Information about the building

The cemetery is officially called Vvedenskoe, named after the area Vvedenskie Gory. It is also referred to as the German or Non-Orthodox cemetery.

Initially, foreigners in Moscow were buried at their churches. However, after the plague epidemic of 1770-1771, public cemeteries were established outside the city, including the Jewish, Karaite, Tatar, and German cemeteries. The latter was intended for Catholics and Protestants and was located on the left bank of the Yauza, on Lefortovo Hill, known as Vvedenskie Gory.

Before the revolution, there were no churches at the cemetery, only family chapels of various confessions. In 1912, a chapel for representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran, Catholic, Reformed, and Anglican churches was built according to a design by V.A. Rudanovsky. During the Soviet era, the building was used as a cemetery office, and in the 1990s, it became the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, transferred to the congregation of the Scandinavian Church of Ingria. The majority of the parishioners are Finns.

Many famous foreigners are buried at Vvedenskoe Cemetery. For example, the remains of Franz Lefort and Patrick Gordon, associates of Peter I, were moved here from a dismantled church in the German settlement. The tombstones of notable foreign architects in Moscow are preserved here: F. Camporezi, P. Drittenpreis, S. Eibuschitz. The grave of F.P. Gaaz, the "holy doctor," known for his mercy towards patients and prisoners, is especially revered. The Catholic Church is preparing for his canonization. Lucien Olivier, a French restaurateur and creator of the famous salad, is also buried here.

Some tombstones from the 19th and early 20th centuries are architectural monuments created by famous masters. For example, F. Shekhtel erected the tombstone of E.F. Zhegina, the mausoleum of the flour mill owners Erlanger, and the crypt of the Ferreyins.

The walls and buildings of the cemetery were constructed according to a design by A. Meingard at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The southern gates lead to the territory from Nalichnaya Street, while the northern ones are from the side of Hospital Val. The gates and the cemetery administration building are executed in a pseudo-Gothic style with pointed towers.

After the revolution, Russian burials also appeared at the cemetery. Here lies the famous rector of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Kleniki, Alexiy Mechev, and architects K. Melnikov, I. Rerberg, R. Klein, V. Mayat.

During the Great Patriotic War, French pilots of the "Normandy-Neman" squadron were buried here. Later, their ashes were transported to France, but the monument remained. It and the 1889 monument made of black granite in memory of Napoleon's soldiers who died in 1812 are under the protection of the French Republic.

Restoration

In 2021, work began on the preservation of another 10 mausoleums and one grave. Each monument will be fully restored: restorers will strengthen the foundations and structures, eliminate cracks and chips, recreate lost details, restore decorative elements, paint, and treat surfaces with protective compounds.