Category Archive: Cemetery

Soviet prima ballerina Alla Yakovlevna Shelest (1919-1998), Marble. Sculptor A. G. Dema, architects S. L. Mikhailov and N. N. Sokolov. 2000. Photo by Alexandra Solovyova. Ballerina Alla Shelest monument in Volkovo cemetery, Literary bridges in St.Petersburg

Ballerina Alla Shelest monument in Volkovo cemetery
According to Mstislav Rostropovich, Shelest was “bright on the stage and closed in life”. And the legendary Plisetskaya considered her one of the best dancers she had ever seen.
Alla Shelest was an outstanding classic ballerina of a romantic, heroic and tragic plan. But a rare ballerina was not so unlucky as Shelest.
At the age of fifteen, Shelest came to the class of Vaganova. The change in aesthetic and pedagogical requirements was too harsh and could not help leaving a trace … In the theater Shelest expected even greater difficulties. The life of a great ballerina was not strewn with roses. During the war she lived and worked in a besieged city, every day faced starvation and shelling in blocked Leningrad. For sixteen years she was doomed to duplicate the first performer of new parties … Nevertheless, Shelest achieved much. ”
According to famous ballerina Galina Ulanova, each performance of Shelest – not only the talent of the ballerina, but also the mind, and the great inner culture of the true artist. The ballerina is tragic and inspired, and always recognized by emotionality and selflessness of the dancer.”
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A mourning girl with a wreath in her hand – grave sculpture. Volkovo cemetery Necropolis Literary Bridges

Volkovo cemetery Necropolis Literary Bridges
Once a writer, Vsevolod Garshin, known to everyone since childhood as the author of “Frogs-Travelers,” said: “Summer, heat and longing. I want to go somewhere far away from the stone, into the greenery, into some quiet place, where the noise of the city does not reach and where there is no crowd. It is difficult to find such a secluded place: the gardens are full of people, dacha places too. I’ll go to the cemetery. If bored among the living, then where to go, if not to the dead? Talking to them, that is, reading their books. I’m tired, and going to see where they are … ”
So, six years before his tragic death, the writer spoke about the “Literary Bridge” Necropolis of St. Petersburg Volkovo cemetery, and where he rests in peace himself. Many years have passed, but we are experiencing the same feelings today when we are walking along this unique necropolis!
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Oakland Cemetery, Iowa City. Story behind Haserot Black Angel monument

Story behind Haserot Black Angel monument

You probably saw the image of this gloomy angel more than once. This is the black angel named Haserot and here is his story.
A black statue of an angel stands in Oakland Cemetery, in Iowa City. It stands over the graves of three people: a woman, her husband and her son. This statue has a rather strange look. Most of the angels in the cemetery usually stand with their heads raised and their wings spread, symbolically striving for paradise. However, the wings of the black angel are not straightened and he looks to the ground … to hell.
The Black Angel also has a very grim expression, with cold, strange eyes and empty eyelids. Many people are nervous. Visitors to the cemetery often said that they feel uncomfortable in the immediate vicinity of the statue. They claim that they thought the statue was following them.
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Autumn angel. Moscow necropolis – Vvedensky cemetery monuments

Moscow necropolis – Vvedensky cemetery monuments
The more I look at the monuments and sculptures, I come to the conclusion that the most touching and impressive monuments are in the cemeteries. For example Vvedenskoye cemetery, which, in addition, according to local residents, hides many secrets. A dead hand and a gravestone on wheels, underground catacombs and inscriptions on the crypt, a sacred “Vampirka” and a recipe for salad olivier blown to the grave.
One of the most picturesque, if I may say so, cemeteries of the capital emerged in 1771 during the Moscow plague. Initially, mainly people of the Catholic and Lutheran faith, popularly called “Germans” were burried here.
The patina of neglect, inherent in any churchyard, is special here – natural, lively, filled with romance. Along the avenues and paths stretch plaster vases and marble crucifixes, tombstones with Gothic inscriptions and unusual chapels, mournful female figures and angels with wings down. There is a special charm in leisurely walks along the Vvedensky cemetery. Squeezing between the fences and analyzing the inscriptions on the tombstones, you experience not only sorrow and despondency, but also the need to reflect, open the book, get acquainted with the stories hidden behind the monuments to the departed people.
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Fragment of the Miraculous Christ tombstone sculpture at the Novodevichy Cemetery

Miraculous Christ tombstone sculpture at the Novodevichy Cemetery
Sometimes it happens that the tombstone becomes famous, but we know very little about who lies beneath it. And this what has happened with the grave of AA. Vershinina. The road to the figure of Christ is unmistakable even for those who are here for the first time and by chance. The grave of the unknown generaless Anna Vershinina at the Novodevichy Cemetery of St. Petersburg turned into a city legend and became a place of pilgrimage. A lot of people come to the bronze sculpture of Christ set here daily with the hope for help. Here come not only Petersburgers, but also inhabitants of other cities. In recent years, this statue has acquired so many rumors that it is almost impossible to separate the truth from fiction.
They say, being childless, Anna Vershinina was very sad that after her death no one will remember her. Once, in a dream, she saw the Savior, who prompted to buy a place in the cemetery beforehand and set up his bronze image there – and then every passerby would certainly pray here. And the place in the cemetery had to be bought in advance, and who of the spouses will first go to the Lord, he will rest here.
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Fragment of wooden statue of Prince Kaaper, or ‘village head’. Repository of the soul – Egyptian Ancient Realistic Sculpture

Repository of the soul – Egyptian Ancient Realistic Sculpture
… When archaeologists took a wooden sculpture out of the dungeon, the peasants crowded near the excavations gasped: “This is our village head!”
Before them was an elderly man with a staff in his hand. Full of dignity, he looked calmly and indifferently over the people around him. Scientists Egyptologists and called this statue – “Rural elder”. However, in fact, exact face of Prince Kaapert, who lived … four and a half thousand years ago!
The darkness of the dungeon hid from the human eyes paired statues of Prince Rahotep and his wife Nofret for almost five millennia. During this time, civilizations and states disappeared and emerged, humanity entered the age of space flights, even the recent achievements of science and technology became obsolete, and works of art created in immemorial times are still full of life and immense power of influence.
The more you look at them, the more they fascinate. It seems that these are living people who are thinking about something. The genius of the sculptor vividly captures the beauty and femininity of Nofret, the manly and tragic image of Rakhotep.
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Stories behind weeping monuments

Stories behind weeping monuments
Today was in the cemetery, and there on the monument was cut a weeping angel .. Doctor Who
On August 29, 1953, a pregnant woman named Antonietta Januzo, who lived in Syracuse in Sicily, discovered that the plaster statuette of the Virgin with the baby was crying. The news of this miracle spread quickly and led to a surge of mass religious hysteria throughout the island.
Local church authorities, slightly hurt by the publicity that this story received, decided to personally verify her truth. In truth, they simply did not believe the woman’s words. However, when samples of the liquid from the Madonna’s eyes were analyzed, it turned out that they were similar to real human tears. The church immediately recognized the miracle and erected a raca, where pilgrims honor the statuette in our time.
Obvious miracles of this type are so numerous that anyone who would like to describe them could not even place all the facts in one volume. Since inanimate objects can not cry or bleed, it becomes clear that this phenomenon is a supernatural order. Maybe it just means that the Lord proves his existence.
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