Westminster Abbey is a temple that contains the history of the country. Westminster Abbey in London: history, photo, description, interesting facts Chapel of Edward the Confessor, or Royal Chapels

WESTMINSTER ABBEY

The abbey received its name from the monastery that was here in the old days, which was called West-minster, in contrast to another monastery located in the opposite part of London and called East. The foundation of Westminster Abbey dates back to the beginning of the 7th century and is dedicated to the Apostle Peter. In ancient times, a pagan temple stood on the site of the abbey, although not all studies confirm this. In 616, the Saxon king Sebert built the Church of St. Paul the Apostle here at the Benedictine monastery, but over time it fell into complete desolation from continuous internecine wars and unrest. In the 11th century, the church was once again destroyed, and in its place, King Edward the Confessor erected a new one - in the form of a cross.

Royal patronage played a big role in the further development of the monastery. The abbey itself could rely only on local artisans, while the king invited the best craftsmen not only from his land, but also from other countries. At the same time, the abbey received huge incomes, real estate, secular judicial power and other privileges. To date, little remains of the abbey of that time, since King Henry III rebuilt it and gave it the appearance that has remained almost unchanged to this day.

Since 1065, Westminster has become not only the place of coronation of English monarchs, but also the tomb of members of the English royal dynasty. The royal tomb is located in the chapel of King Edward the Confessor: two narrow royal chairs are visible behind the bars. On the left is the most ancient throne, which contains the famous Scone stone: according to legend, the head of the Patriarch Jacob rested on it in Bethel, and the kings of Scotland sat on this throne during the coronation. This stone, as a sign of the final conquest of Scotland, was brought to London by King Edward I in 1247, and English kings sat on the throne with this stone during the coronation. The stone itself is a piece of red sandstone attached to the throne with yellow hooks.

After Edward the Confessor, his heirs eventually expanded the church, and in 1245 Henry Reine began construction of the cathedral. He created a system of chapels radiating out from the tomb of King Edward the Confessor. The chapel of this king, in which the shrine with his relics is kept, is located in the eastern part of the cathedral, directly behind the altar. The shrine is richly decorated by order of another English king - Henry III.

In 1502–1512, on the site of one of the 13th-century chapels, the magnificent Henry VII Chapel was added to the cathedral - a true masterpiece of late English Gothic, surprising and delighting everyone to this day. Its peculiarity is the openwork fan vaults with carved stone pendants, similar to artificial stalactites. The vaults of the octagonal hall carry stone ribs, gathered into one bunch on the central pillar. The chapel was intended from the very beginning to be a tomb, and the chapel with the tomb of Henry VII is located opposite the entrance. Near it, but in a separate chapel, are the tomb of the Duke of Buckingham and the tomb of the Duke of Richmond. In the northern extension of the chapel are the tombs of Queen Elizabeth, the murdered princes Edward and Richard, as well as Sophia and Mary, the young daughters of King James I and other crowned monarchs of England.

The most remarkable thing in the chapel is the tomb of King Henry VII himself and his wife Elizabeth, the last representative of the House of York. A few years after their marriage, a war broke out in England between the two dynasties, known as the War of the Roses. The sarcophagi of King Henry VII and his wife are amazing. The crown in a bunch of grass with flowers refers to the Battle of Bosworth, which King Henry VII won from Richard III. As the chronicles say, the crown was found in a tuft of grass near the battlefield, abandoned either by Richard III himself or his courtiers. And Henry VII was crowned with her right on the battlefield...

Below the chapel are crypts built by King George II, which contain the remains of some members of the English royal dynasties. Among them, an interesting group of sculptures is Lady Nigttingale. One of them depicts a Lady being protected by her husband from Death emerging from a coffin. In Death's right hand is an arrow, which she aims to shoot at the victim...

