Old Christian Cemetery (Odessa)

Old city cemeteries, divided according to the faith of the deceased - Christian , Jewish (the first burials in the Jewish complex of the cemetery date back to 1792 ^[1] ), Karaite , Muslim and separate burial sites of suicides who died from the plague and the military - appeared in Odessa during its inception in the very end of Preobrazhenskaya street . Over time, the territory of these cemeteries merged and this cemetery was called the Old, First or Preobrazhensky cemetery of Odessa ^[1] .

Over the years, the cemetery has been constantly expanding, reaching an area of ​​34 hectares by the beginning of the 20th century, it began to occupy the area between Mechnikov and Novoshchepnoy streets nearby , Vysoky and Tramvainy lanes, as well as the "Plague Mountain" formed along Vodoprovodnaya Street . Initially, the cemetery was dug in by a moat, and subsequently surrounded by a stone wall. On August 25, 1820, the cemetery of the Orthodox Church in the name of All Saints was consecrated, the construction of which was begun in 1816. In 1829, an almshouse was built, the foundation of which was laid by the contribution of the widow of one of the first city heads and the wealthy merchant Elena Klenova, at 6 thousand rubles. In her honor, one of the branches was called Eleninsky. The almshouse was built near the temple. Later, already at the expense of G. G. Marazli and according to the project of architect A. Bernardazzi , a new almshouse building was erected (at 53 Mechnikova street), and in 1888 according to the project of architect Yu. M. Dmitrenko at Novoshchepnoy Ryad street house 23 was built the building of an orphanage ^[2] .

In March 1840, tenders were held for the successive digging of graves in a cemetery. From June 5, 1840 the following fee was established: for nobles, officials, merchants and foreigners - in the summer 1 ruble 20 kopecks in silver; in winter - 1 ruble 70 kopecks; for children of the specified classes - 60 and 80 kopecks, respectively; bourgeoisie and other titles - 50 and 75 kopecks, and their children - 40 and 50 kopecks, respectively. The poor were not charged. In the subsequent period of the cemetery's existence, this fee increased several times.

Until 1841, several organizations followed the order in the cemetery - the city order of public charity, the spiritual shelter of the Orthodox Church In the Name of All Saints, and the Council of the Evangelical Church. Since 1841, the entire cemetery (with the exception of the site of the Evangelical Church) was placed at the disposal of the city order of public contempt. The City Duma several times brought to its meetings issues related to restoring order in the cemetery - in 1840 the issue of "Observed riots in the Odessa city cemetery" was considered, in 1862 - "On theft and damage in Odessa city cemeteries", cases of major theft were investigated in 1862, 1866, 1868, 1869 - the Odessa mayor took measures "to eliminate the atrocities committed in city cemeteries."

In 1845, by order of the Odessa Mayor D. D. Akhlestyshev, the cemetery was divided into regular squares and a plan for the cemetery was drawn up. Alleys of the cemetery were paved with rubble and coarse sand, planted with trees, 500 seedlings came free of charge from the nursery of J. Desmet , who headed the Odessa Botanical Garden and grew vegetation on his farm for landscaping the city. Graves began to be dug quarterly according to a pre-compiled plan. In 1857, the city approved the state for managing the city cemetery, and in 1865, the rules for visiting the cemetery by private individuals were approved.

In 1865 there were changes in urban governance. The public contempt order was abolished and replaced by the City Public Administration. The cemetery came under his jurisdiction. In 1873, city cemeteries came under the jurisdiction of the Economic and Construction Department of the city government.

Very little is known about the first few decades of the cemetery's existence. The proximity of Greece and Italy and the predominance of representatives of these peoples in the city’s population during the first years of Odessa’s existence made Odessa cemeteries decorated with marble monuments. The cemetery was a forest of the most diverse monuments of white, gray and black marble, among which there were a lot of expensive and original work. One could even find whole chapels of white marble. In addition to marble, granite was widely used ^[3] .

