Category Archives: Royal Churches

Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia; Photo Credit – By Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51961358

On an island in the Neva River that flows through St. Petersburg, Russia is the Peter and Paul Fortress, the original citadel of the city established by Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia in 1703. Inside the fortress is a Russian Orthodox cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, which this writer has visited. The cathedral was built during the reign of Peter I (the Great) and designed by Domenico Trezzini, a Swiss architect who designed many of the first buildings in St. Petersburg. The Peter and Paul Cathedral is the burial place of all but two of the Russian sovereign emperors and empresses from Peter the Great to Nicholas II, who was finally laid to rest in July 1998. Only Peter II and Ivan VI are not buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

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History of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia

View of the Peter and Paul Fortress from the Neva River in the 1870s; Credit – Wikipedia

From 1703 to 1704, Peter I (the Great) had a wooden church, used for military purposes, built in the Peter and Paul Fortress. To strengthen the position of his new capital city of St. Petersburg among the cities of Russia, Peter the Great wanted to build a church that would be taller than the Ivan the Great Bell Tower (the tallest structure in the Moscow Kremlin) and the Menshikov Tower of the Church of Archangel Gabriel in Moscow. He wanted the new church to become the most significant building in St. Petersburg and be located in the heart of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Swiss architect Domenico Trezzini was commissioned to design a church that was intended to be the main cathedral of the Russian Empire and the burial place of the House of Romanov. Construction work began in 1712. When Peter the Great died in 1725, only the foundations and the tower were standing. The cathedral was completed in 1733 after twenty-one years of construction. A cathedral in Russia could mean the seat of a bishop or a large or important church. Peter and Paul Cathedral, an important church, was the cathedral church of St. Petersburg until 1858 when St. Isaac Cathedral became St. Petersburg’s cathedral. At that time, Peter and Paul Cathedral came under the jurisdiction of the Russian imperial court.

The original wooden spire was rebuilt after a lightning strike in 1756. In 1773, the Chapel of Saint Catherine, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, now the burial site of Nicholas II, his family, their doctor, and their three servants, was completed. In 1777, the spire was damaged by a storm. Restoration work was carried out by the architect Peter Paton and a new angel and cross was made by Antonio Rinaldi. In 1830, roofer Pyotr Teluschkin became famous when he used a rope ladder to climb the spire to replace the angel and cross which had been that had been damaged by lightning. The spire was rebuilt in metal in 1858 and covered with gilded copper plates.

In 1919, the Soviet regime closed the Peter and Paul Cathedral, and then in 1924, it was turned into a museum. Most of the valuable items of the late 17th – early 18th centuries such as silver items, books, vestments, and icons were given to museums. During World War II, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was badly damaged. In 1952, the facades were restored, and then from 1956 to 1957, the interior was restored. Peter and Paul Cathedral is still officially a museum, and in 1954, the cathedral came under the jurisdiction of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg.

Since the 1990s, memorial services for Russian emperors and empresses have been held on the date of their deaths. Other religious services resumed in 2000. The first Easter service since 1917 was held in 2008. For the 300th anniversary in 2012, the cathedral was extensively restored.

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The Exterior of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul

Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul; Credit – Автор: Никонико962 – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81987560

The Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Pau is rectangular in shape, with a dome on the eastern end and a bell tower with a spire on the western entrance. The exterior of the Peter and Paul Cathedral does not have the five typical domes representing Jesus Christ and the Four Evangelists as do most other Orthodox churches. Instead, the dominant part of the cathedral’s exterior is the bell tower. The first three tiers of the bell tower provide a smooth transition from the main part of the cathedral to the spire. The base of the spire is an octagonal structure with narrow vertical openings topped by an octagonal golden crown.

The angel on the spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral; Credit – Автор: Ad Meskens – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77086740

Atop the 131-foot/40-meter spire is a weather vane in the shape of an angel (height: 10.4 feet/3.2 meters, wingspan: 12.4 feet/3.8 meters) revolving around a 21-foot/6.4-meter-tall cross on its gilded spire. The 402-foot/122.5 meter Peter and Paul Cathedral remained St. Petersburg’s tallest building, as ordered by Peter the Great, until the Construction of the municipal television tower in 1962. However, the Peter and Paul Cathedral still has the world’s tallest Orthodox bell tower.

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The Interior of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul

The nave of the Peter and Paul Cathedral looking toward the iconostasis; Credit – By Deror avi – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8367790

Orthodox churches are set up differently than other Christian churches. They are divided into three main parts: the narthex, the nave, and the sanctuary. The narthex is the connection between the church and the outside world. It used to be the practice that non-Orthodox people had to remain in the narthex but this practice has mostly fallen into disuse. The congregation stands in the nave during services. Traditionally there is no sitting during Orthodox services and so Orthodox churches usually do not have pews or chairs.

Ceiling fresco paintings; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a hall church, with a nave and side aisles. The interior of the cathedral is divided into three parts by pillars, painted to imitate marble. The ceiling vaults are decorated with multicolored fresco paintings and gilded moldings. The cathedral is lit by twelve large windows. Although a cathedral because of its importance, the Peter and Paul Cathedral is nowhere near the size of other cathedrals this writer has visited. There are no pews in the nave but the pillars and tombs combined with lots of people made moving around (and not losing your tour guide) difficult.

There’s our tour guide with the pulpit and lots of people in the background; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

In Orthodox Christianity, an iconostasis is a wall of icons, religious paintings, that divides the sanctuary from the nave. The sanctuary is where the Eucharist or Divine Liturgy is performed behind the iconostasis. The iconostasis usually has three doors, one in the middle and one on either side. The middle doors are traditionally called the Royal Doors and are only used by the clergy.

The iconostasis; Credit – By Poudou99 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57887255

The carved, gilded 65-foot/20-meter high iconostasis was made from 1722 to 1726 in the Kremlin Armory in Moscow, then brought in parts to St. Petersburg, and mounted in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. All decorative details and sculptural elements of the iconostasis were carved from linden wood and the frame of the iconostasis was made from larch wood.

Some of the icons on the iconostasis

Forty-three icons for the iconostasis were painted from 1726 to 1729 by Moscow icon painters and include images of the patron saints of St. Petersburg: St. Alexander Nevsky, the Apostles Peter and Paul, holy princes and princesses from the Rurik dynasty: Prince Vladimir I (the Great), Princess Olga, and the brothers and martyrs Prince Boris of Rostov and Prince Gleb of Murom.

The iconostasis rising into the cathedral’s dome; Credit – CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=136587

The central part of the iconostasis is designed in the form of the triumphal arch that spans the Royal Doors and rises into the space beneath the dome to a height of 66 feet/20 meters. Near the iconostasis is a pulpit to the left, and the Tsar’s Place to the right, a special spot where the Emperor stood when there was a service.

The Tsar’s Place; Credit – By Perfektangelll – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21354345

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Burials in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul

The burial service for Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia in 1894

Before the building of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, male rulers of the Rurik dynasty and the early Romanov dynasty along with close male relatives and some Russian noblemen were interred at the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. Likewise, women of the Rurik dynasty and women of the early Romanov dynasty along with some Russian noblewomen were interred at the Ascension Cathedral of the Ascension Convent in the Moscow Kremlin.

Several members of the Romanov family who died before the Peter and Paul Cathedral was completed were interred in the unfinished cathedral under the bell tower or in the entrance to the cathedral. After the death of Peter I (the Great) in 1725, his coffin was placed in a temporary chapel in the unfinished cathedral. He was interred in his final resting place on May 29, 1731. In 1831, Nicholas I ordered that his brother Grand Duke Konstantine Pavlovich be buried in the cathedral. Since that time, close relatives of the emperors began to be buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Graves of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, his wife Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Tsarevna of Russia, and his aunt Tsarevna Maria Alexeievna – They died before the cathedral was finished and were interred at the entrance to the cathedral. The original white marble tombstones still mark their graves; Credit – Wikipedia

Originally, graves were marked by white marble tombstones as seen in the above photo. In 1865, all the tombstones were replaced with the white marble sarcophagi with a large bronze cross coated in gold as seen in the photo below.

Sarcophagi in the Peter and Paul Cathedral; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The sarcophagi of emperors and empresses have four bronze emblems of the Russian Empire at four corners as seen in the photo below of the sarcophagus of Peter I (the Great).

Sarcophagus of Peter I (the Great); Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

By order of Alexander III, new sarcophagi were made for his parents: the sarcophagus of Alexander II from green Altai jasper and the sarcophagus of Empress Maria Alexandrovna from pink Urals rhodonite as seen in the photo below.

Sarcophagi of Alexander II (left) and his first wife Maria Feodorovna (right); Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Interred in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul

Peter and Paul Cathedral – Row 1 left to right: Tombs of Elizabeth I, Catherine I, Peter I; Row 2 left to right: Tombs of Catherine II, Peter III, Anna I; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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Reburials at the Peter and Paul Cathedral

St. Catherine Chapel, the burial site of Nicholas II, his family and his servants; Credit – By Dr Graham Beards – Own work, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13260852

Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, born Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and their five children, along with three of their most loyal servants and the court doctor, were shot to death by a firing squad on July 17, 1918, at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Siberia, Russia. The bodies were taken to a remote site north of Yekaterinburg. The initial plan was to burn the bodies but when this took longer than expected, the bodies were buried in an unmarked pit. After acid was poured on the bodies, they were covered with railroad ties, and the pit was smoothed over with dirt and ash.

In 1934, Yakov Yurovsky, the commandant of the Ipatiev House, produced an account of the execution and disposal of the bodies. His account later matched the remains of nine bodies found north of Yekaterinburg in 1991. In 1994, when the bodies of the Romanovs were exhumed, two were missing – one daughter, either Maria or Anastasia, and Alexei, the hemophiliac son. The remains of the nine bodies recovered were confirmed as those of the three servants, Dr. Botkin, Nicholas, Alexandra, and three of their daughters. The remains of Olga and Tatiana were definitely identified based on the expected skeletal structure of young women of their age. The remains of the third daughter were either Maria or Anastasia.

The family and their servants were canonized as new martyrs in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in 1981, and as passion bearers in the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000. The formal burial of Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, Dr. Botkin, and the three servants took place on July 17, 1998, the 80th anniversary of their deaths, in St. Catherine Chapel at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, many Romanov family members, and family members of Dr. Botkin and the servants attended the ceremony. Prince Michael of Kent represented his first cousin Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Three of his grandparents were first cousins of Nicholas II.

Until 2009, it was not entirely clear whether the remains of Maria or Anastasia were missing. On August 24, 2007, a Russian team of archaeologists announced that they had found the remains of Alexei and his missing sister in July 2007. In 2009, DNA and skeletal analysis identified the remains found in 2007 as Alexei and his sister Maria. In addition, it determined that the royal hemophilia was the rare, severe form of hemophilia, known as Hemophilia B or Christmas disease. The results showed that Alexei had Hemophilia B and that his mother Empress Alexandra and his sister Anastasia were carriers of the disease. The remains of Alexei and Maria have not yet been buried. The Russian Orthodox Church has questioned whether the remains are authentic and blocked the burial.

Sarcophagus of Empress Maria Feodorovna; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Maria Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia, born Princess Dagmar of Denmark, wife of Alexander III and mother of Nicholas II, died on October 13, 1928, at Hvidøre, the holiday villa she had purchased with her sister Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom in 1906, near Copenhagen, Denmark. Following services in Copenhagen’s Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Church, Maria Feodorovna was interred in the crypt of the Christian IX Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial place of the Danish royal family in Roskilde, Denmark. She had wished that at some point in time she could be buried with her husband.

The coffin of Maria Feodorovna being lowered into the crypt

In 2005, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed, along with their governments, that Maria Feodorovna’s wish should be fulfilled. Her remains were transported to St. Petersburg. Following a service at Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, she was interred next to her husband Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on September 28, 2006.

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Originally Buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral

Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna was the first wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich. While pregnant with her second child, Alexandra collapsed in the middle of a ball with violent labor pains, gave birth prematurely to a son, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and then lapsed into a coma. Alexandra did not recover consciousness and died six days later on September 24, 1891, at the age of 21. Originally, it was thought that a fall caused her premature labor. However, an autopsy showed that Alexandra’s premature labor was caused by eclampsia, a condition that causes a pregnant woman, usually previously diagnosed with preeclampsia (high blood pressure and protein in the urine), to develop seizures or coma. Nephritis, a kidney disorder, and heart damage were also detected.