However, nothing was done for the abbey after Henry VII until King William III. Then civil wars began, which brought the church to such a state that it was hardly possible to recognize its former splendor and greatness. But the time came when the architect Christopher Wren was asked to restore the church in its former Gothic style. He added two columns to it at the main entrance on the west side and gave it its original shape. Particularly noteworthy was the portal on the north side - the oldest surviving part of the temple, which is called the “Solomon’s Gate”. The interior of the cathedral is divided into three parts by 48 gray marble columns. They support high, acute-angled vaults and separate the cross section of the cathedral from the rest of its length. The Gothic choir is a building of modern times, and the altar, which previously belonged to another chapel, was donated to Westminster Abbey by Queen Anne. On the south side of the choir are monuments to King Sebert, founder of the very first church in Westminster, and Anne of Clevens.

The interior decoration of Westminster Cathedral is simply magnificent, it is especially striking with its grace and amazing Gothic architecture, although it is cluttered with hundreds of funerary monuments, for the sake of which the builders did not spare even the walls of the cathedral itself. Some researchers even believe that there are too many decorations in the cathedral and that next to the wonderful chapels of Kings Edward the Confessor and Henry VII, many new monuments are piled up - cold and pedantic, and sometimes simply ugly.

Not only English kings were buried in the church of Westminster Abbey, but also all worthy sons of England, no matter what kind of activity they glorified their fatherland. This is truly the national Pantheon of England, its temple of glory, because to rest under the arches of the cathedral is the greatest honor that a nation can bestow on its great and brilliant citizens. True, in past times, those who did not deserve it were also awarded this honor, so in the cathedral you can see a number of monuments on which appear names that are completely unknown, but which belonged to rich and noble persons of both sexes. However, there are so many great people buried in Westminster that their glorious shadows completely eclipse all these unknown lords, ladies, knights, etc.

Most often, foreigners rush to the “Poets' Corner”, where the tombs of J. Chaucer, G. Spencer, C. Dickens, W.M. Thackeray and other writers of England; Monuments, monuments, busts and statues were erected here in honor of W. Shakespeare, J. Milton, O. Goldsmith, B. Johnson. In Westminster lie the famous actor Garik, composer G.F. Handel, historian Grotto and others.

From the entrance to the cathedral all the way to the choir stretches a long hall with pointed vaults, on both sides of which there are side galleries. The scientist I. Newton is buried in the central part; a brief but eloquent inscription is engraved on his tombstone: “Here lies what was mortal in Isaac Newton.” Not far from his grave, the ashes of Charles Darwin found their eternal rest; astronomer W. Herschel and geologist Lyell were buried in the same part of the cathedral.

At the western end of the northern gallery is the so-called Whig Corner, where prominent figures of the Liberal Party of the 18th century are buried. Here Ministers Pitt and Fox rest peacefully - next to each other, although during their lifetime they were enemies and always acted against each other. The central part of the temple is separated from its side galleries by a structure intended for the choir. The northern wing is known as the "Statesmen's Wing": the ashes of Gladstone, Beaconsfield, Canning and other political figures of England rest here.

In the western part of the cathedral there is a monument to Major Andre, who was caught and hanged by the Americans as a spy during the war with the North American states. His body was subsequently transported to England and buried with honor in Westminster Abbey. The politician R. Peel, the traveler D. Livingston, the inventor Stephenson, the actress Sidons, Lord Palmerston and many others are buried or have monuments in Westminster.

Westminster Abbey is also a historical monument with which all the most important events in English history are associated. The Abbey has seen and experienced a lot during its long history, in particular, during the turbulent XIV-XV centuries, its walls witnessed hand-to-hand fights between representatives of warring parties. In 1659, the ashes of Oliver Cromwell were ceremonially transported to Westminster, but soon after the Stuart restoration, his ashes were dug up and thrown into Tyburn. The place where O. Cromwell's grave was is now marked only by a simple stone...

Westminster Abbey is a large temple with the official name of the Collegiate Church of St. Peter in Westminster. This is a Gothic structure located to the west of the Houses of Parliament in the central London borough of Westminster. There was a Benedictine monastery here until 1539, until the monastery was abolished. Between 1540 and 1556 the church had the status of a cathedral. But despite its current name, Westminster Abbey is formally neither an abbey nor a cathedral. Since 1560, Elizabeth I issued a special royal charter on the transition of English churches to the status of Royal peculiarity (royal peculiarity, estate), according to which the dean and heads of the churches of the kingdom are subordinate to the monarch, and not to the bishop.

