The Tomb of the Pious Prince Alexander Nevsky Memorial Complex

The memorial was created on Empress Elizabeth’s orders from the first silver obtained from the Kolyvano-Voskrensky refinery in the Altai mountains in 1742. It is noteworthy that the deposits of ore there were discovered in the year of Elizabeth’s coronation in Moscow. Many at the time saw that coincidence as a happy omen for the reign of Emperor Peter the Great’s daughter.

In the Winter Palace this exhibit became part of a whole complex commemorating Russian martial glory together with the War Gallery of 1812, the Alexander Hall and the Alexander Column. The history of this exhibit presents an exceptional instance of the saving and preservation of a piece of national heritage.

A CHRONOLOGY

14 November 1263 – the death of Prince Alexander Nevsky

In 1263, after yet another exhausting journey, on the way back from the Golden Horde, having with great difficulty got as far as Gorodets on the Volga, Prince Alexander fell gravely ill. Sensing that his end was near, a few hours before his death, he took strict monastic vows (the schema). Afterwards his body was brought to Vladimir, where, on 23 November, it was laid to rest in the cathedral of the Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin. In keeping with the custom for princely burials at that time, his rectangular tomb with a lid was made from white stone.

CANONIZATION

23 November 1547 – the canonization of Prince Alexander Nevsky. Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin

In 1380/81, after the Prince’s relics were examined by Metropolitan Cyprian, a local ecclesiastical festival was established, a canon was written and the first icons depicting the Prince in monastic robes were probably painted.

The nationwide glorification of Alexander Nevsky at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1547 would be one of the most important events in the age of the centralization of the Russian state. The Sainted Prince’s feast day was established as 23 November, and the main place of celebration as the Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin.

TRANSFER OF THE RELICS

1694–96 – craftsmen of the Gold Chamber in the Moscow Kremlin created a new shrine to contain the relics of the Sainted Prince. Its main element was a rectangular wooden casket made of limewood. That casket was coated with fabrics both inside and out, then its outer walls were completely covered with gilded copper plaques chased with ornamental patterns.

1 July 1697 – the relics were ceremonially transferred to the shrine at the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Vladimir.

TRANSLATION TO SAINT PETERSBURG

FOUNDATION OF THE ALEXANDER NEVSKY MONASTERY

1710 – Emperor Peter I decided to establish a monastery dedicated to the Holy Trinity and the Pious Prince Alexander Nevsky at the place where the little Chernaya Rechka (Black River) flows into the Neva, which in the early 18th century was believed to have been the site of the famed battle with invading Swedes in 1240. It was that victory that brought the 19-year-old Prince Alexander Yaroslavovich the by-name “Nevsky” (“of the Neva”).

1712 – the Alexander Nevsky Monastery founded at the mouth of the Chernaya Rechka

1717 – start of construction of the masonry Annunciation Church, which is intended to house the relics of Alexander Nevsky. The architect was Domenico Trezzini.

It was Peter’s intention that the translation of the relics would become not only an important ecclesiastical occasion, but also an emblematic act of state, a symbol of the country’s independent policy, the defence of its borders and steadfastness of the Orthodox faith.

30 August 1721 – conclusion of the Treaty of Nystad, ending the Northern War against Sweden. It was decided to sanctify that day by the translation of the relics of the Pious Prince Alexander Nevsky from Vladimir to the new capital – Saint Petersburg.

TRANSLATION OF THE RELICS TO SAINT PETERSBURG

July–August 1723 – making of a wooden chest for the shrine containing Alexander Nevsky’s relics and a carriage to transport it (in Moscow).

The making of the chest with a canopy was entrusted to Ivan Zarudny, a prominent Muscovite master craftsman with knowledge of architecture, sculpture, icon-painting and the art of designing iconostases and triumphal arches. Due to the pressing schedule (the Emperor ordered that the relics be delivered by 30 August), around 50 specialist craftsmen of various kinds worked under Zarudny’s direction. The work was begun in Moscow and completed in Vladimir by 10 August 1723.