In 1939, at the request of Alexandra’s nephew King George II of Greece and the Greek government, the Soviet government allowed Alexandra’s remains to be transferred to Greece. Her coffin was removed from the Peter and Paul Cathedral, put aboard a Greek ship, and brought back to Greece where it was reinterred at the traditional burial site of the Greek royal family, the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace. Alexandra’s original marble tomb in the Peter and Paul Cathedral remains at its original site and is the only tomb in the cathedral over an empty grave.

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The Grand Ducal Mausoleum

The Grand Ducal Mausoleum; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The Grand Ducal Mausoleum is located on the left side of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. There is a corridor between the mausoleum and the cathedral. Because of decreasing room for burials at the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Grand Ducal Mausoleum was constructed. It was designed by architect David Ivanovich Grimm in 1896. After Grimm’s death in 1898, architects Antony Tomishko and Leon Benois took over the project. The mausoleum, completed in 1908, was expected to hold up to sixty burials but by the time of the Russian Revolution, there had been only thirteen burials. For each burial, a marble slab was placed in the floor, on which was inscribed the title, name, date of birth and death, and date of burial.

Graves of Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna (left) and Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich (right) in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum; Credit – www.pointurier.org

After the Russian Revolution, much of the interior of the mausoleum was damaged due to plans to turn it into a museum and also during World War II due to the German Siege of Leningrad, as St. Petersburg was called during the Soviet regime. Major restoration work occurred in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s. In 2006, the stained glass window depicting the resurrection of Jesus was recreated. In 2008, the restoration of the facade and roof was carried out. The Grand Ducal Mausoleum opened to the public in September 2016.

Interior of the Grand Ducal Mausoleum with several burial slabs; Credit – By Poudou99 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57886041

The remains of those who died before the completion of the Grand Ducal Mausoleum in 1908 were transferred from the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The remains of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich and his wife Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna (Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria) were transferred from Coburg, Germany in 1995. Their only son Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich was interred in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum after his death in 1992 as was his wife Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhranskaya, Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna after her death in 2010.

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Interred in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum

The funeral of Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna in 2010 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral before the burial in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Peter-und-Paul-Kathedrale (Sankt Petersburg) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter-und-Paul-Kathedrale_(Sankt_Petersburg)> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Peter_and_Paul_Cathedral,_Saint_Petersburg> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2017. Romanov Burial Sites. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/romanov-burial-sites/> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Mausolée grand-ducal de Saint-Pétersbourg — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausol%C3%A9e_grand-ducal_de_Saint-P%C3%A9tersbourg> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
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  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Петропавловский собор — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
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Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin; Credit – By Petar Milošević – Transferred from sr.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:PetarM using CommonsHelper., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12820131

The coronation cathedral of Russian rulers, the Assumption Cathedral, also known as the Dormition Cathedral and Uspensky Cathedral in Russian, is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Orthodox feast celebrated on August 15, of the “falling asleep” (death) of Mary the Theotokos (Mother of God, literally translated as God-Bearer), and her being taken bodily up into heaven (Assumption of Mary in the Roman Catholic religion). The cathedral is located in the Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The Moscow Kremlin is a fortified complex founded by the Rurik dynasty in the late 15th century. It includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall. Before the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia in 1703, the Moscow Kremlin was the seat of power for the Rurik and early Romanov rulers of Russia. The Moscow Kremlin now serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

Since 1382, Assumption Cathedral has been the burial site of most Metropolitans of Moscow (similar to an archbishop) and Patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, the head of the Russian Old-Orthodox Church. Assumption Cathedral was the site of the coronations of the sovereign Tsars, Emperors, and Empresses of Russia, and some consorts from 1547 to 1896.

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History of the Assumption Cathedral

Worshippers at the Assumption Cathedral in the mid-19th century

A wooden church was built on the site in the 12th century and was replaced by a limestone church around 1326. In the 14th century, (Saint) Peter, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus persuaded Ivan I Kalita, Grand Prince of Moscow to build a cathedral to the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary) in the Moscow Kremlin. Construction of the cathedral began on August 4, 1326, and the cathedral was finished and consecrated on August 4, 1327.

However, by the end of the 15th century, the Assumption Cathedral had deteriorated and it was suggested that a new cathedral should be built. The design and the construction of the new cathedral were entrusted to Moscow architects Ivan Myschkin and <unknown first name > Kriwzow. Construction began in April 1472 but two years later, in May 1474, when the new Assumption Cathedral was nearly completed, it collapsed due to an earthquake.

Following the disaster, Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow decided to give Aristotele Fioravanti, a renowned architect and engineer from Bologna, then part of the Papal States, now in Italy, the task of designing the cathedral in the traditions of Russian architecture and supervising the construction. Aristotele Fioravanti made a careful study of Russian architecture and then designed a light and spacious masterpiece that combined the spirit of the Renaissance with Russian traditions. Construction began in 1475, and in 1479, the new Assumption Cathedral was consecrated.

In 1918, after the Russian Revolution, the Assumption Cathedral and the other churches in the Kremlin were closed as houses of worship. The new Bolshevik government moved its headquarters from St. Petersburg to the Moscow Kremlin. The Assumption Cathedral was converted into a museum. The museum staff made every effort to retain the interior. During restoration work, almost all the original paintings of the icons and murals were uncovered from under the later paintings. With the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Assumption Cathedral once again became a Russian Orthodox church.

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The Exterior and Interior of the Assumption Cathedral

Assumption Cathedral; Credit – By Don-vip – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83068810

Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti followed the style of the 1160 Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir and designed the Assumption Cathedral in the style of a traditional Russian cross-domed church, with five domes representing Jesus Christ and the Four Evangelists, Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Exterior frescoes; By Skif-Kerch – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62603284

The Renaissance-style exterior has white-stone walls, columned friezes, and semicircles of blind arches. Fresco paintings in the upper part of the walls in semicircular vaults depict the Virgin Mary, Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and saints.

Fioravanti’s architectural originality was more visible in the interior. All the areas of the cathedral were larger than in the past. Pillars were placed further apart which created an impression of an immense palatial room. People of the time were astonished by the cathedral’s “unusual majesty and height, luminosity and spaciousness”.

Orthodox churches are set up differently than other Christian churches. They are divided into three main parts: the narthex, the nave, and the sanctuary. The narthex is the connection between the church and the outside world. It used to be the practice that non-Orthodox people had to remain in the narthex but this practice has mostly fallen into disuse. The congregation stands in the nave during services. Traditionally there is no sitting during Orthodox services and so Orthodox churches usually do not have pews or chairs. In Orthodox Christianity, an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings that divides the sanctuary from the nave. The sanctuary behind the Royal Doors is where the Eucharist or Divine Liturgy is performed, behind the iconostasis. Only priests and servers may enter through the Royal Doors.

Frescoes in the interior of the Assumption Cathedral; Credit – By Shakko – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86775440

The interior of the Assumption Cathedral is richly decorated with fresco paintings from 1642 -1643 and the huge, magnificent 53 feet/16-meter iconostasis of 1653.

Looking toward the iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral

Originally, a three-tiered iconostasis, the Assumption Cathedral’s iconostasis gained two additional tiers in 1626 and 1653 – 1654.

Part of the iconostasis; Credit – Von Schoschi, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14625675

In addition to its religious function, the Assumption Cathedral iconostasis also served as a sort of trophy wall. The Russian rulers would add the most important icons from cities they had conquered to the iconostasis. The Mother of God, the Archangel Gabriel, and the Four Evangelists are depicted on the Royal Doors of the Assumption Cathedral.

The Royal Doors; Credit – By shakko – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7078552

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Coronations at Assumption Cathedral

Anointing of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia in front of the iconostasis and the Royal Doors by Vasili Fedorovich  Timm, 1856; Credit – Wikipedia

The seat of the Grand Princes of Moscow from the Rurik dynasty was in the Moscow Kremlin. It was therefore obvious that the Tsars of the Tsardom of Russia which followed the Grand Principality of Moscow and then the Emperors of the Russian Empire would have themselves crowned there. In addition to the Tsars, all the crowned Emperors and Empresses from Catherine I to Nicholas II were anointed and crowned in the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. Many of the wives of the Tsars and Emperors were crowned at the same time as their husbands.

Coronation of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia Laurits Tuxen; Credit – Wikipedia

The Russian coronation emphasized that the secular ruler of Russia was closely connected with the Russian Orthodox Church. No layperson was ever permitted to pass through the Royal Doors, however, during the Russian rulers’ coronation, they were permitted to do so. They received both parts of Communion (bread and wine) in the sanctuary behind the Royal Doors of the iconostasis. The Russian rulers used their hands to take the bread and the chalice of wine, symbolizing their spiritual equality among Russia’s clergy just this once in their lives.

When Peter I (the Great) moved the seat of power from Moscow to his new city St. Petersburg, the coronations continued to take place at the Assumption Cathedral. Moscow remained the spiritual center of Russia, and tradition required that coronations continue to be held there.

Coronations held at the Assumption Cathedral:

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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  • Jenkins, Simon, 2021. Europe’s 100 Best Cathedrals. Dublin: Penguin Random House.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Успенский собор (Московский Кремль) — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80_(%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BB%D1%8C)> [Accessed 2 April 2022].
  • Православие.RU. 2022. Crowned, anointed, and communed as clergy: On the coronations of Russian empresses regnant. [online] Available at: <https://www.pravoslavie.ru/80559.html> [Accessed 2 April 2022].

Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Archangel Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

The Archangel Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Archangel Michael in the Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The Moscow Kremlin is a fortified complex founded by the Rurik dynasty in the late 15th century. It includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall. Before the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia in 1703, the Moscow Kremlin was the seat of power for the Rurik and early Romanov rulers of Russia. The Moscow Kremlin now serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

Male rulers of the Rurik dynasty and the early Romanov dynasty along with close male relatives and some Russian noblemen were interred at the Archangel Cathedral. When Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia, moved the capital of Russia from Moscow to the new city of St. Petersburg, the new Peter and Paul Cathedral became the Romanov burial site for both men and women. In 1730, Peter II, Emperor of All Russia, the grandson of Peter I (the Great), died in Moscow from smallpox, aged fourteen, and was the last ruler to be interred in the Archangel Cathedral.

Previously women had been interred at the Ascension Cathedral of the Ascension Convent in the Moscow Kremlin. In 1929, the Ascension Convent and its cathedral were destroyed by the Soviets to make room for the Red Army School. At that time, the remains of those buried there were moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

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History of the Archangel Cathedral

Panorama of the Kremlin in Moscow by Eduard Gaertner, 1839, showing the  Archangel Cathedral on the right; Credit – Wikipedia

Prior to the current cathedral built from 1505 – 1508, there was a wooden church built in 1250 that was replaced with a stone church in 1333. The stone church was crowded with burials of earlier Rurik rulers and needed renovation, so Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow decided to build a new cathedral on the site. Just as he had done twenty years earlier when the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin was built, Ivan III invited an Italian architect, Lamberti Aloisio da Mantagnana, known in Russia as Aloisio the New, to design and oversee the construction of the new cathedral. The groundbreaking occurred on May 21, 1505. However, Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow did not live to see the new cathedral completed. He died on October 27, 1505, and was interred in the unfinished cathedral. Work on the cathedral was completed by the end of 1508, but it was not formally consecrated until November 8, 1509.

In 1918, during the Russian Revolution, the Archangel Cathedral and the other churches in the Kremlin were closed as houses of worship. The new Bolshevik government moved its headquarters from St. Petersburg to the Moscow Kremlin. With the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Archangel Cathedral once again became a Russian Orthodox church.

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The Exterior and Interior

Four of the five domes of the Archangel Cathedral; Credit – By Elenak1211 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28337196

The Archangel Cathedral has the five typical domes representing Jesus Christ and the Four Evangelists but it was more Italian in style than the other churches in the Moscow Kremlin. With the renovations over the centuries, some of these Italian aspects have disappeared.

Looking up at the dome; Credit – By Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65150

The interior of the Archangel Cathedral is typical of Russian churches with the vault of the central chancel extending below the central dome supported by a total of six columns. As is typical for the other Kremlin churches, the walls are painted with frescoes.

Orthodox churches are set up differently than other Christian churches. They are divided into three main parts: the narthex, the nave, and the sanctuary. The narthex is the connection between the church and the outside world. It used to be the practice that non-Orthodox people had to remain in the narthex but this practice has mostly fallen into disuse. The congregation stands in the nave during services. Traditionally there is no sitting during Orthodox services and so Orthodox churches usually do not have pews or chairs. In Orthodox Christianity, an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings that divides the sanctuary from the nave. The sanctuary is where the Eucharist or Divine Liturgy is performed behind the iconostasis.