Meaning

The majestic church building does not have a history full of interesting events, and its architecture does not stand out for its originality or pronounced beauty. But the greatest significance of Westminster Abbey for the state is unconditional. This is a special royal church. Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all English and later British monarchs have taken place under the arches of this temple; funeral services and weddings of members of royal families have taken place here. Since 1100, the abbey has hosted at least 16 royal weddings. Since the mid-10th century, the tradition of daily worship in the abbey continues to this day.

Not only royalty are buried in the church; many English figures who played a major role in the development of public policy, culture and science were given this honor. In total, over three thousand people were buried on the territory of the abbey, six hundred of whom had tombstones. Since 1987 in London, Westminster Abbey, St. Margaret's Church and the Houses of Parliament have been collectively designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

History of architecture

The construction of the first temple on the site of the modern abbey began 1,400 years ago, during the founding of the Christian English Church, at the origins of which stood Bishop Augustine of Canterbury. At the beginning of the 7th century, Augustine sent Mellitus, one of his priests, to the kingdom of Essex on the Thames, near London, to preach and convert the population to the Christian faith. One of the first to convert to Christianity was the East Saxon king Sabert. He and Mellitus built a Christian temple two miles west of old London on the island of Thorney. And Mellitus became the first bishop of London in 604.

The abbey's recorded origins date back to the 960s or early 970s, when St Dunstan, Bishop of Worcester and London, worked with King Edgar to establish a community of Benedictine monks on the site of the church. With the growing influence of the abbey, the monastery and the island began to be called the Western Church (West Minster). The first known reconstruction of the church took place in 1065-1090, and was started by the Anglo-Saxon king Edward, called the Confessor. On the eve of his death in 1042, the temple was consecrated. The supporting columns with round arches in the crypt of the modern abbey are the only surviving trace of construction from that time.

The next reconstruction was the most important, during which the church acquired its basic appearance. Construction took almost three centuries (1245-1517) and began under Henry III, according to whose plan the building of Westminster Abbey was designed and created as a Gothic cathedral. The work was supervised by the royal mason Henry of the Rhine. Henry III commissioned a unique mosaic floor in front of the High Altar, paved using the Italian Cosmatesque technique. During the construction period of the 14th century, the appearance of the church reflected significant traces of the work and leadership of the skillful architect Henry Yevel. The following buildings were built: a nave, the Abbot's House, a western cloister and several tombs. Construction work was completed during the reign of Richard II.

The Lady Chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, known as the Chapels, was added by the first Tudor king Henry VII in 1503. Much of the stone for it was brought from the city of Cannes and the Loire Valley in France, as well as from the Isle of Portland.

Status changes

By 1535, the abbey's annual income reached £2,400–2,800, equivalent to £1,340,000–1,527,000 in 2016. It was the second Christian monastery in England in terms of wealth after the monastic community of Glastonbury.

Henry VIII assumed direct royal control of the abbey in 1539, giving it the position of second cathedral under the 1540 charter. At the same time, the monarch issued a decree with a written patent establishing the diocese of Westminster. By granting cathedral status to Westminster Abbey, Henry VIII gained grounds to spare the temple from the destruction or decay that most English monasteries and churches suffered during the period, while still controlling its income.

The rights to the abbey were restored by the Benedictines under the reign of the Catholic Mary I, but again abolished by the accession of Elizabeth I. In 1560, the Virgin Queen Bess restored Westminster, but making it the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, rather than a cathedral headed by a dean. Westminster Abbey received the status of Royal Peculiar, that is, the Anglican Church, which is directly subordinate to the sovereign, and not to the bishop.

Latest transformations

During the rebellious 1640s, the abbey suffered damage when it was attacked by Puritan iconoclasts. But thanks to the patronage of the state and the monarchy, the church was protected and the damage remained minor.