11 August – 1 October 1723 – transportation of the relics from Vladimir to Schlüsselburg (the island fortress located in the Neva where it flows out of Lake Ladoga).

30 August 1724 – transportation of the shrine containing the relics from Schlüsselburg to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery and its subsequent installation in the upper church above the Annunciation Church.

On 2 September 1724, Peter issued a decree establishing 30 August in the Church calendar as the feast day of the Pious Prince Alexander Nevsky.

TRANSFER TO THE CATHEDRAL OF THE HOLY TRINITY

The creation of the ensemble of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky is a story that took place in two stages – 1746–48 and 1749–52.

1746–48. The first design – Empress Elizabeth had a new silver ensemble created to house Alexander Nevsky’s relics. Its walls were decorated with five bas-relief compositions on historical subjects from the life of the saint, while the back was supposed to carry a dedicatory inscription.

December 1748 – The Empress revised the terms of the commission. The new version called for the making of a silver tomb of such size that the old shrine of Alexander Nevsky from 1694–96 would fit inside.

1749–52. The second design – grander and more majestic than the first. It was made up of four silver compositions: the actual tomb of Alexander Nevsky, covered with a lid (1749–50), a decorative pyramid (1749–52) and two decorative groups in the form of military trophies (1749–50). On Elizabeth’s orders, the memorial was further expanded to include two large freestanding candlesticks (1750–51). The whole monumental ensemble was installed in the upper part of the Annunciation Church within the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

1778–90 – construction under Catherine II of the chief place of worship in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, the Holy Trinity Cathedral. This grand, beautiful church in the style of High Classicism was completed in 1790.

30 August 1790 – consecration of the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the ceremonial transfer to it of the silver ensemble of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky from the upper part of the Annunciation Church.

OPENING AND REMOVAL OF THE RELICS

May 1922 – the presidium of the Petrograd Province Executive Committee adopted a resolution calling for the seizure of the tomb from the Alexander Nevsky Monastery and its transportation to Moscow, as well as the demonstrative opening of the shrine and public examination of the relics of Alexander Nevsky.

10 May 1922 – Sergei Troinitsky, then Director of the Hemritage, and Alexander Benois, the head of the museum’s Picture Gallery, together with Nikolai Sychev, Director of the Russian Museum, sent a telegram to Mikhail Kalinin, the Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, requesting that he “call a halt to the destruction of the iconostasis of the Kazan Cathedral and the shrine of Alexander Nevsky, works of world-ranking artistic significance”.

The opening of the tomb and removal of the relics was carried out in the presence of representatives of the Church and the general public. Until 16 November, the relics remained in the Holy Trinity Cathedral, then they were sent to the People’s Commissariat of Justice in Moscow and later to the Central Antireligious Museum.

1930s – the relics were transferred to Leningrad, to the Museum of the History of Religion housed in the Kazan Cathedral (later the Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism).

1989 – the relics were returned to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, where they are at present kept in a special metal reliquary.

THE SEIZURE OF THE ENSEMBLE
OF THE TOMB OF ALEXANDER NEVSKY.
THE STRUGGLE TO SAVE IT

TRANSFER OF THE TOMB TO THE HERMITAGE

Saved for the first time. 1922

12 May 1922 – entry of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky into the Hermitage by way of the commission for the confiscation of ecclesiastical valuables. The intention was that it should be passed on to the Aid for the Starving of the Volga Basin foundation to eventually be melted down.

On the day when the relics were removed, in the presence of the representatives of the Church the unique silver ensemble was dismantled. The clergymen, meanwhile, were perfectly aware that the removal of the silver tomb to the museum represented the sole chance of its preservation. All the items were transported to the Hermitage on lorries. In the vestibule of the museum, with Director Sergei Troinitsky, Professor Leonid Matsulevich, lecturer Mark Filosofov and Academic Secretary Feodor Hess participating, a document was drawn up detailing the state of preservation of this unique artefact. Later, the two candlesticks from Empress Elizabeth’s time, which since the early 20th century had been kept in the monastery’s Repository of Antiquities rather than the cathedral, were also transferred to the Hermitage.