Some of the icons of the Iconostasis; Credit – By Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65147

The iconostasis of the Archangel Cathedral is a four-tiered, 42 feet / 13-meter tall wooden iconostasis with gilded carvings made 1678 – 1681. The mostly 17th-century icons depict the Archangel Michael, the Blessed Mother, John the Baptist, and other venerated saints. Atop the iconostasis is a crucifix.

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The Burials

Graves of three Grand Princes of Moscow, Vasily III, Ivan III and Vasily II in the Archangel Cathedral; Credit – By shakko – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15196587

There are a total of 46 tombs inside the cathedral, located in the chancel and the former sacristy behind the altar, in which 53 people – grand princes, tsars, one emperor, and some of their male relatives – are interred. All the burial sites have a similar structure. The remains are in sarcophagi interred 5 feet / 1.5 meters underground. Above each burial site is a large block of white stone with engraved names and biographical data in Old Church Slavonic writing. During the 20th century, the blocks of stone were encased in special bronze cases to protect them. Above the burial sites are frescoes on the wall with a representation of who is buried there.

Frescoes depicting Grand Princes of Moscow over their graves in the Archangel Cathedral; Credit – By shakko – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7078668

Listed below are Grand Princes of Moscow, Tsars of Russia, and Emperors of Russia and their male relatives who were interred at the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

  • Grand Prince (Великий князь Velikiy Knyaz: literally great prince, sometimes translated as grand duke) was the title of the male ruler of the Russian principalities before they were united into the Tsardom of Russia. A Grand Prince’s wife was titled Grand Princess.
  • Tsar was used 1547 – 1721 to denote the male ruler of Russia. Tsar comes from Caesar, the Latin title of a Roman emperor. Tsar remained the popular designation of the Russian ruler despite the official change of style to Emperor in 1721.
  • Tsaritsa or Tsarina was the title of the female ruler of Russia or the title of a Tsar’s wife. It was officially used from 1547 – 1721 when the title changed to Empress although Tsaritsa or Tsarina was sometimes still used.
  • Tsarevich was the title given to Tsars’ sons before the 18th century.
  • Tsarevna was used before the 18th century as the title for the daughter of a Tsar or the wife of a Tsarevich.

Patronymic: In Russian, a patronymic is the second name derived from the father’s first name: the suffix -vich means “son of” and the suffixes -eva, -evna, -ova, and -ovna mean “daughter of”

Burials Moved from the Ascension Cathedral to the Archangel Cathedral

Removing the sarcophagi before the destruction of the Ascension Monastery; Credit – Wikipedia

Women of the Rurik dynasty and women of the early Romanov dynasty along with some Russian noblewomen were interred at the Ascension Cathedral of the Ascension Convent in the Moscow Kremlin. In 1929, the Ascension Convent and its cathedral were destroyed by the Soviets to make room for the Red Army School. At that time, the remains of those buried there were moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

The list of those originally interred at Ascension Cathedral and moved to the crypt in the Archangel Cathedral in 1929 can be seen at Unofficial Royalty: Ascension Convent and Cathedral.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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Works Cited

  • Archangel-cathedral.kreml.ru. 2022. Archangel Cathedral. [online] Available at: <https://archangel-cathedral.kreml.ru/en-Us/museum-archangel-cathedral/?utm_source=kreml.ru&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=kreml.ru&utm_referrer=kreml.ru> [Accessed 24 March 2022].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Erzengel-Michael-Kathedrale (Moskau) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erzengel-Michael-Kathedrale_(Moskau)> [Accessed 24 March 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Cathedral of the Archangel – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_the_Archangel> [Accessed 24 March 2022].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Архангельский собор (Московский Кремль) — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%80%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80_(%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BB%D1%8C)> [Accessed 24 March 2022].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Некрополь Архангельского собора — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C_%D0%90%D1%80%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0> [Accessed 24 March 2022].

Ascension Convent and Cathedral at the Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Ascension Monastery in 1900; Ascension Cathedral, with four of the five towers showing, is in the middle of the photo; Credit – Wikipedia

The Ascension Convent was a Russian Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The Moscow Kremlin is a fortified complex founded by the Rurik dynasty in the late 15th century. It includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall. Before the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia in 1703, the Moscow Kremlin was the seat of power for the Rurik and early Romanov rulers of Russia. The Moscow Kremlin now serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

Women of the Rurik dynasty and women of the early Romanov dynasty along with some Russian noblewomen were interred at the Ascension Cathedral of the Ascension Convent. When Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia, moved the capital of Russia from Moscow to the new city of St. Petersburg, the new Peter and Paul Cathedral became the Romanov burial site.

In 1929, the Ascension Convent and its cathedral were destroyed by the Soviets to make room for the Red Army School. At that time, the remains of those buried there were moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

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History of the Church

The Ascension Cathedral in the 1800s; Credit – Wikipedia

Around 1386, the first wooden church of the nunnery was founded by Evdokia Dmitrievna of Suzdal, Grand Princess of Moscow, wife of Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Prince of Moscow. The church was dedicated to the Ascension of Jesus, the Christian teaching that Jesus physically departed from Earth by rising into Heaven. After the death of her husband, Evdokia Dmitrievna became a nun under the name Euphrosyne at the nunnery and was buried in the church upon her death. She was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church and is known as St. Euphrosyne of Moscow.

Shrine of St. Euphrosyne of Moscow in the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin; Credit – By Иерей Максим Массалитин – originally posted to Flickr as Святая Евфросиния Московская, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12193132

In 1415, the church was mostly destroyed by fire and was rebuilt in 1467 by Maria Yaroslavna of Borovsk, Grand Princess of Moscow, wife of Vasily II, Grand Prince of Moscow. Another fire in 1483 resulted in another restoration. From 1587 – 1588, the church was completely rebuilt as a cathedral with five domes, mirroring the Archangel Cathedral which had been built nearby in the Moscow Kremlin in 1508.

Ascension Cathedral in 1907; Credit – Wikipedia

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Destruction of the Convent and Cathedral

Nuns at the Ascension Convent in 1904; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1907, the nunnery had a mother superior, 62 nuns, and 45 lay sisters. Ten years later, during the Russian Revolution, the nunnery and its buildings suffered much damage and the nuns were ordered to leave. In 1918, the Kremlin Commission was established to restore and preserve the Kremlin buildings. However, due to insufficient funding, the plans were not fully implemented and work stopped in 1920. In 1924, the ground on which the Ascension Convent sat began to sink and some walls of the buildings started to collapse.

The iconostasis, the wall of icons and religious paintings separating the nave from the sanctuary in an Orthodox church, of the Ascension Cathedral which was saved and is now in the Church of the Twelve Apostles; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1929, it was announced that plans were being prepared for the construction of the Red Army School on the land occupied by the Ascension Cathedral and other historical buildings. A plea was made to change the location to preserve the historical buildings but it was ignored. In December 1929, on the orders of Joseph Stalin, the dismantling and demolition work began. The work was done in a hurry and archaeologists were not allowed to remove valuable frescoes in the churches and only a few church decorations were saved.

Removing the sarcophagi before the destruction of the Ascension Monastery; Credit – Wikipedia

Thanks to Nikolai Nikolaevich Pomerantsev, an art restorer and art curator, the sarcophagi in the Ascension Cathedral were saved. Pomerantsev organized architectural measurements and photographing of the monastery, a survey of the burials, and the removal of the sarcophagi to the crypt in the Archangel Cathedral. In January 1934, Pomerantsev was arrested and accused of trying to discredit the Soviet government by opposing the demolition of unnecessary monuments of antiquity. In May 1934, he was sentenced to three years of exile.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Pomerantsev, who is responsible for saving the sarcophagi at the Ascension Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

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Burials

Tsarevna Praskovia Ivanovna of Russia, daughter of Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia, was the last person interred at Ascension Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

Listed below are relatives of Grand Princes of Moscow, Tsars of Russia, and Emperors of Russia who were interred at the Ascension Convent and were moved in 1929 to the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. Relatives of Russian nobles were also buried there but are not included in the list below.

  • Grand Prince (Великий князь Velikiy Knyaz: literally great prince, sometimes translated as grand duke) was the title of the male ruler of the Russian principalities before they were united into the Tsardom of Russia. A Grand Prince’s wife was titled a Grand Princess.
  • Tsar was used 1547 – 1721 to denote the male ruler of Russia. Tsar comes from Caesar, the Latin title of a Roman emperor. Tsar remained the popular designation of the Russian ruler despite the official change of style to Emperor in 1721.
  • Tsaritsa or Tsarina was the title of the female ruler of Russia or the title of a Tsar’s wife. It was officially used from 1547 – 1721 when the title changed to Empress although Tsaritsa or Tsarina was sometimes still used.
  • Tsarevich was the title given to Tsars’ sons before the 18th century.
  • Tsarevna was used before the 18th century as the title for the daughter of a Tsar or the wife of a Tsarevich.

Patronymic: In Russian, a patronymic is the second name derived from the father’s first name: the suffix -vich means “son of” and the suffixes -eva, -evna, -ova, and -ovna mean “daughter of”.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Ascension Convent – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension_Convent> [Accessed 21 March 2022].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Вознесенский монастырь (Москва) — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8B%D1%80%D1%8C_(%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B0)> [Accessed 21 March 2022].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Некрополь Вознесенского монастыря — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8B%D1%80%D1%8F> [Accessed 21 March 2022].

Monastery of Curtea de Argeș in Curtea de Argeș, Romania

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

The 16th-century Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș; Credit – By Alexandru Baboş Albabos – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10304987

The Monastery of Curtea de Argeș is a Romanian Orthodox monastery in Curtea de Argeș, Romania built between 1515 – 1517, during the reign of Neagoe Basarab V, Prince of Wallachia. On the grounds of the monastery is the 16th-century Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș. The cathedral served as a burial site for Neagoe Basarab V and his family and as the seat for the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of Argeș and Muscel. During the reign (1881 – 1914) of Carol I, King of Romania, a burial site for the Royal Family of Romania was established at the cathedral.

The 21st-century New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeș; Credit – By Rereader1996 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84735309

The New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeș was built on the monastery grounds from 2009 – 2018. It serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Argeș and Muscel and as a new burial site for members of the Royal Family of Romania

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The Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș

Credit – By Florin – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28662047

The 16th-century cathedral was built during the reign of Neagoe Basarab V, Prince of Wallachia. Wallachia, a historical and geographical region of Romania, was founded as a principality in the early 14th century. One of the earlier Princes of Wallachia was Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler (Romanian: Vlad Țepeș) or Vlad Dracula (reigned 1428 – 1431 and 1476 – 1477). Neagoe Basarab made major donations to Orthodox churches and monasteries in Wallachia and throughout what is known today as Eastern Europe and also in the Ottoman Empire and the Holy Land. He used the religious and political traditions from the defunct Byzantine Empire in his style of ruling. Neagoe Basarab also established diplomatic contacts with the Pope, taking steps to resolve the conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. On July 8, 2008, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church canonized Neagoe Basarab as a saint. His feast day is celebrated on September 26.

Part of the ceiling; Credit – By Pudelek – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64976936

Neagoe Basarab had direct involvement in the planning and building of the Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș. The cathedral was consecrated on August 15, 1517, and was dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Orthodox feast celebrated on August 15, of the “falling asleep” (death) of Mary the Theotokos (Mother of God, literally translated as God-Bearer), and her being taken bodily up into heaven (Assumption of Mary in the Roman Catholic religion).

View from the back showing the annex; Credit – By Daria Virbanescu – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72885130

The oblong cathedral, in the Byzantine style with Moorish arabesques, sits upon a raised platform above the ground with a many-sided annex at the back. The two smaller cupolas sit in front of the central dome and another dome is above the annex. Atop each dome is the triple cross, representing the Trinity.

The iconostasis – the wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in an Orthodox church; Credit – Wikipedia By Pudelek – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64976937

In the narthex of the cathedral, a lobby area typical of early Christian and Byzantine churches, are the tombs of the cathedral’s founder Neagoe Basarab V, Prince of Wallachia, his wife Milița Despina, and several other family members. Also in the narthex, members of the recent Royal Family of Romania were buried although several have been re-interred at the New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral.

