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The mystery of the Zakrevsky pyramid - the tomb of the Russian chief prosecutor, who was crazy about Egypt
The mystery of the Zakrevsky pyramid - the tomb of the Russian chief prosecutor, who was crazy about Egypt

Video: The mystery of the Zakrevsky pyramid - the tomb of the Russian chief prosecutor, who was crazy about Egypt

Video: The mystery of the Zakrevsky pyramid - the tomb of the Russian chief prosecutor, who was crazy about Egypt
Video: Things to do in Moscow, Russia when you think you've done everything (travel vlog) - YouTube 2024, November
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The mystery and hypnotic appeal of the Egyptian pyramids has always haunted fans of mysticism and the history of ancient civilizations. Fans of Egyptian culture in many parts of the world have tried and are trying to build something similar. On Ukrainian soil, for example, the so-called Zakrevsky pyramid, built over 120 years ago, became the most famous "copy" of the Egyptian wonder of the world. You can see this ancestral tomb even now.

Admirer of ancient egypt

It all started with the fact that the Chief Prosecutor Ignatius Zakrevsky, who was in the service of Alexander III, at the end of the nineteenth century was sent as the ambassador of the Russian Empire to Egypt. A well-known senator and a wealthy landowner, a representative of an ancient and revered noble family, had to visit different countries before, but the Egyptian culture made the strongest impression on him. He was especially struck by the grandiose beauty of the pyramids.

The surviving photos of Ignatius Zakrevsky
The surviving photos of Ignatius Zakrevsky

Returning to his homeland, Zakrevsky got the idea to build a mini-copy of the Egyptian pyramid on his estate in the Poltava region. In 1899, the nine-meter building was ready. She was placed over the crypt in which the senator's ancestors rested.

Preserved original photo of the pyramid
Preserved original photo of the pyramid

Zakrevsky died in 1906 while in Egypt (by this time he had already been released from service). His daughter's embalmed body was taken to the Poltava region and buried in the pyramid-tomb (this was the last will of the landowner). His relatives were subsequently buried in it.

Pagan Orthodox pyramid

When erecting the pyramid, Ignatius Zakrevsky tried to comply with all the rules by which Egyptian masterpieces were built, but this was not an exact mini-copy. The fact is that he brought something unexpected to his project. For example, the walls of his family tomb were painted by the landowner on the outside with quotations from the Bible, and inside with frescoes in the Egyptian style. At the entrance, he placed a statue of the goddess Isis brought from Egypt, which in ancient Egypt symbolized the feminine principle and was revered as the mother of the god Horus, whose earthly incarnation was the Egyptian pharaohs, and at the same time an Orthodox cross towered over the entrance, on the portico.

This is what the pyramid looks like today
This is what the pyramid looks like today

Inside the pyramid, Zakrevsky installed a pagan altar with … a Christian Crucifixion, and on top - also a cross. In other words, in his tomb, he managed to combine two completely different cultures and two religions, which some historians regard as a symbol of a tolerant attitude towards any confession.

It should be added to this that the Egyptian Ignatius Zakrevsky, among other things, was also a member of the Masonic Lodge. Such an interesting religious symbiosis in one person.

The pyramid today
The pyramid today

The workers filled the masonry with cement, which greatly increased their thickness. This technology was used by architects in Egypt. The brick was painted with mosaic tiles. The basement of the pyramid was made of hewn granite.

Instead of a tomb, there is a pantry …

After the revolution, the unique tomb of the Zakrevskys (as well as the nearby Orthodox church) was plundered by the Bolsheviks, having arranged a warehouse in the pyramid, and it gradually came to a very deplorable state.

After the collapse of the USSR, the situation did not change - at the end of the last century, they simply threw garbage into the tomb, and, I must say, the pyramid has not yet been restored. Outside, the bricks are decently destroyed in some places, and almost nothing remains of the rich and refined interior decoration.

Fragment of the lost interior decoration
Fragment of the lost interior decoration
This is how the pyramid now looks inside
This is how the pyramid now looks inside

It is believed that the pyramid was not completely destroyed by a special recipe for the mortar that covered the brick, which was mixed with cement with the addition of egg whites.

As for the remains of the Zakrevskys, while mocking the pyramid, the Bolsheviks pulled them out of the tomb and desecrated. Later, local residents buried the remains in a nearby village cemetery.

Even now, there is something mysterious and attractive in this pyramid
Even now, there is something mysterious and attractive in this pyramid

Many residents of the local village of Berezovoy Rudka still believe that the pyramid has unique properties and makes wishes come true. They argue that if a person who suffers from any ailment enters inside, stands in the center of the pyramid and reads an Orthodox prayer, he will surely be cured.

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