Paulowna Mausoleum

Built in 1806 solely for Hereditary Princess Helena Paulowna, who died at the age of 18. From 1865 to 1897, it was converted into a burial place for the Grand Ducal family.

In January 1799, the Crown Prince of Ludwigslust, Friedrich Ludwig (1778-1819), received an invitation to St. Petersburg to look for a bride. Waiting there was the Tsar's daughter Alexandra, who had been rudely dumped by the Swedish King Gustav IV after only a ten-day engagement and now needed somewhere to live.Friedrich Ludwig looked at the poor girl, worth billions, and instantly fell madly in love: with her 14-year-old sister Helena. This was true love. Despite all his resistance, Tsar Paul finally had to let his favorite daughter go: from the splendid St. Petersburg (with 15,000 lackeys and court servants) to the forest residence of Ludwigslust (with barely 1,500 inhabitants). Mecklenburg had its dream couple.But after just four years, their happiness was over: the much-loved Helena died of a lung disease in 1803 at the age of just 18. Instead of the Orthodox church that had been planned for her, a mausoleum had to be built quickly. The plans for the neoclassical building were provided by the architects Joseph Christian Lillie and Joseph Ramée. The interior of the square main room was filled with a rotunda made of yellow marble, topped by a blue dome with golden stars. In the center stood the sarcophagus of the Tsar's daughter. Later, further sarcophagi were added: for the second wife of the Hereditary Prince, Caroline of Saxe-Weimar; for Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ludwig himself; and for the Hereditary Prince's third wife, Auguste of Hesse-Homburg.But later, in 1897, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III had the rotunda and dome expanded and the sarcophagi sunk into the ground at the sides. The room was converted into a three-aisled basilica with an attached altar niche (apse) to make room in front of the altar for the (also sunk) coffins of Friedrich Franz III. and his wife Anastasia. The mausoleum is now an empty space.stadtludwigslust.de/kultur-und-tourismus/sehenswertes-00001-00001/schlosspark