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The New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeş

By Rereader1996 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84735313

The New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral was a joint project of the Archdiocese of Argeș and Muscel and the Royal House of Romania. The Romanian royal family wanted a new burial site because the 16th-century Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș had no more room for burials while the new cathedral would serve the Archdiocese of Argeş and Muscel as the seat of the archdiocese. The expenses for the construction were shared by the Royal House of Romania and the Archdiocese of Argeş and Muscel.

Dr. Augustin Ioan, a Romanian architect, writer, and professor at the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urban Planning in Bucharest, Romania was chosen to design the new cathedral. In 2008, the first discussion took place between architect Dr. Augustin Ioan and Princess Margareta of Romania, the eldest of the five daughters of former King Mihai of Romania (also known as Michael, reigned 1927 – 1930 and 1940 – 1947 when the monarchy was abolished), known as the Custodian of the Crown of Romania since her father’s death in 2017, and her husband Prince Radu of Romania. Princess Margareta expressed the wish of her father King Mihai to be buried with his ancestors and to bring them all together to be buried in the same place. On May 10, 2009, the foundation stone was laid in the presence of Princess Margareta and her husband Prince Radu.

The new cathedral was designed in the style of Byzantine architecture as a tribute to the 16th-century cathedral. The interior was decorated with mosaics, in the style of the old cathedral. Likewise, the stone exterior of the new cathedral makes a connection to the old cathedral.

Graves in the new burial site; Credit – By Rereader1996 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84733946

The royal burial site of the new cathedral is located on the right after the entrance. Because the sixteen gravesites could not all be aligned to the east as is the tradition, architect Augustin Ioan came up with a solution. He designed the royal burial site as a circular arcaded portico with the altar in the middle, explaining “The holy altar table represents the mystical east of the church. At the liturgy, the living and the dead await together the conversion of wine and bread into the blood and flesh of Christ, but also the Resurrection.” When entering the burial site, visitors have a figurative and a literal threshold of light to cross because the entrance is a structural glass bridge with light below.

The child martyr Saint Filofteia carrying her food basket with the axe that killed her on the ground

The New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeş was consecrated on December 7, 2018, and dedicated to Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel and the child martyr Saint Filofteia (1206 – 1218) who lived in what is now Bulgaria. Filofteia was a loving, generous and kind little girl whose father and stepmother often beat her. While bringing a basket of food to her father working in the fields, Filofteia would often give some of the food to her less fortunate neighbors. When her father found out where the food was going, he became so angry that he hit her with an ax in the leg and she bled to death. According to the story, Filofteia’s body remained on the ground for days because no one could lift it, as if an otherworldly force was holding it to the ground. The surrounding area glowed with a bright and persistent light and people flocked to the area to pray.

Filofteia’s relics; Credit – De la Țetcu Mircea Rareș – Operă proprie, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28263365

Finally, Filofteia’s remains were properly cared for and were considered a miraculous relic. Eventually, the relics were then given to Mircea the Elder, Prince of Wallachia (reigned 1386 – 1418) who placed them in the Princely Church of Saint Nicholas in Curtea de Argeș which was built in the beginning of the 14th-century. Filofteia was considered the protector of Wallachia. The relics were eventually placed in the Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș. Filofteia’s relics have been moved to a small chapel on the left of the entrance of the New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral, across from the new royal burial site.

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Buried at the Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș

Family of Neagoe Basarab V, Prince of Wallachia, the builder of the Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș

Neagoe Basarab of Wallachia and his family with the Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș in the middle: on the left, Neagoe Basarab and his three sons: Teodosie, Petru, and Ioan; on the right his wife Milica Despina and their daughters: Stana, Ruxandra, and Angelina; Credit – https://mappingeasterneurope.princeton.edu/item/neagoe-basarab-of-wallachia-and-his-family.html

The grave of Radu of Afumați, Prince of Wallachia, son-in-law of Neagoe Basarab V: Credit – Țetcu Mircea Rareș Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28263363

The Recent Royal Family of Romania

King Carol I in the center with his nephew the future King Ferdinand I on the right and his great-nephew the future King Carol II on the right; Credit – Wikipedia

Because of political unrest in what was then called the Romanian United Principalities, the Ruling Prince, Alexander Ioan Cuza, was forced to abdicate in February 1866. Due largely to the familial relationship with the French Emperor Napoleon III and the Prussian monarchs, Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was elected by the Romanian government to become the new Ruling Prince. Karl arrived in Romania on May 10, 1866, and declared his allegiance to his new country, taking on the more Romanian spelling of his name, Carol. In 1881, the Romanian parliament declared Romania a kingdom, and Prince Carol became King Carol I. Romania remained a monarchy until 1947 when King Mihai I was forced to sign a document of abdication by the Communist regime. A year later, he publicly announced that his abdication was invalid, as it had been forced upon him, and that he remained the rightful King of Romania.

It would be 43 years before Mihai set foot on Romanian soil again. In December 1990, Mihai was given permission for a 24-hour visit. However, this ended up being cut short and he was forced to leave early. He visited Romania in again 1992 but the mass outpouring of crowds and supporters concerned the current government and he was banned again for several years. Finally, in 1997, the Romanian government restored Mihai’s citizenship and in the following years, several properties were returned to the royal family.

Buried at the Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș

The grave of Elisabeth of Wied, Queen of Romania; Credit – By Țetcu Mircea Rareș – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28263366

Possibly sometime in the future, some or all of the following could be moved from the Cathedral of Curtea de Argeș to the New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral.

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Buried at the New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeş

The mausoleum at the New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral; Credit – By Rereader1996  Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84739150

  • Anne of Bourbon-Parma, Queen of Romania (titular) (1923 – 2016), wife of Mihai I
  • Mihai I (Michael), King of Romania (1921 – 2017), son of Carol II
  • Carol II, King of Romania (1893 – 1953), son of Ferdinand I, died in exile in Portugal, first buried at the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal, in 2003 his remains were returned to Romania and buried in a chapel outside the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral, reinterred at the New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral in Curtea de Argeș on March 8, 2019
  • Helen of Greece and Denmark, Queen Mother of Romania (1896 – 1982), second of the three wives of Carol II (divorced), mother of Mihai I, first buried at the Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery in Lausanne, Switzerland, reinterred at the New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral at Curtea de Argeș on October 19, 2019.
  • Prince Mircea of Romania (1913 – 1916), the three-year-old son of Ferdinand I, died of typhoid fever on November 2, 1916. As the family was fleeing enemy forces approaching Bucharest during World War I, he was quickly buried in the grounds of Cotroceni Palace. In 1941, his remains were moved to the chapel at Bran Castle. In 2019, his remains found their final resting place at the New Archbishopric and Royal Cathedral at Curtea de Argeş.

Graves of King Mihai I and Queen Anne; Credit – www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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Friedenskirche (Church of Peace) and the Temple of Antiquities in Potsdam, Germany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

The Friedenskirche with the domed Kaiser Friedrich Mauseleum on the left; Credit – By Arild Vågen – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29982486

The Friedenskirche (Church of Peace) is a Lutheran church in Sanssouci Park, surrounding Sanssouci Palace, in Potsdam, Germany. Sanssouci Palace was built between 1745 – 1747 in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in the German state of Brandenburg, during the reign of Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia as his summer palace.

Sanssouci Park contains other structures including:

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History of the Friedenskirche

The Friedenskirche with the domed Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum of the right; Credit – By Wolfgang Staudt – originally posted to Flickr as Potsdam Friedenskirche, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3988614

In 1839, as Crown Prince of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, King of Prussia devised a preliminary plan for a church in the Sanssouci Park that would meet the needs of the Prussian court to worship while in summer residence at Sanssouci Palace. He envisioned a church with a lake, a park, and additional buildings. When Friedrich Wilhelm IV became King of Prussia in 1840, he began to carry out those plans. However, he was quite particular and repeatedly rejected the designs of the court architect Friedrich Ludwig Persius. After nearly two years, Friedrich Wilhelm III approved Persius’ plans. The cornerstone was laid on April 14, 1845. However, three months later Persius died and architect Friedrich August Stüler continued the project. On September 24, 1848, the Friedenskirche was consecrated in the presence of King Friedrich IV and his wife Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Queen of Prussia. The church served not only as a chapel royal but also as a church for the parish of Brandenburger Vorstadt, a part of Potsdam.

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The Exterior of the Friedenskirche

Friedenskirche; Credit – Von Gemeingut im Foto – Eigenes Werk, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39348752

The Friedenskirche was built in the style of an early Christian church with buildings surrounding the church built in the style of northern Italian monastery buildings.

The inner courtyard with the statue of Christ: Credit – By Wolfgang Staudt – originally posted to Flickr as Church of Peace, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3988611

There is an inner courtyard with a fountain and a life-size statue of Christ, a copy of the 1821 statue by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen in the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The bell tower; Credit – Von Miguel Hermoso Cuesta – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37843644

Next to the church is a free-standing bell tower modeled after the bell tower at the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, Italy.

Steinbrück fresco depicting Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane; Credit – By Elena Jamov – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21668281

On the eastern side of the church, there is a fresco by German painter and etcher Eduard Steinbrück depicting Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.

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The Interior of the Friedenskirche

The interior of the Friedenskirche; Credit – By Jochen Teufel – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7216909

The Friedenskirche is a columned basilica with three aisles and no transept.

The 13th century mosaic in the aspe; Credit – Von Karl-Heinz Meurer (–Charlie1965nrw) – HDR-Bild aus drei digitalen Fotografien, selbst fotografiert, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11906128

When he was Crown Prince of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm IV had purchased at auction a 13th-century mosaic from a church that was going to be demolished, the 1109 Church of San Cipriano on Murano near Venice, Italy. The Byzantine mosaic shows Jesus Christ seated on a throne as the judge of the world. This mosaic was installed in the apse over the altar.

The main altar; Credit – By J.hagelüken – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33175253

The four dark green columns of the main altar ciborium, the structure over the altar, are made of Siberian jasper and were a gift from Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia in 1842. Nicholas I was married to Friedrich Wilhelm IV’s sister Charlotte.

Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress, Queen of Prussia with her daughters at the coffin of her husband Friedrich III in the Friedenskirche; Credit – Wikipedia

The sacristy is in the left aisle. After Friedrich Wilhelm IV’s death, it was temporarily used as a resting place for his coffin. Upon the deaths of nearly two-year-old Prince Sigismund in 1866 and eleven-year-old Prince Waldemar in 1879, the sons of the future Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia and his wife Victoria, Princess Royal, their coffins were interred in the sacristy. In 1888, Friedrich III’s coffin was also interred here. After the completion of the Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum, all three coffins were moved there. In 1920, Prince Joachim, the youngest son of Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor, and King of Prussia was interred in the sacristy. His coffin was moved to the Temple of Antiquities in 1931.

The entrance to the royal crypt; By Ra Boe / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11867337

The entrance to the royal crypt is under two marble tablets honoring Friedrich Wilhelm IV and his wife Elisabeth Luise in front of the altar steps. Friedrich Wilhelm IV died on January 2, 1861, following several strokes. His coffin rested in the sacristy of the Friedenskirche until it was moved to the royal crypt after its dedication in October 1864.

It was common to hold confirmations of members of the House of Hohenzollern at the Friedenskirche. Among those confirmed there were Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia, son of Friedrich III, and his seven children.

 

Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia, the great-great-grandson of Wilhelm II and the current head of the Prussian branch of the House of Hohenzollern, and Princess Sophie of Isenburg were married at the Friedenskirche on August 27, 2011.

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The Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum

The Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum; Credit – By Barbas, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17290128

Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia reigned for only 99 days, dying at the age of 56 on June 15, 1888. Already seriously ill with cancer of the larynx, he succeeded his father Wilhelm I, German Emperor, King of Prussia on March 9, 1888. Friedrich III was succeeded by his son Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia. The year 1888 is called “The Year of Three Emperors” in German history. Friedrich III’s coffin was initially placed in the sacristy of the Friedenskirche. From 1888 – 1890, the Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum was added to the north side of the Friedenskirche. It was designed by architect Julius Carl Raschdorff who also designed the 1893 – 1905 reconstruction of the Berlin Cathedral. After the inauguration of the Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum on October 18, 1890, the coffins of Friedrich III, along with those of his two sons who had died in childhood, were moved from the sacristy of the Friedenskirche to the mausoleum. When Friedrich III’s wife Victoria died in 1901, she was also interred in the mausoleum.

Julius Carl Raschdorff designed the mausoleum in the Baroque-influenced Italian High Renaissance style based upon the 17th-century Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher in San Candido, Italy which was modeled after the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The mausoleum is a domed building with a circular floor plan with an attached rectangular chancel. A gold mosaic on the vaulted ceiling alternately depicts angels and palm trees.