One of the most outstanding in beauty and wealth was the family crypt of Anatra . It was located on the main avenue to the right of the entrance and was a large chapel of pink and black polished granite, very elegantly finished. Next to her were the crypt chapels of Countess Potocka, Keshko (father of the Serbian queen Natalia), Mavrokordato, Dragutin, Zavadsky and others. On the left side of the church was the grave of Fonvizin, whose tombstone was made in the form of a gigantic-sized cast-iron cross with a bronze crucifix. In the XII quarter there was a large stone monument, called "Sofia". The monument’s belonging to the end of XIX was already forgotten, but the monument acquired an ominous fame - empty bottles were placed at its corners, which in windy weather produced an “whole orchestra” of frightening visitors of sounds ^[3] .

Many historical figures were buried in the cemetery, among them: General Fyodor Radetsky , whose grave monument could serve as a decoration for any of their city squares; Suvorov’s associate foreman Ribopierre ; captain of the English ship "Tiger" ^[3] .

Researcher of Odessa history A. V. Doroshenko described the circle of people buried in the cemetery ^[1] :

All Odessa nobility, the first builders of the City and Port are buried here. Here ... nobody knows where, lies the brother of Pushkin Lev Sergeyevich . Lying, deprived of tombstones and epitaphs, Suvorov generals and heroes of the twelfth year , the heroes of Shipka and World War I ... of all Russian orders, cavalier from St. Anne 4 tbsp. to St. Andrew the First-Called (with bows, diamonds, a crown and without); rank-and-file, cornet (fendrick) and bayonet-junker, non-commissioned lieutenants, warrant officers and lieutenants, esaul and centurions, captains and captains, colonels and major generals who died in battle, and also warriors who died in hospitals from wounds of all these countless battles of Russia . And civilians ... prominent scientists of Russia - professors and academics, doctors of theology and physics, mathematics and psychology, law and zoology, medicine and mechanics, philology of arts, as well as pure mathematics; rectors of Novorossiysk University (seven) and directors of the Richelieu Lyceum; friends and enemies of A. S. Pushkin ...; merchants and merchants; barons, counts and princes; secret advisers and pathologists; archaeologists and numismatists; consuls and owners of ship offices; mayors (four) and mayors ; Russian diplomats; architects who built the City; artists and theater directors; literature and artists; and composers ... and many among them ... hereditary and honorary citizens of the City ...

- Doroshenko A.V. Crossing the Styx

In the 1920s, in connection with the advent of Soviet power, the cemetery began to fall into disrepair due to the lack of care, robbery and deliberate destruction. In accordance with the general Soviet policy of liquidation of cemeteries, the necropolis was destroyed from 1929 to 1934 ^[1] . By decision of the Bolshevik authorities, the tombstones of the cemetery began to be dismantled for the purpose of utilizing and releasing the territory for other needs, the accessible graves were subjected to organized robbery. The cemetery church of All Saints was closed in 1934, and in 1935 it was dismantled. In 1937, the Park of Culture and Rest named after Ilyich ", with a dance floor, a shooting gallery, a room of laughter and other amusement rides, and then the rest of its territory was occupied by a zoo - the" culture "park was created and existed simply on the graves on which alleys, squares, and attractions were arranged. In the conditions of life of Soviet society in the 1930s ^[4], Odessa residents could not deal with the transfer of the remains of their relatives to other cemeteries; only the transfer of the remains of two artists is reliably known. It should be noted that in parallel with the destruction of the cemetery, new burials were made on it ^{[5] [6]} .

According to the recollections of a witness, one day in the early 1930s, all the entrances to the cemetery were blocked by NKVD officers . At the cemetery itself, special workers removed coffins from family crypts, opened them (many of them were partially glazed), and extracted weapons, awards, and jewelry. All seized values ​​were recorded and bagged. If the coffin was metal, then it was also exported like scrap metal, and the remains were poured from it to the ground. Thus, the ashes of many buried were simply scattered on the surface of the earth ^[7] .

