In 1839, the year Count Ernst zu Münster died, Laves was commissioned to design a worthy tomb for the Lords of Derneburg. Now the classicist architect should finally have the opportunity to realize an idea that recurs in his designs: the steep Egyptian pyramid. The massive, geometrically symmetrical design language of Egyptian architecture was gladly adopted by classicism. The Derneburg pyramid is a little more than 11 meters high and its slope angle is 61 degrees. The door with the Münster coat of arms surrounds a double-wound Egyptian round bar, and an Egyptian groove with double-rowed leaf tips decorates the entrance. Despite all the worship of the Egyptian cult of the dead, the mausoleum remained recognizable as a Christian burial place by a large cross above the entrance. On the stone door there was originally a grave inscription attributed to the Freemasons: “The progression to perfection is eternal, although the trace disappears from the eye on the grave”.