Tomb of Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

In the middle of the rotunda are the marble sarcophagi of Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia and his wife, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, Victoria, Princess Royal.

Tombs of Victoria and Friedrich next to each other; Credit – By TeeBee – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47840199

Tomb of Prince Sigismund; Credit – Wikipedia

Prussian sculptor Reinhold Begas created the effigies of Friederich III and his wife Victoria and also created the tombs of Prince Sigismund and Prince Waldemar, the two sons of Friedrich III and Victoria who died in childhood, that stand against the side walls.

Tomb of Prince Waldemar; Credit – http://www.findagrave.com

Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia was originally interred at the Garrison Church in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia. During World War II, his coffin, along with several others, were moved, for their protection, to a salt mine near Bernterode, Germany. The coffins were discovered by occupying American forces, who re-interred them in St. Elisabeth’s Church in Marburg, Germany in 1946. Friedrich Wilhelm I’s original black marble sarcophagus was destroyed in 1945 and his remains were placed in a copy made from copper. In 1953, Friedrich Wilhelm I’s coffin was moved to Hohenzollern Castle in Hechingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The coffin finally found its final resting place in 1991, on the steps of the altar in the Kaiser Friedrich Mausoleum in the Friedenskirche.

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Burials at the Friedenskirche

Sarcophagi of Friedrich Wilhelm IV and his wife Elisabeth Luise in the royal crypt; Credit – By Wo st 01 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7032743

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The Temple of Antiquities

The Temple of Antiquities; Credit – Wikipedia

While it is now a mausoleum, the Temple of Antiquities was originally built to house the collection of classical works of art, antique artifacts, antique coins, and antique gems of Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia. Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia intended to convert the Temple of Antiquities into a court chapel but the plans were never carried out because of World War I. On April 19, 1921, Wilhelm II’s first wife Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein, German Empress, Queen of Prussia was interred in the Temple of Antiquities as per her wishes and it became the burial site of several other members of the House of Hohenzollern.

All the Hohenzollerns interred at the Temple of Antiquities are relatives of Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia. After World War I, Wilhelm II went into exile in the Netherlands, where he purchased Huis Doorn, a small manor house outside of Doorn, a small town near Utrecht in the Netherlands. As a condition of his exile, Wilhelm could never return to Germany and was allowed only to travel within a radius of fifteen miles from his house. A mausoleum in the garden of Huis Doorn near Wilhelm’s favorite rhododendrons was built to house his remains. Both his wives were interred at the Temple of Antiquities.

Coffins inside the Antique Temple; Credit – Wikipedia

Those interred at the Temple of Antiquities:

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Antikentempel – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikentempel> [Accessed 11 March 2022].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Friedenskirche (Potsdam) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedenskirche_(Potsdam)> [Accessed 11 March 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Antique Temple – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antique_Temple> [Accessed 11 March 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Church of Peace, Potsdam – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Peace,_Potsdam> [Accessed 11 March 2022].
  • Royaltombs.dk. 2022. The Valley of the Kings – Burial Places of European Monarchs. [online] Available at: <http://www.royaltombs.dk/> [Accessed 11 March 2022].
  • Unofficial Royalty. 2022. Kingdom of Prussia Index. [online] Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/current-monarchies-article-index/german-royals-index/prussian-index/> [Accessed 11 March 2022].

Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) in Berlin, Germany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Berlin Cathedral; Credit – By Ansgar Koreng / CC BY 3.0 (DE), CC BY 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41469664

Located in Berlin, the capital of Germany, the Berlin Cathedral, known in German as the Berliner Dom, is a member of the Evangelical Church in Germany, a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist), and United (Prussian Union, for example) Protestant regional churches and denominations in Germany. As with many churches in Europe, the religious affiliation of the Berlin Cathedral has changed over the centuries: Roman Catholic until 1539, Lutheran from 1539–1632, Reformed from 1632–1817, and United (Prussian Union) from 1817 – present. The current church was built from 1894 to 1905 during the reign of Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia. Although lesser well known than other royal burial sites, the Hohenzollern Crypt in the Berlin Cathedral is the most important dynastic burial site in Germany and rivals the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria, Westminster Abbey in London, England, the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France, and the Royal Basilica of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain.

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House of Hohenzollern

Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia; Credit – Wikipedia

The Protestant Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern ruled as Margraves of Brandenburg, Dukes of Prussia, Electors of Brandenburg, Kings of Prussia from 1415 until 1918. The first King in Prussia succeeded his father as Friedrich III, Duke of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg in 1688. The Electorate of Brandenburg was part of the Holy Roman Empire, while the Duchy of Prussia, formerly a fief of the Crown of Poland, lay outside the Empire’s borders. The Duchy had been inherited by the Hohenzollern Prince-Electors of Brandenburg in 1618 and was ruled in personal union.

Friedrich I, the first King in Prussia, formerly Friedrich III, Duke of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg; Credit – Wikipedia

In November 1700, in exchange for supporting the Holy Roman Empire in the Spanish War of Succession, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor agreed to allow Friedrich III, Duke of Prussia, Elector of Brandenburg to make Prussia a kingdom and become its first king. Because the Hohenzollerns’ sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia was dependant upon succession in the male line (and would return to the Polish crown if there were no male heirs to succeed), Friedrich I agreed to style himself King in Prussia and not King of Prussia. In 1772, King Friedrich II (the Great) in Prussia, through several battles and wars, united the various parts of his kingdom, taking the title King of Prussia.

In 1871, the German Empire, consisting of four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory, was proclaimed. The King of Prussia was also the German Emperor (Kaiser). In the aftermath of World War I, Prussia had a revolution that resulted in the replacement of the monarchy with a republic. Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia abdicated on November 9, 1918. On November 10, 1918, Wilhelm Hohenzollern crossed the border by train and went into exile in the Netherlands, never to return to Germany.

The Kingdom of Prussia had territory that today is part of Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland. All or parts of the following states of today’s Germany were part of the Kingdom of Prussia: Brandenburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein.

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History of the Berlin Cathedral

The Berlin Cathedral; Credit – By Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64059550

The original church was consecrated in 1454, as the Roman Catholic St. Erasmus Chapel, the chapel of the Berlin Palace, the main residence of the House of Hohenzollern from 1443 – 1918.  St. Erasmus Chapel was used for the services of the family of the Elector of Brandenburg and the court. In 1465, Pope Paul II raised it to the status of a collegiate church. Eventually, the chapel could not meet the growing needs of the Electors of Brandenburg.

The first cathedral, used 1536–1747; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1535, the Dominican monastery church south of the Berlin Palace was converted into the first cathedral. The Gothic brick church was expanded and richly furnished. A burial site for the House of Hohenzollern was established. The new cathedral was consecrated in 1536. A new western façade with two towers was built in 1538. Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg converted to Lutheranism in 1539 and the Catholic cathedral became a Protestant cathedral.

Model of the Baroque cathedral by Jan Boumann and Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff; Credit – Wikipedia

Over the years, the Gothic brick cathedral became dilapidated. From 1747 – 1750, Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia had a new Baroque cathedral, designed by Dutch architect Jan Boumann and Prussian architect and painter Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, built where the current cathedral stands today. After the coffins of the Hohenzollern family members were transferred to the new cathedral, the old cathedral was demolished to clear space for the Baroque extension of the Berlin Palace. On September 6, 1750, the new Baroque cathedral was consecrated. Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel remodeled the interior in 1817 and the exterior in 1820 – 1822 in the Neoclassicist style.

Model of Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s remodeling of the exterior in the Neoclassicist style; Credit – Wikipedia

After the founding of the German Empire in 1871, there had been calls for a new church that could compete with the major churches in the world and impressively replace the previous churches. In 1885, Prussian architect Julius Carl Raschdorff, professor of architecture at the Technical University of Berlin, presented plans for a new cathedral in an adaptation of the Italian High Renaissance style and influenced by the Baroque style. After dismantling the movable interior decorations (altar, paintings, tombs), the cathedral designed by Boumann and von Knobelsdorff was demolished in 1893. The cornerstone for the new cathedral was laid on June 17, 1894, with the goal of consecrating the cathedral in 1900. However, due to construction delays, the consecration did not take place until February 27, 1905. The state paid the entire construction cost. The new cathedral was much larger than any of the previous churches and was considered a Protestant rival to the Roman Catholic St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

Berlin Cathedral in 1905; Credit – Wikipedia

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World War II Destruction and Reconstruction

Berlin Cathedral in May 1945 with much damage, compare it to the photo above; Credit – Wikipedia

The Berlin Cathedral suffered much damage during World War II. Allied air raids destroyed windows and major cracks appeared on the cupolas of the corner towers. On May 24, 1944, the dome and its cupola lantern were hit by a bomb of combustible liquids. The resulting fire was unreachable and could not be extinguished. The entire cupola lantern fell into the interior of the cathedral, smashing through the floor with its enormous weight and damaging large parts of the Hohenzollern Crypt and some of its coffins below. By the end of World War II, twenty-five percent of the Berlin Cathedral had been destroyed.

The damaged sarcophagus of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia; Credit – Von Colin Pelka – Selbst fotografiert, Gemeinfrei, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23256455

After World War II, when Berlin and Germany were divided, the Berlin Cathedral was located in East Berlin in the Communist German Democratic Republic also known as East Germany. The East German government promoted state atheism although some people remained loyal to Christian churches. To protect the interior of the cathedral while the status of the Berlin Cathedral was debated, a temporary roof was built between 1949 – 1953. The Berlin Palace, which had also been damaged, was demolished by the East German government in 1950. Serious consideration was given to also demolishing the Berlin Cathedral. Following lengthy and extensive negotiations, an agreement was finally reached between the government of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), the Federation of Protestant Churches in the GDR, and the churches in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), which provided for the reconstruction.

Memorial Church section of the Berlin Cathedral with the Hohenzollern Crypt access in 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

However, the Communist East German government had two demands. First, it demanded the removal of as many crosses as possible. The second demand dealt with the Memorial Church (Denkmalskirch) section on the north side of the Berlin Cathedral that contained the ceremonial sarcophagi (cenotaphs or empty tombs) of Johann Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg, Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg and his wife Dorothea Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Friedrich I, King in Prussia and his wife Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, and Friedrich III, German Emperor and King of Prussia. In the middle of the Memorial Church was the access to the Hohenzollern Crypt. Although the Memorial Church section of the Berlin Cathedral had survived World War II intact, it was demolished by the Communist East German government in 1975 for ideological reasons due to it being a place of honor for the Hohenzollern dynasty. The ceremonial sarcophagi were moved into the Sermon Church (Predigtkirche), the main part of the cathedral.

Rüdiger Hoth, a German civil engineer, was hired as the master builder in 1975. During many meetings with the East German government, Hoth successfully negotiated that the cathedral would be largely reconstructed according to the 1885 designs of Julius Raschdorff.

In 1980, the Baptismal and Matrimonial Church (Tauf- und Traukirche) on the south side of the cathedral was reopened for services. The restoration of the large main part, the Sermon Church (Predigtkirche), in the center, began in 1984. Berlin Cathedral was finally able to be re-consecrated during a celebratory service on June 6, 1993, with the participation of numerous prominent guests in what was now a unified Germany, reunified since October 3, 1990.

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Interior of the Berlin Cathedral

Interior of the Berlin Cathedral; Credit- By Steve Collis from Melbourne, Australia – Berliner Dom (HDR), CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24306403

In the center of the large dome is a round window showing the Holy Spirit as a dove in a halo. Around the round window are eight large mosaics depicting the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount created by Prussian painter Anton von Werner.

The dome of the Berlin Cathedral; Credit – Von Svein-Magne Tunli – tunliweb.no – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56131113

The main altar comes from the previous cathedral and was the work of Prussian architect Friedrich August Stüler, and consists of a marble table supported by Corinthian columns with a crucifix, and a gilded wooden stand with the statues of the twelve apostles. On both sides of the altar are two large Baroque candelabras. The three paintings above the altar by Anton von Werner depict scenes from the life of Jesus: the Nativity, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection.

The main altar: Credit – By Mathew Schwartz – Imported from 500px (archived version) by the Archive Team. (detail page), CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75775034

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The Hohenzollern Crypt

The Hohenzollern Crypt: Credit – By Rolf Dietrich Brecher from Germany – Hohenzollerngruft I, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63622648

The Hohenzollern Crypt, which occupies almost the entire basement of the Berlin Cathedral, is the most important dynastic burial site in Germany. A total of 94 members of the House of Hohenzollern have been interred there from 1595 – 1873. The sarcophagi and coffins, some simple and some quite elaborate, represent all artistic styles from late Gothic onwards and were made from stone, metal, or textile-covered wood.

