Unfortunately, necropolises are an integral part of all cities and settlements. Some have long been monuments of architecture and sculpture, such as the burial in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. Others are barely maintained in order, although walking on them is still unpleasant and scary. There are many different necropolises in northern Venice. St. Petersburg South Cemetery is considered one of the largest not only in the Northern capital, but throughout Europe, its total area is approximately 300 hectares. It was discovered quite recently, in 1971.
Location and structure
This cemetery is located in the Moscow region, that is, in the southern part of the city. Actually, its name came from here. His address: Volkhonskoe highway d.1. You can get here from two metro stations: Moskovsky and Prospect Veterans. Graveyard is currently operational. The scheme of the Southern cemetery (St. Petersburg) is divided into several parts, among which there are sections of Muslim, Old Believers, Jewish, a piece of land for the burial of unidentified persons, and in 2009 a plot for military burials was added, where a memorial wall and a platform with a guard of honor were installed. The territory is constantly expanding, land is being developed, new sites are being added, columbar walls are being built. Each year, about two thousand unidentified burials acquire new monuments through the search for relatives of the deceased. The central alley is decorated with a tall statue of a grieving woman, flowers are planted around. It is allowed to bury on this graveyard not only residents of the city, but also the Leningrad region. It is noteworthy that most of the plots bear “plant names”: Nut, Lilac, Willow, Green, Linden, Alder, Coniferous, Apple, etc.
Religious buildings
The southern cemetery (St. Petersburg) until 1994 had no religious buildings. Now there rises a multifaceted white stone chapel, crowned with a beautiful silver dome, consecrated in memory of the Patriarch of Moscow Tikhon (N. Velichko became the architect). This elegant building was built exclusively on the donations of believers and parishioners of St. Sophia Cathedral (in the city of Pushkin). It works daily, here you can order Orthodox rites. On the territory of the same cemetery, it is possible to organize burials of relatives, tribal crypts, the use of ballot boxes is allowed.
Beautification of the churchyard
The southern cemetery is kept in order and is well-maintained: the paths are asphalted, garbage cans are delivered and emptied in a timely manner, bus routes are laid in the territory so that you can easily reach the most remote territories. There is a bus every hour on weekends and religious holidays from ten to three in the afternoon. There is also a special rental point where you can take equipment for caring for the graves, a container of water for watering the flowers. There is a system for ordering wreaths for laying and care.
What is famous for the churchyard
The southern cemetery was sheltered by many famous people who left a noticeable mark on the history and culture of both St. Petersburg and the whole of Russia. This, for example, is the famous actor and honored artist Alexei Makirovich Smirnov , outstanding architect and artist Nikolai Alekseevich Zazersky, bard and geologist Kukin Yuri Alekseevich, heroes of the USSR Brozgol N.I., Kotanov F.E., Uzu V.M., Kharitonov F .A., Osipov V.N., Vasiliev M.P. and Gumanenko V.P., as well as world champion in volleyball Aroshidze Yu.V., the first Russian conqueror of Mount Everest Balyberdin V.S. and many others. In addition, there is also a mass grave on this graveyard, in which the residents of besieged Leningrad, who were found during the organization of construction work, were buried.