29 October 1922 – the formal opening of the Gallery of Silver (in today’s Raphael Hall) in the building of the New Hermitage and the display of the tomb for general viewing.

5 November 1922 – opening of an exhibition of ecclesiastical treasures.

On the part of the museum staff, the exhibition was not just an expression of silent protest against the destruction of the country’s artistic heritage, but also a major act of civic courage.

ORDERED TO BE MELTED DOWN. Saved for a second time

The exhibit came under serious threat for a second time in 1930. The tomb was spared at the cost of considerable sacrifices, not merely material, but human as well.

1928 – the first Five-Year Plan was adopted in the USSR. In order to create strong material and technical resources, equipment had to be bought in from abroad, so there was an urgent need for substantial amounts of money that it was intended to acquire through the export and sale of works of art.

1929 – a special commission attached to the State Fund subordinated to the People’s Commissariat of Finance arrived in the Hermitage. Among other silver and gold articles, the commission’s members included in a list of objects “having no museum significance” and liable to be melted down into ingots the ensemble of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky.

Sergei Troinitsky (at that moment, head of the Hermitage’s Department of Applied Art) spoke out in support of the ensemble: “The shrine of Alexander Nevsky is an exceptional work of art from the mid-18th century and at the present time almost the sole artefact of this sort.”

Compensation to ransom the ensemble of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky

They did manage to save the complex, but in exchange the Hermitage had to surrender from its stocks to the Special Section of the State Fund 6,736 silver coins, 389 items of former Church property and three gold articles. The commission assessed all of these simply by weight, for their scrap value.

EVACUATION. Saved for a third time. 1941

1941 – removal to Sverdlovsk (today Yekaterinburg) of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky. After crates were brought to the halls of the Picture Gallery, the museum staff kept constant watch to ensure the preservation of all parts of the ensemble.

October 1945 – the Hermitage’s exhibits were brought back to Leningrad.

1949 – the ensemble of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky was installed in the Concert Hall of the Winter Palace after a thorough inspection and restoration.

RESTORATION

2011 – a comprehensive scientific restoration of the memorial complex of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky was begun in the State Hermitage.  

To carry out the work, some special unique equipment was acquired and designed – nanosecond-millisecond combined pulse laser systems for the welding and cleaning necessary for the restoration. The first two phases of the work were completed by 2019, with the late 17th-century internal shrine, the tomb proper, the two candlesticks and two trophies restored.

In December 2019, the third phase of the work began, entailing the restoration of the largest part of the ensemble – the pyramid. To carry this out, the pyramid had to be taken apart (into 251 separate pieces). At present research and restoration work is continuing, with a few years still to go.

The following sources were used in the compilation of this chronology:

1. Anna Ivannikova’s text on “The Image of Alexander Nevsky in Russian Culture” in Sviatoi blagovernyi velikii kniaz' Aleksandr Nevskii. Obrazy i simvolika (State Hermitage Publishing House, 2021) – the catalogue of the State Hermitage exhibition “Alexander Nevsky, Prince and Saint: Imagery and Symbolism”.
2. Ansambl’ grobnitsy kniazia Aleksandra Nevskogo – pamiatnik sviatomu voinu, Nishtadtskomu miru i Elizavete I [The Ensemble of the Tomb of Prince Alexander Nevsky – a Memorial to a Sainted Warrior, the Treaty of Nystad and Elizabeth I] by Natalia Guseva (State Hermitage Publishing House, 2021 – 98 pp., illus.)
3. Gosudarstvennyi Ermitazh. Muzeinye rasprodazhi. 1930—1931. Arkhivnye dokumenty [The State Hermitage. Museum Sell-Offs. 1930–31. Archive Documents] (State Hermitage Publishing House, 2016)
4. ERMITAZH ZA DESIAT’ LET. 1917 – 1927. Kratkii otchet. Napechatano po rasporiazheniiu Gosudarstvennogo Ermitazha [The Hermitage over Ten Years. 1917–27. A Brief Report. Printed at the Direction of the State Hermitage] By Acting Director German Lazaris.