Styles of coffins; Credit – By Steve Collis from Melbourne, Australia – Berliner Dom Crypt, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24306375

With the expansion of Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam near Berlin, the Hohenzollern Crypt fell out of favor as a burial site. Some of the Prussian royals were buried in the Friedenskirche (Church of Peace) as well as elsewhere on the grounds of Sanssouci Palace. Several chose to be buried in a mausoleum at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin. The last German Emperor, Wilhelm II, was entombed in a mausoleum built on the grounds of Huis Doorn, his home in exile in the Netherlands, while his two wives were buried at the Antique Temple on the grounds of Sanssouci Palace.

Credit – By Rolf Dietrich Brecher from Germany – A lot of coffins – Generations.., CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63652230

During the reconstruction of the Berlin Cathedral overseen by civil engineer Rüdiger Hoth, who served as the master builder on the project, the Hohenzollern Crypt was refurbished. Hoth said of the crypt, “It was always considered a private family crypt in the time of the kaisers, and commoners were not allowed to come in but today we think it is historically and culturally important to Germans to be in touch with this part of their past.” Refurbished with white marble floors, whitewashed walls, and soft lighting, the Hohenzollern Crypt was opened to the public for the first time ever on November 20, 1999.

A child’s coffin; Credit – By Pudelek (Marcin Szala) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17789259

There had been discussion concerning whether Hohenzollerns buried elsewhere should be moved to the refurbished Hohenzollern Crypt. However, historians and descendants of the Hohenzollerns rejected the idea of moving the remains of Hohenzollerns whose express wishes were to be buried elsewhere. Prince Wilhelm-Karl of Prussia (born 1955), a great-grandson of Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor and King of Prussia said, “I believe the wishes of the deceased should be respected.” He did find the public gawking at his family’s burial crypt “a little unsettling.” However, he agreed with the head of the Prussian branch of the House of Hohenzollern Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia (born 1976), the great-great-grandson and heir of Wilhelm II, that the burial site belongs to German history and, therefore, to the general public.

Credit – By Jorge Láscar from Australia – Crypt and intricate sarcophagi – Berliner Dom, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31952300

Those buried in the Hohenzollern Crypt at the Berlin Cathedral:

  • Elisabeth Magdalene of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1537 – 1595), daughter of Joachim II, Elector of Brandenburg and wife of Franz Otto, Duke of of Brunswick-Lüneburg
  • Johann Georg, Elector of Brandenburg (1525 – 1598)
  • Albrecht Friedrich of Brandenburg (1582 – 1600), son Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Joachim of Brandenburg (1583 – 1600), son of Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Augustus of Brandenburg (1580 – 1601), son of Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin, Electress of Brandenbueg (1549 – 1602), first wife of Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst, Electress of Brandenburg (1563 – 1607), wife of Elector Johann Georg, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Eleonore of Prussia, Electress of Brandenburg (1583–1607), second wife Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg (1546 – 1608)
  • Albrecht Christian of Brandenburg (born and died 1609), son of Johann Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Ernst of Brandenburg (1583 – 1613), son of Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Georg of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf (1613 – 1614), son of Johann Georg of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf, grandson of Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Johann Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg (1572 – 1620)
  • Albrecht of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf (1614 – 1620), son of Johann Georg of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf, grandson of Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Catharina Sibylla of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf (born and died 1615), daughter of of Johann Georg of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf, granddaughter of Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg (born and died 1624), son of Georg Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Joachim Sigismund of Brandenburg (1603 -1625), son of Johann Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Ernst of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf (1617–1642), son of Johann Georg of Brandenburg-Jägerndorf, grandson of Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Wilhelm Heinrich of Brandenburg (1648 – 1649), son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Anna Sophia of Brandenburg (1598 – 1659), daughter of Johann Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, wife of Friedrich Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
  • Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, Electress of Brandenburg (1597 – 1660), wife of Georg Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Heinrich of Brandenburg (born and died 1664), son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Amalia of Brandenburg (1664 – 1665), daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Katharina Sofie of the Palatinate (1594 – 1665), daughter of Friedrich IV, Elector Palatine, sister of Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, Electress of Brandenburg
  • Luise Henriette of Nassau, Electress of Brandenburg (1627–1667), first wife of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Karl Emil, Electoral Prince of Brandenburg (1655 – 1674), son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Dorothea of Brandenburg (1675 – 1676), daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Elisabeth Henriette of Hesse-Kassel, Electoral Princess of Brandenburg (1661 – 1683), first wife of the future Friedrich I, King in Prussia
  • Friedrich August of Brandenbrg (1685 – 1686), son of the future Friedrich I, King in Prussia
  • Ludwig of Brandenburg (1666 – 1687), son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg (1620 – 1688)
  • Dorothea Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Electress of Brandenburg (1636 – 1689), second wife of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Karl Philipp of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1673 – 1695), son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1700 – 1701), daughter of Philipp Wilhelm, Margarve of Brandenburg-Schwedt
  • Georg Wilhelm von Brandenburg-Schwedt (born and died 1704), son of Philipp Wilhelm, Margarve of Brandenburg-Schwedt
  • Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, Queen in Prussia (1668 – 1705), second wife of Friedrich I, King in Prussia
  • Friedrich of of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1704 – 1707), son of Albrecht Friedrich of Brandenburg-Schwedt, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Friedrich Ludwig of Prussia (1707 – 1708), son of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia (1710 – 1711), son of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Philipp Wilhelm, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1669 – 1711), son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Friedrich I, King in Prussia (1657 – 1713)
  • Charlotte Albertine of Prussia (1713 – 1714), daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Ludwig of Prussia (1717 – 1719), son of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Luise Wilhelmine of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1709 – 1726), daughter of Albrecht Friedrich of Brandenburg-Schwedt, granddaughter of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Albrecht Friedrich of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1672 – 1731), son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1677 – 1734), son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Friedrich of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1710 – 1741), son of Albrecht Friedrich of Brandenburg-Schwedt, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1715 – 1744), son of Albrecht Friedrich of Brandenburg-Schwedt, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Sophie Dorothea of Hanover, Queen of Prussia (1687 – 1757), wife of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, daughter of King George I of Great Britain
  • August Wilhelm of Prussia (1722 – 1758), son of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Emil of Prussia (1758 – 1759), son of August Wilhelm of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Karl Friedrich Albrecht of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1705 – 1762), son of Albrecht Friedrich of Brandenburg-Schwedt, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg
  • Heinrich of Prussia (1747 – 1767), son of August Wilhelm of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Christine of Prussia (1772 – 1773), daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Friederike Elisabeth of Prussia (1761 – 1773), daughter of August Ferdinand of Prussia, granddaughter of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Friedrich Heinrich of Prussia (1769 – 1773), son of August Ferdinand of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Friedrich Paul of Prussia (born and died 1776), son of August Ferdinand of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Luise Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Princess of Prussia (1722 – 1780), wife of August Wilhelm of Prussia
  • Anna Amalia of Prussia, Abbess of Quedlinburg (1723 – 1787), daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Ludwig of Prussia (1771 – 1790), son of August Ferdinand of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Unnamed Princess of Prussia (born and died 1794), daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia
  • Friedrich Ludwig Karl of Prussia (1773 – 1796), son of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia (1744 – 1797)
  • Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern, Queen of Prussia (1715 – 1797), wife of Friedrich II (the Great), King of Prussia
  • Karl Georg of Prussia (1795 – 1798), son of Friedrich Ludwig Karl of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Philippine of Brandenburg-Schwedt, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel (1745 – 1800), wife of Landgrave Friedrich II of Hesse-Kassel, daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt
  • Friederike of Prussia (1799 – 1800), daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia
  • Friederike Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt, Queen of Prussia (1751 – 1805), second wife of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Ludwig Ferdinand of Prussia (1772 – 1806), son of August Ferdinand of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Ferdinand of Prussia (1804 – 1806), son of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia
  • Ferdinand of Hesse-Kassel (born and died 1806), son of Wilhelm of Landgrave Hesse-Kassel, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Unnamed Prince (born and died 1806), son of Prince Willem of Orange-Nassau (later King Willem I of the Netherlands) and Wilhelmine of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Wilhelmine of Hesse-Kassel, Princess of Prussia (1726 – 1808), wife of Heinrich of Prussia
  • August Ferdinand of Prussia (1730 – 1813), son of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Wilhelm of Prussia (1811 – 1813), son of Wilhelm of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Tassilo of Prussia (1813 – 1814), son of Wilhelm of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Anna Elisabeth Luise of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1738 – 1820), wife August Ferdinand of Prussia
  • Unnamed Prince (born and died 1832), son of Prince Albrecht of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia
  • Augustus of Prussia (1779 – 1843), son of August Ferdinand of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
  • Heinrich Karl of Prussia (1781 – 1846), son of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Maria Anna Amalie of Hesse-Homburg, Princess of Prussia (1785 – 1846), wife of Wilhelm of Prussia
  • Waldemar of Prussia (1817 – 1849), son of Wilhelm of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Wilhelm of Prussia (1783 – 1851), son of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia
  • Anna of Prussia (born and died 1858), daughter of Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia, great-granddaughter of Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia
  • Adalbert of Prussia (1811–1873), son of Wilhelm of Prussia, grandson of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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Works Cited

  • Berlinerdom.de. 2022. Berliner Dom. [online] Available at: <https://www.berlinerdom.de/> [Accessed 5 March 2022].
  • Berlinerdom.de. 2022. GDR period and reconstruction | Berliner Dom. [online] Available at: <https://www.berlinerdom.de/en/visiting/about-the-cathedral/gdr-period-and-reconstruction/> [Accessed 5 March 2022].
  • Berlinerdom.de. 2022. The ‘Hohenzollern’ crypt | Berliner Dom. [online] Available at: <https://www.berlinerdom.de/en/visiting/about-the-cathedral/the-hohenzollern-crypt/> [Accessed 5 March 2022].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Berliner Dom – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Dom> [Accessed 5 March 2022].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Berliner Dom – Hohenzollerngruft – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Dom#Hohenzollerngruft> [Accessed 5 March 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Berlin Cathedral – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Cathedral> [Accessed 5 March 2022].
  • Mehl, Scott, 2012. Royal Burial Sites of the Kingdom of Prussia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/german-royal-burial-sites/royal-burial-sites-of-the-kingdom-of-prussia/> [Accessed 5 March 2022].
  • Unofficial Royalty. 2015. Kingdom of Prussia Index. [online] Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/current-monarchies-article-index/german-royals-index/prussian-index/> [Accessed 5 March 2022].
  • Williams, Carol, 1999. Germany’s Royals Getting Belated Respect. [online] Los Angeles Times. Available at: <https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-24-mn-47041-story.html> [Accessed 5 March 2022].

Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, the church can be seen on the left; Credit – By Deensel – Lisbon, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69227699

The Roman Catholic Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal contains the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza, the burial site for members of the House of Braganza that reigned in Portugal from 1640 until the monarchy was abolished in 1910. In 1640, the Braganzas came to rule the Kingdom of Portugal when the Portuguese Restoration War ended the sixty-year rule of Portugal by the Spanish Habsburgs. João II, Duke of Braganza became King João IV of Portugal. From 1640 – 1822, the Braganzas ruled Portugal and the Portuguese Empire. In 1822, Brazil, part of the Portuguese Empire, became independent and the Braganzas also reigned as rulers of the Empire of Brazil. The Braganzas lost their power when Emperor Pedro II of Brazil was deposed in Brazil in 1889 and when King Manuel II of Portugal was deposed Portugal in 1910.

The Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal was founded in 1147 as an Augustinian monastery by Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal (reigned 1139 – 1185). It was dedicated to São Vicente de Fora (Saint Vincent of Saragossa), patron saint of Lisbon, who was martyred by the Romans around 304. The monastery we see today is the result of a reconstruction project started by King Felipe II of Spain from the House of Habsburg, who also became King of Portugal (as Felipe I) after the Portuguese succession crisis of 1580.

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The Church of the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora

The Church of the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora; Credit – By Andreas Manessinger – Arriving at São Vicente, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46171873

The construction of the monastery church began in 1582 under the supervision of the Italian architect and engineer Filippo Terzi using designs by the Spanish architect Juan de Herrera. After they both died in 1597, Portuguese architect Baltasar Álvares (link in Portuguese) supervised the work on the monastery church until he was replaced by Pedro Nunes Tinoco in 1624. The monastery church was completed in 1627, however, the entire monastery reconstruction project was not completed until the 1700s.

