do not describe and do not get around
The territory of the cemetery is growing every year. According to statistics, every day there is about fifty funerals. Behind the cemetery is located a rather large illegal graveyard where local residents bury their pets. Walking around the cemetery is simply an unrealistic task; it can take several hours. In this regard, a bus travels through the territory with an interval of 30 minutes.
Locals call the largest cemetery in Russia nothing more than a necropolis or city of the dead in the city of the living. There, according to eyewitnesses, the horizon is not visible. If you turn around, nothing but gravestones and crosses is impossible to see. Having got here for the first time, you can easily get lost.
"Southern"
For the first place in the ranking of the largest cemeteries in Russia with a graveyard in Rostov-on-Don, the Southern Cemetery in St. Petersburg can compete. Its area also has about four hundred hectares. It was opened in 1971 and is still operating today. The prospect of expansion exists, the administration is trying not to give refusals to burials.
Famous athletes and musicians, actors and heroes of the Soviet Union are buried in this cemetery. According to statistics, the number of burials here has already exceeded 300 thousand.
"Piskarevka"
The largest cemeteries in Russia are also located in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The famous "Piskarevka" was originally only a small field on the very outskirts of St. Petersburg. In the thirties of the 20th century, a wasteland was located here, on the site of which a few years later it was decided to create a cemetery. The official opening date is 1938. The peak of burial occurred in the years of World War II. At this time, large trenches were digging here, which became mass graves. According to statistics, during the war and in the first years after it, more than 480 thousand people were buried at the Piskarevsky cemetery in St. Petersburg.
In the postwar years, residential buildings were erected around Piskarevka. Like the other largest cemeteries in Russia, Piskarevskoye turned out to be in the very center of residential areas. In Soviet times, many memorial complexes and monuments were built here in honor of the victims of the siege of Leningrad. In the very center of the cemetery there is a memorial known throughout the country, on which memorable texts and poems by famous authors are captured.
Currently, the largest cemetery in Russia is recognized as a national and historical monument. It also has the status of a museum. There are several dozen excursions daily. And in the archives of the cemetery numerous documents of the war years, which have unique historical value, are preserved.
Vagankovskoe
There are also burial places in the capital, marked as the largest cemeteries in Russia. The area and the number of graves put the Vagankovskoye cemetery in third place. The territory of the cemetery totals about fifty hectares. The oldest fraternal and individual graves in this cemetery are more than two hundred years old. Many tombstones can easily be called real works of art.
On the territory there is a church, administrative buildings and memorial offices. At the entrance there is a huge map that allows you not to get lost in a huge area. The list contains the graves of many famous actors, directors, poets, composers, historical and political figures. It is their graves, for the most part, that become an attractive point for tourists.
Of course, the graves of Yesenin, Abdulov, Benislavskaya, Okudzhava, Vysotsky, Talkov, Pugovkin and many other great personalities are the most popular here.
Permian
The largest cemetery is also located in the city of Perm. It is the largest necropolis in the European part of Russia. The area is more than thirty hectares. Currently, relatives of the deceased are experiencing global problems with burial. A ban was introduced on the digging of new graves, as the cemetery is already oversaturated with crosses, crypts and marble slabs. Allowed only to bury the dead to family and friends. And then, only after the relatives receive the appropriate permission from the local administration.
Now work is underway to search for additional territories and reserve areas. So far, all burials are being transferred to less "densely populated" graveyards.
Summing up, we will determine what are the largest cemeteries in Russia. The list of large and territorially large-scale graveyards, in fact, is very long. The three “leaders” are the Northern cemetery in Rostov-on-Don, the Southern cemetery in St. Petersburg and the Vagankovskoye in Moscow.