Emperor Alexander I often visited the Penza province and always spoke of it as one of the most blessed places. However, it was from here that he was sent on his final journey. The coffin with his body was in the Spassky Cathedral for some time. In the autumn of 1825, nothing foreshadowed trouble. The sovereign planned an inspection trip to the south, which passed through the Penza region. He was greeted with flowers in the city, and a grand ball was held at the governor's house. After that, the emperor set off for Taganrog. Just a few weeks later, the country was shaken by the news of his sudden death from brain inflammation. The emperor's body was placed in a coffin and sent to St. Petersburg. The cortege made a stop in Penza. "By the light of the moon on the white snow and by the white wall of the cathedral stood a huge black carriage without horses, under a black canopy," recalled eyewitness, philologist Fyodor Buslaev. "On the carriage stood a sarcophagus, in the sarcophagus was a coffin, and in the coffin lay the deceased emperor Alexander Pavlovich. Thus he returned from the distant south to his northern capital through Penza, where he had recently been welcomed with joy." Officers of the local garrison accompanied the cortege to the border with the Nizhny Novgorod province. All night before the departure, townspeople stood around the cathedral with lamps and candles. Many bid farewell to the sovereign with tears in their eyes, for he had done much good for Penza.