The façade of the monastery church designed by Portuguese architect Baltasar Álvares in the Late Renaissance style known as Mannerism is simple and yet majestic. Below the two towers are several niches with statues of saints. The lower part of the façade has three arched doorways that lead to the entrance hall.

The nave looking toward the altar. The barrel-vaulted ceiling and the dome can also be seen; Credit – By © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24603843

The interior of the monastery church is a Latin cross building with a one-aisled nave with several side chapels. The ceiling is covered by barrel vaulting and has a large dome over the crossing.

The main altar; Credit – © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24603847

Joaquim Machado de Castro, one of Portugal’s most famous sculptors, is responsible for the main altar in the Baroque style. It is in the shape of a baldachin, the canopy of state placed over an altar or throne, and is decorated with several statues.

King Carlos I of Portugal and his elder son and heir Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal laying in state at the Church of the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1908, after the assassination of King Carlos I of Portugal and his elder son and heir Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, called the Lisbon Regicide, their bodies lay in state in front of the main altar at the Church of the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora.

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Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza

Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza Credit – Wikipedia Commons

After the nationalization of the property of monasteries in 1834, the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora became the palace for the Archbishops of Lisbon. Fernando II, King Consort of Portugal (born Fernando of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), second husband of Queen Maria II of Portugal, had the monks’ old refectory, the dining room of a monastery, transformed into the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza, a burial site for members of the House of Braganza. Originally, members of the House of Braganza had been interred in the Church of the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora. Their remains were transferred to the new pantheon in 1855.

Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza; Credit – Wikipedia

The majority of the tombs are located on the sides of the pantheon. Those tombs are simple marble boxes in groups of four tombs. If the tomb belongs to a monarch, a crown has been engraved in gold on the side of the tomb and a crown placed on top of the entire group of tombs. This can be seen in the photos above.

Tombs of Carlos I, King of Portugal and his son and heir Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

Two tombs of the four in the center aisle of the pantheon belong to King Carlos I of Portugal and his son and heir Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, who were shot to death in 1908 by assassins sympathetic to republican interests. In 1933, a statue of a crying woman symbolizing the country crying for its martyrs was erected next to the tombs. The two other tombs in the center aisle belong to Amélie of Orléans, the last Queen Consort of Portugal, wife of King Carlos I, and her son Manuel II, the last King of Portugal.

Statue of a crying woman symbolizing the country crying for its martyrs was erected next to the tombs of Carlos I and his son; Credit – Wikipedia

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Burials at the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza

Sign over the entrance to the Pantheon of the House of Braganza; Credit – By Bobo Boom – Igreja de São VincenteUploaded by tm, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78979281

Note: Unofficial Royalty articles for kings and queens from 1640 – 1826 will be published in the upcoming months and the links will be added below. Until then, their Wikipedia article links will be listed. Also note, that some listed below do not have Wikipedia articles.

The following members of the royal family of Portugal are buried in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza:

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Former Burials at the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza

The Pantheon of the House of Braganza in the early 20th century, before the Lisbon Regicide of 1908; Credit – By Charles Chusseau-Flaviens – George Eastman Museum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38249250

Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil/Pedro IV, King of Portugal (1798 – 1834) died in 1834, at the age of 35, from tuberculosis at his birthplace, the Royal Palace of Queluz in Lisbon, Portugal. He was first buried at the Pantheon of the House of Braganza at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal. In 1972, Pedro’s remains were transferred to the Brazilian Imperial Crypt and Chapel under the Monument of the Ipiranga (Monument to the Independence of Brazil) in São Paulo, Brazil.

Amélie of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil (1812 – 1873) was the second wife of Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil/Pedro IV, King of Portugal. When her husband died, Amélie was left a widow at the age of twenty-two with a three-year-old daughter. Amélie remained in Portugal, never remarried, and devoted herself to the care and education of her daughter Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil (1831 – 1853). Sadly, Maria Amélia became ill with tuberculosis, the same disease that had killed her father, and died in 1853, at the age of twenty-one. She was first buried in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza. In 1982, Maria Amélia’s remains were transferred to Brazil and buried in the Convento de Santo Antônio (Convent of Saint Anthony) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where some other Brazilian royals are also interred. When Amélie died at the age of 60 in 1873, she was first buried in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza. In 1982, her remains were transferred to Brazil and placed in the Brazilian Imperial Crypt and Chapel under the Monument of the Ipiranga (Monument to the Independence of Brazil) in São Paulo, Brazil next to her husband Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil/Pedro IV, King of Portugal and his first wife Maria Leopoldina of Austria, Empress of Brazil, Queen of Portugal (1797 – 1826).

Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (1825 – 1891), the son of Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil/Pedro IV, King of Portugal, reigned for 58 years before he was deposed in 1889. He lived in exile in Paris, France for the last two years of his life. When he died, he was buried in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza. His wife Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies, Empress of Brazil (1822 – 1889) had predeceased her husband and was also initially buried in the Royal Pantheon. In 1920, the decree banning the former Brazilian Imperial Family was rescinded and in 1921 the remains of Emperor Pedro II and his wife were brought from the Royal Pantheon in Lisbon, Portugal to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where they were temporarily housed in the old Metropolitan Cathedral. In 1925, their remains were transferred to the Imperial Crypt of the Imperial Crypt at the newly completed Cathedral of St. Pedro of Alcantara in Petrópolis, Brazil

King Carol II of Romania (1893 – 1953), who had been deposed in 1940, died while in exile in Portugal. He was first buried in the Royal Pantheon of the House of Braganza. His former mistress and third wife Magda Lupescu (1899 – 1977) was also buried there when she died 24 years later. In 2003, their remains were brought back to Romania and buried in a chapel outside the Curtea de Argeş Monastery in Argeş, Romania.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Panteão da Casa de Bragança – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pante%C3%A3o_da_Casa_de_Bragan%C3%A7a> [Accessed 23 February 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Monastery of São Vicente de Fora – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastery_of_S%C3%A3o_Vicente_de_Fora> [Accessed 23 February 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Pantheon of the House of Braganza – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon_of_the_House_of_Braganza> [Accessed 23 February 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2018. Portuguese Royal Burial Sites – House of Braganza. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/portuguese-royal-burial-sites/> [Accessed 23 February 2022].
  • Pt.wikipedia.org. 2022. Igreja de São Vicente de Fora – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. [online] Available at: <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igreja_de_S%C3%A3o_Vicente_de_Fora> [Accessed 23 February 2022].
  • Pt.wikipedia.org. 2022. Panteão da Dinastia de Bragança – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. [online] Available at: <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pante%C3%A3o_da_Dinastia_de_Bragan%C3%A7a> [Accessed 23 February 2022].

Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation in Athens, Greece

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation; Credit – By George E. Koronaios – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78384160

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation, located in central Athens near the Acropolis, is a three-aisled, domed basilica designed in a mixed Romanesque–Renaissance–Byzantine style.

Some Greek History

King Otto in traditional Greek dress; Credit – Wikipedia

Greece’s monarchy came late and lasted for a total of 130 years. Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century until 1821 when Greece declared its independence. The Greeks and the Ottoman Empire fought the Greek War of Independence (1821 – 1832), and with the help of the three Great Powers – France, Russia, and the United Kingdom – the Ottoman Empire was finally defeated. In 1832, the Convention of London established Greece as a kingdom, and the Great Powers appointed 17-year-old Prince Otto of Bavaria, the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, to be the new kingdom’s first king. Having dismissed his regency council in 1835 when he came of age, Otto ruled as an absolute monarch for a few years, until uprisings by the Greek people occurred, demanding a constitution. Otto had no recourse but to give in to the demands and allow for a constitution and the establishment of a Greek National Assembly. In 1862, while Otto was away from Athens, a coup d’état led to the formation of a provisional government, and Otto was deposed.

King George I in 1864; Credit – Wikipedia

Still wanting a monarchy, Greece began searching for a new king. While several European princes were put forward as possible kings, the Greek people and the Great Powers soon chose Prince Vilhelm of Denmark, the second son of King Christian IX of Denmark, as their king. On March 30, 1863, the 17-year old Vilhelm was unanimously elected by the Greek National Assembly and took the name King George I of the Hellenes. In 1924, the Second Hellenic Republic was declared and the monarchy was abolished. The monarchy was restored in 1935. On April 21, 1967, a coup d’état led by a group of army colonels took over Greece. King Constantine II remained the head of state in exile until June 1, 1973, when the monarchy was officially abolished.

The Greek government did not permit former King Constantine II to return to Greece until 1981 when he and his family were allowed to enter Greece for several hours to attend the burial of his mother Queen Frederica in the Royal Cemetery at Tatoi Palace. Constantine and his family made a private visit to Greece in 1993. After 2003, when a property dispute between Constantine and the Greek government was resolved, Constantine and his family were able to make visits to Greece and purchase a summer home there. In 2013, former King Constantine II permanently returned to reside in Greece.

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History of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation in Athens, Greece

1918 postcard of the Metropolitan Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

Like the modern Greek monarchy, the major cathedral in Athens is also not old. In 1833, with the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece, the new government decided to form its own national church and broke away from the Patriarch of the Orthodox Churches in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, now Istanbul, Turkey. Known as the Church of Greece, it is part of the worldwide Greek Orthodox Church. Authority of the Church of Greece is vested in the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, comprised of diocesan bishops who have metropolitan status.  The head of the Church of Greece is the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.

A new cathedral in the capital city of Athens was part of a comprehensive building program that King Otto carried out. The cornerstone of the new cathedral was laid in the presence of King Otto on Christmas Day 1842. The relationship of the new Church of Greece with King Otto and his wife Amalia of Oldenburg, who he married in 1836, was strained. Although King Otto agreed that his children would be raised in the Greek Orthodox religion, he refused to convert from Roman Catholicism. Likewise, Queen Amalia refused to convert from Lutheranism. Otto and Amalia never had children and their refusal to convert to the Greek Orthodox religion led to them being greatly disliked by the Greek people and were contributing factors to King Otto being deposed in 1862.

King Otto and Queen Amalia in the Metropolitan Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation was built in several stages, and four architects worked on its construction: Danish architect Theophilus von Hansen (1842 – 1843), Greek architect Dimitrios Zezos (1846 – 1857), French architect Francois Boulanger, and Greek architect Panagiotis Kalkos (1857 – 1862). Marble from 72 demolished churches was used to build the cathedral. Work was stopped on the cathedral for three years, 1843 – 1846, due to financial problems. On May 21, 1862, the completed cathedral was dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in the presence of King Otto and Queen Amalia.

The Metropolitan Cathedral in 2008 while it was still being repaired due to the damage caused by the 1999 earthquake: Credit – Από Badseed – Own work CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4309396

The cathedral was damaged by an earthquake on September 7, 1999. Renovations and repairs were extensive and the scaffolding was not removed until 2016.

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The Exterior of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation

Exterior of the Metropolitan Cathedral in 2016 after the end of the repair work caused by the 1999  earthquake; Credit – Από C messier – Έργο αυτού που το ανεβάζει, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51359657

The exterior of the cathedral is in a simple Byzantine-modern style with two bell towers. Above the main doors is a mosaic representing the Annunciation, the announcement of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son through a virgin birth and become the mother of the Son of God.

The mosaic of the Annunciation above the main doors; Credit – By Κυριάκος Κ. – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84743057

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The Interior of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation

The layout of the traditional interior of an Orthodox church; Credit – By Phiddipus at en.wikipedia – self-made, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13396583

Orthodox churches are set up differently than other Christian churches. They are divided into three main parts: the narthex, the nave, and the sanctuary.

The narthex is the connection between the church and the outside world. It used to be the practice that non-Orthodox people had to remain in the narthex but this practice has mostly fallen into disuse.

The nave looking toward the iconostasis; Credit – By George E. Koronaios – https://www.flickr.com/photos/140911325@N02/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99501816

The congregation stands in the nave during services. Traditionally there is no sitting during Orthodox services and so Orthodox churches usually do not have pews or chairs. The Metropolitan Cathedral has no pews but chairs are sometimes used.