On the territory of the former Old Cemetery at the beginning of the 21st century there were the Odessa Zoo, the backyard of the Odessa Tram Depot and the “Preobrazhensky” historical and memorial park - the former “Ilyich Culture and Leisure Park” - so renamed by the decision of the Odessa City Executive Committee in 1995 ^[8] , but left with all the attributes of a “park of culture and rest” - attractions , “playgrounds”, catering facilities , a room of laughter and other similar institutions. The public of Odessa called such a use of the territory of the former cemetery "... an act of vandalism, desecration of the memory of the ancestors." It was noted that this contradicts the respect of "... to history in general, to his native city, to his own state ..." and contradicts the legislation of Ukraine , which directly prohibits any construction on the territory of cemeteries, even former ones, and the privatization of their territories, and the territory of the former Old Cemetery back in 1998 it was included in the list of historical monuments of Odessa, nothing can be placed on this territory except memorials and parks ^{[9] [10]} .

The goals of creating a “historical-memorial park” were called the organization of religious, cultural, educational and museum activities “to prevent further acts of vandalism, to honor the memory of the founders and first inhabitants of Odessa, heroes of the Fatherland and historical events related to them, buried in the Old Cemetery, to popularize knowledge about the outstanding inhabitants of our city and state, the history of Odessa. ” It was proposed to arrange the territory of the park (planning, landscaping, landscaping), recreate some of the destroyed structures (gates, alleys, the Church of All Saints), create memorial structures, conduct local history research and historical and memorial events, create the Old Odessa Museum, the exposition of which would include exhibits telling about the history of the city and the fate of its inhabitants buried in the cemetery ^[11] .

• John-Useknovno Cemetery (Kharkov)

• team of authors. The first cemeteries of Odessa / editor and compiler M. B. Poyzner. - 1st. - Odessa: TPP, 2012 .-- 640 p. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 978-966-2389-55-5 .
• Doroshenko A.V. Crossing the Styx. - 1st. - Odessa: Optimum, 2007 .-- 484 p. - (All). - 1000 copies. - ISBN 966-344-169-0 .
• Kokhansky V. Odessa and its surroundings. A complete illustrated guide and reference book .. - 3rd. - Odessa: L. Nitche, 1892 .-- S. 71. - 554 p.

• Golovan V. Old cemetery in Odessa: many of the best sons and daughters of the Fatherland have found refuge here (Russian) . The article . Timer website (February 27, 2012). Date of treatment May 4, 2012. Archived May 26, 2012.
• Kalugin G. Odessa First (Old) cemetery (Russian) . Website "Odessa Shoutbox" (October 8, 2011). Date of treatment May 4, 2012. Archived on September 15, 2012.
• Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Russian) . photo report . Site "Shout of Odessa". Date of treatment May 4, 2012. Archived on September 20, 2012.

Articles in the newspaper "Evening Odessa"

• Kalugin G. Secrets of the Old Cemetery (Rus.) Revealed // Evening Odessa: newspaper. - June 8, 2006. - No. 83 (8425) .
• Shevchuk A., Kalugin G. To save the memorial - to defend the honor of the city (Russian) // Evening Odessa: newspaper. - August 14, 2010. - No. 118-119 (9249-9250) .
• Kalugin G. The old cemetery stores the most precious (Russian) // Evening Odessa: newspaper. - May 21, 2011. - No. 73–74 (9401–9402) .
• Onkova V. Is there a prospect for the memorial complex in the Preobrazhensky park? (Russian) // Evening Odessa: newspaper. - September 24, 2011. - No. 142-143 (9470-9471) .
• Kalugin G. Solve the problems of the old cemetery together! (Russian) // Evening Odessa: newspaper. - December 22, 2011. - No. 193 (9521) .
• Dukova D. Park "Preobrazhensky": a change of fate? (Russian) // Evening Odessa: newspaper. - February 23, 2012. - No. 27–28 (9553–9554) .