The belief that tsars are God's anointed gave rise to a tradition common to many countries of burying monarchs in churches. Петропавловский собор in Санкт-Петербурге was no exception; within its walls, 50 members of the imperial and princely families found their final resting place, beginning with Петр I and his relatives.
By the end of the 18th century, the cathedral no longer had enough room for new tombstones and sarcophagi, so by 1908 an additional building was erected next to it. The Grand Ducal Burial Vault became the burial place of uncrowned members of Russia's imperial house, grand dukes and grand duchesses, as well as their closest relatives.
The burial vault looks like a single-domed church, whose appearance blends French Renaissance and Petrine Baroque. However, this beautiful building was never used as a church, serving mainly as a necropolis or mausoleum. Memorial services for members of the imperial families were held here only occasionally.
The Grand Ducal Burial Vault is designed for 60 burials, each with its own separate concrete crypt. After the revolution, the tombstones were destroyed, the bronze decorations of the tombs and altar were melted down. The iconostasis was destroyed, and a book repository was set up in the mausoleum.
Restoration work was carried out here in the 1990s, and a little later the beautiful stained-glass windows damaged by the bombs of the Second World War were restored.