The iconostasis; Credit – © Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83302715

In Orthodox Christianity, an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings that divides the sanctuary from the nave. The sanctuary is where the Eucharist or Divine Liturgy is performed behind the iconostasis. The iconostasis usually has three doors, one in the middle and one on either side. The middle door is traditionally called the Beautiful Gate and is only used by the clergy. The doors on either side are called the Deacons’ Doors or Angel Doors as they often have depicted on them the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. These doors are used by deacons and servers to enter the sanctuary. Traditionally, only males may enter the sanctuary, however, no one may enter the sanctuary without a blessing from the priest or bishop.

Decorations of the interior of the Metropolitan Cathedral; Credit – By C messier – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73200702

The interior of the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation is richly decorated with frescoes, icons, and stone carvings.

Icon of the Virgin Mary and Infant Jesus; Credit- By Tzim78 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37693059

The cathedral has the tombs of Saint Philothei of Athens (1522 – 1589) and Saint Georgios V, Patriarch of Constantinople (1746 – 1821), who were killed by the Ottoman Turks while Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire. They are revered as martyrs for the freedom of Greece and the Orthodox faith.

Shrine of Saint Georgios V, Patriarch of Constantinople; Credit – By Χρήστης Templar52 – Transferred from el.wikipedia to Commons by Alaniaris using CommonsHelper.(Original text: Φωτογράφηση ρξ ιδίων), Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4313193

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Royal Events at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation

Wedding of Prince Philippos and Nina Nastassja Flohr in 2021

The Metropolitan Cathedral has been the site of important ceremonies including weddings and funerals of notable personalities including Greek royalty. It is likely that there would have been more royal events at the Metropolitan Cathedral had the Greek royals not been in exile from 1924 – 1935 during the Second Hellenic Republic and from 1967 – 2003, after the monarchy was abolished and until former King Constantine II was allowed to once again to enter Greece. Most recently, the religious wedding of Prince Philippos, the youngest child of former King Constantine II, and Nina Nastassja Flohr was held at the Metropolitan Cathedral on October 23, 2021.

Christening of Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece in 1967; Credit – https://www.pinterest.com/pin/385761524301918610/

Royal christenings held at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation include:

Embed from Getty Images
Wedding of King Constantine II of Greece and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark in 1964

Royal weddings held at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation include:

The coffin of Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, wife of Prince Nicholas of Greece, is carried by members of the Royal Guard at her funeral in 1957, followed by King Paul of Greece

Royal funerals held at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation include:

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Kathedrale Mariä Verkündigung (Athen) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathedrale_Mari%C3%A4_Verk%C3%BCndigung_(Athen)> [Accessed 14 February 2022].
  • El.wikipedia.org. 2022. Μητροπολιτικός Ναός Αθηνών – Βικιπαίδεια. [online] Available at: <https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9C%CE%B7%CF%84%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%B9%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8C%CF%82_%CE%9D%CE%B1%CF%8C%CF%82_%CE%91%CE%B8%CE%B7%CE%BD%CF%8E%CE%BD> [Accessed 14 February 2022]. (Greek Wikipedia)
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Eastern Orthodox church architecture – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_church_architecture> [Accessed 14 February 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Iconostasis – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconostasis> [Accessed 14 February 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Cathedral_of_Athens> [Accessed 14 February 2022].
  • The Royal Watcher. 2022. The Royal Watcher. [online] Available at: <https://royalwatcherblog.com/> [Accessed 14 February 2022]. (for event dates)
  • Van Der Kiste, John, 1999. Kings of the Hellenes: The Greek Kings 1863 – 1974. Stroud: Sutton Publishing.

Notre-Dame de Reims in Reims, France (Reims Cathedral)

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Reims Cathedral; Credit – Par Tim Hodson — https://www.flickr.com/photos/informationtakesover/6593926237/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18031986

Notre-Dame de Reims, also called Reims Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Reims, France dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was the coronation cathedral and most Kings of France from 1027 – 1825 were crowned there. Reims Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Reims. The construction of the present Reims Cathedral began in the 13th century and was completed in the 15th century but there were three other cathedrals on the site.

Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims baptizing Clovis I, King of the Franks; Credit – Wikipedia

The first Christian church in Reims was founded between 250 and 300. In the 5th century, a new church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary was built on the site. About 496, Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims baptized Clovis I, the first King of the Franks to be baptized. Although there had been some Christians in the Kingdom of the Franks, Clovis’ baptism led to the conversion of the entire population of the Kingdom of the Franks to Christianity.

In 816, Louis I the Pious, King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor was crowned in Reims Cathedral by Pope Stephen IV. The coronation revealed the poor condition and inadequate size of the first cathedral. Beginning in 818, a much larger cathedral was built on the site using stone from the old city ramparts. The interior of the new cathedral was decorated with mosaics, paintings, sculptures, and tapestries. The cathedral was consecrated in 862 and, in 976, it began to be enlarged.

Seal of Reims Cathedral, showing how it appeared in the 12th century; Credit – CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32910537

By the 12th century, the second cathedral was considered too small. The existing nave and transept were preserved but the two ends of the cathedral were enlarged. The west front and its adjoining tower were demolished and replaced by two matching flanking towers. The major additions to the third cathedral were in the Gothic style but much of the original Carolingian style of the second cathedral remained.

On May 6, 1210, the third Carolingian/Gothic cathedral was destroyed by fire. Construction on the fourth and current cathedral in the High Gothic style began exactly a year later and was completed in 1275, which was exceptionally quick.

On July 24, 1481, during a renovation of the roof, two workers in charge of the lead for the roof, forgot to turn off a furnace, located in the attic of the cathedral. In a short time, the frame of the cathedral was on fire. The fire destroyed the roof, the central bell tower and its ten bells, and part of the transept. Molten lead from the roof destroyed several stained glass windows. King Charles VIII and then King Louis XII provided funds for the necessary renovations.

Interior of Reims Cathedral after World War I bombing; Credit – Wikipedia

Reims Cathedral was near the front lines of World War I and was hit by more than three hundred artillery shells. A major restoration project began in 1919 and was completed in 1938.

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The High Altar

The nave looking east toward the high altar; Credit – By Johan Bakker – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28038332

The high altar, made of French and Italian marble, is a copy of the 1747 altar which was destroyed by bombing during World War I.

The High Altar; Credit – By Zairon – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65334623

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The Gallery of Kings

 

On the west facade, above the entrance to the cathedral and the central rose window and continuing on the sides of the cathedral is the Gallery of Kings, statues of French monarchs, each fifteen feet/4.5 meters high. The Gallery of Kings was constructed from 1300 – 1350. At the center is Clovis I, the first King of the Franks to be baptized, with his wife Saint Clotilde on the left and Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims who baptized him, on the right (see photo below). Saint Clotilde was raised as a Christian and played a role in her husband’s conversion to Christianity and the spreading of Christianity throughout western Europe.

Clovis I, King of the Franks in the center with his wife Saint Clotilde on the left and Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims on the right; Credit – Wikipedia

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Coronation of Charles VII, King of France and the Impact of Joan of Arc

Coronation of King Charles VII of France at Reims Cathedral. Joan of Arc is standing behind him holding her battle standard. This painting is at the Pantheon in Paris, France; Credit – Wikipedia

Perhaps the most historically symbolic coronation of a French king was the coronation of King Charles VII (reigned 1422 – 1461). He inherited the French throne in desperate times. France was fighting England in the Hundred Years’ War, caused by disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagenet and the French House of Valois. English forces occupied northern France including Paris and Reims. In 1420, King Charles VI of France had disinherited his son and recognized his son-in-law King Henry V of England and his heirs as the legitimate successors to the French crown. Meanwhile, a civil war was occurring in France between the Armagnacs, supporters of the House of Valois, and the Burgundians, supporters of the House of Valois-Burgundy and allies of the English.

Charles VII’s political and military position improved dramatically with the emergence of Joan of Arc as a military and spiritual leader. The teenage Joan of Arc said she had visions of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Margaret of Antioch, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria instructing her to support Charles VII in his efforts to purge the English from France.

Joan of Arc led French troops to victories at the Siege of Orléans and the Battle of Patay. With the English troops dispersed, the population of Reims switched their allegiance to King Charles VII and opened the city’s gates. This allowed for the coronation of King Charles VII on July 17, 1429, at Reims Cathedral with Joan of Arc standing nearby holding her battle standard. After the coronation, Joan knelt before Charles VII and joyously called him king for the first time.

On May 23, 1430, Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundian faction and handed over to the English. She was tried on several charges including heresy by the pro-English Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais, declared guilty, and then burned at the stake on May 30, 1431. In 1456, the Catholic Church ordered a second trial. The first trial and its conclusions were declared “null, void, without value or effect” and Joan and her family were fully rehabilitated.

By the time of her second trial in 1456, Joan of Arc had already become a symbol of France and she remains an important symbol of French identity and unity. On May 16, 1920, Pope Benedict XV canonized Joan of Arc as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. She is remembered at Reims Cathedral with two statues: an equestrian statue outside the cathedral and another statue in the cathedral.

Statue of Joan of Arc in Reims Cathedral; Credit – Wikipedia

French sculptor Prosper d’Epinay created a polychrome statue of Joan of Arc which he exhibited at the Salon des artistes français of 1902, an art exhibition held every year in early February in Paris. Seven years later, one of his patrons offered the statue to Reims Cathedral, at the time of Joan of Arc’s beatification as Blessed Joan of Arc. It stands in the place where Joan of Arc stood during the coronation of King Charles VII. The helmet and the armor were made from silvered bronze, the face was carved in ivory, and the tunic is yellow marble dotted with fleur-de-lis in lapis lazuli.

The original placement of the equestrian statue of Joan of Arc; Credit – Wikipedia

The bronze equestrian statue of Joan of Arc holding a sword in front of Reims Cathedral was designed by French sculptor Paul Dubois and was inaugurated by French President Félix Faure on Bastille Day, July 14, 1896. Originally the statue stood in front of Reims Cathedral with its back toward the cathedral depicting Joan of Arc riding away after Charles VII’s coronation. Today the statue faces the cathedral on the far end of Place du Cardinal-Luçon, the plaza in front of Reims Cathedral, as shown in the photo below.

 

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Coronations

Coronation of Louis XIII, King of France; Credit – CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35561924

The fact that Clovis I had been baptized at Reims Cathedral and the political power of the Archbishop of Reims led to the cathedral becoming the coronation site of Kings of France. After King Henri I was crowned at Reims Cathedral in 1027, the tradition of holding coronations there was firmly established. Since 987, when the House of Capet began its reign, and continuing through the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon, all but seven of France’s kings were crowned at Reims Cathedral. Hugh Capet, Robert II, Louis VI, and Henri IV were crowned elsewhere, Jean I reigned as the posthumous son and successor of Louis X for the five days he lived, and Louis XVIII and Louis Philippe I chose not to have coronations.

In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Napoleon I, Emperor of France at Notre Dame de Paris. With the Bourbon Restoration in 1814 after the downfall of Napoleon I, the practice of royal coronations at Reims Cathedral was resumed, but only once. The Bourbon Restoration saw two brothers of the beheaded King Louis XVI on the French throne. King Louis XVIII decided not to have a coronation. However, in 1825, his younger brother King Charles X was the last King of France to be crowned and his coronation was at Reims Cathedral. King Charles X was overthrown in the Revolution of 1830 and replaced by a constitutional monarch, Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans I, who reigned as Louis Philippe, King of the French and was sworn in at the Parliament in Paris rather than crowned in Reims.

Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, became President of France after Louis Philippe, King of the French was deposed in the Revolution of 1848. Not content with being simply President, he arranged for a referendum to decide if he should be declared Emperor. On December 2, 1852, following an overwhelming vote in his favor, the Second French Republic ended and the Second French Empire was declared. Louis-Napoleon took the throne as Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. However, Napoleon III chose not to have a coronation ceremony. In 1870, after France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, the Third French Republic was declared, ending, for the last time, the French monarchy.

Coronation of Philippe V and his wife Joan of Burgundy at Reims Cathedral in 1317; Credit – Wikipedia

Several queen consorts were crowned with their husbands at Reims Cathedral. A queen’s coronation could take place years after her marriage or her husband’s accession to the throne. Queen consorts were crowned either together with their husband at Reims Cathedral, alone at Sainte-Chapelle in Paris or the Basilica of Saint-Denis, or not at all.

Coronations at Reims Cathedral

Coronation of King Charles X in 1825 by François Gérard, the last coronation held at Reims Cathedral; Credit – By François Gérard – Web Gallery of Art:   Image  Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15883911

When Saint Louis IX, King of France was crowned in 1226, the current cathedral was still under construction. The coronation of kings before Louis IX took place at the earlier cathedrals in Reims.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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