Maria Pavlovna,
Daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia, granddaughter of Catherine the Great,
* February 16, 1786 in St. Petersburg,
† June 23, 1859 in Weimar
Maria Pavlovna had decreed that after her death a Russian Orthodox chapel should be built over her grave. The burial church was built between 1860 and 1862. Since Maria Pavlovna belonged to the Russian Tsar's family and the Russian Orthodox faith, "protocol" required that she be buried in Russian soil. On the other hand, she was also the regent of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach and therefore had to be buried in Weimar. Both conditions were met by bringing several wagon loads of original Russian soil from the area around St. Petersburg to Weimar, which were piled up to form a hill in the Weimar cemetery on which the chapel was built. The church was consecrated on November 24, 1862 in the name of Mary Magdalene by the Russian archpriest Stefan Sabinin. During the construction of the burial chapel, a hole was made in the southern wall of the lower vault. Maria Pavlovna's coffin was placed in this transition area. Only in this way was it possible to take into account the regent's wish to be buried next to her husband and yet still be able to lie on consecrated ground of her own Russian Orthodox religion.