Unfortunately, necropolises are an integral part of all cities and settlements. Some have long since become monuments of architecture and sculpture, such as the burial in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Others are barely maintained, although walking on them is still unpleasant and scary. There are many different necropolises in Northern Venice. The St. Petersburg Southern 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 opened quite recently, in 1971.
Location and structure
This cemetery is located in the Moscow region, that is, in the southern part of the city. In fact, that's where its name comes from. Its address: Volkhonskoe shosse, 1. You can get here from two metro stations: "Moskovskaya" and "Prospect Veteranov". The post is currently active. The scheme of the Southern cemetery (St. Petersburg) is divided into several parts, among which there are segments of Muslim, Old Believer, Jewish, a piece of landfor the burial of unidentified persons, and in 2009 a site for military graves was added, where a memorial wall and a platform with a guard of honor were installed. The territory is constantly expanding, the land is being developed, new plots are being added, and columnar walls are being built. Every year, about two thousand unidentified graves acquire new monuments thanks to the search for relatives of the dead. 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 have "plant names": Walnut, Lilac, Willow, Green, Lime, Alder, Coniferous, Apple and others.
Religious buildings
Southern cemetery (St. Petersburg) until 1994 did not have any religious buildings. Now there is a multifaceted white-stone chapel crowned with a beautiful silver dome, consecrated in memory of Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow (N. P. Velichko became the architect). This elegant building was built exclusively on donations from 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, family crypts, the use of urns is allowed.
Beautification of the churchyard
The southern cemetery is kept in order and is well-maintained: the paths are paved,garbage bins have been delivered and are being emptied in a timely manner, bus routes have been laid on the territory so that you can easily get to the most remote territories. The bus runs 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 inventory for caring for graves, a container of water for watering flowers. There is a system for ordering wreaths for laying and leaving.
What is the churchyard famous for
The Southern Cemetery has sheltered many famous people who have left a noticeable mark on the history and culture of both St. Petersburg and all of Russia. These are, for example, the famous actor and honored artist Smirnov Alexei Makarovich, the outstanding architect and artist Nikolai Alekseevich Zazersky, the bard and geologist Kukin Yuri Alekseevich, the 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 the world champion in volleyball Yu. V. Aroshidze, the first Russian conqueror of Mount Everest Balyberdin V. S. and many others. In addition, there is a mass grave in this graveyard, in which the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad, found during the organization of construction work, were buried.