Between 1722 and 1745, the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor built the temple's two western towers from Portland stone, in a late Gothic and early Renaissance style. And the walls and upper floors of the church are lined with marble from Purbeck, and many tombstones are also created from various types of marble. Westminster Abbey is described as having undergone major restoration work and recent renovations in the 19th century under the direction of the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott.

Chapel of the Mysteries of the Order of Knights

One of the most beautiful details of the church interior is the vaulted ceiling of Henry VII's chapel. No photos of Westminster Abbey can convey the interior splendor of this building. When the Order of the Bath was established by George I (1725), the chapel became the site of installation ceremonies for the most honorable order, presided over by the Grand Master. The ceremonies are held every four years, and every second of them the king attends. Such a strange name for the order comes from an ancient knightly rite, when the neophyte underwent an all-night vigil of fasting and prayer with a mandatory cleansing bath on the eve of the initiation ceremony. Composition of the order: sovereign-chief (king of Britain); Grand Grandmaster (Master), whose role belongs to the Prince of Wales; three knight classes. Members of the order are not only knights, but also ladies.

Church organ

The beautiful organ, created by Harrison & Harrison, was installed in 1937 and was first used at the coronation of George VI. Some of the pipes from the previous 1848 instrument, the work of maker William Heal, were removed and incorporated into the new design. The two organ buildings, designed and built in the late 19th century by John Loughborough Pearson, were restored and painted in 1959. In 1982 and 1987, Harrison & Harrison expanded the organ to include additional registers under the direction of the then abbey organist Simon Preston. In 2006, the organ console was repaired and expanded by the same firm Harrison & Harrison. One part of the instrument, the Celestial Organ, is currently non-functional. The current organist and master of choirs, James O'Donnell, has been working since 2000.

The Second World War

Westminster suffered the greatest damage in its history during the May 1941 bombing, when several incendiary bombs hit the roof of the building. They were all extinguished except for one, which caught fire among the wooden beams and plaster vault of the roof above the north transept. The flames quickly spread, and burning debris containing molten lead from the roof began falling onto wooden kiosks, pews, lamps and other church equipment. However, church workers managed to remove most of the furniture. Finally, part of the roof caved in, preventing the fire from spreading further.

During those war years, approximately 60,000 sandbags were used to protect the tombs. The Coronation Chair was sent for security and the Coronation Stone was buried in the Abbey's secret chambers.

Honor of burial

Since the Middle Ages, English monarchs, aristocrats, monks and people associated with the abbey have been buried in chapels, crypts, transepts, floor slabs and other areas of the church. One of them was the poet Geoffrey Chaucer (1400), who was honorably buried here. A century and a half later, the ashes were interred in the abbey, then other poets, writers and musicians were buried or their names were immortalized here in the "Poets' Corner" of the south transept.

Subsequently, Westminster Abbey became the most honorable burial place in Britain. The practice of burying prominent national figures in the abbey began with the funeral of an admiral in 1657 and continued with a list of generals, admirals, politicians, doctors and scientists such as Isaac Newton or Charles Darwin. In the 20th century, it became customary to bury cremated remains in the abbey. In 1905, the first cremated ashes interred in the church were those of actor Henry Irving.

Legends

There are few legends about Westminster Abbey, and one of them dates back to the founding of the church. In those days, the Thames was rich in fish, and many fishermen lived in its waters. One of them had a vision of the patron saint of fishermen - the Apostle Peter, at the place where the temple was soon erected. On the eve of the consecration ceremony of the church, Saint Peter, allegedly its founder Mellitus, also appeared, whose name the abbey later received. Perhaps the legend was the reason that in later times the fishermen of the Thames presented rich gifts of salmon to the abbey every year on June 29, St. Peter's Day. And the fishing company Fishmongers' Company still supplies the abbey with fish.

Another story concerns the island of Torney itself, on which the church is located. It was first named in the 8th century as Thorn ait (thorny island) due to its abundant thickets of wild blackberries. In the chronicles of that time it was called a “terrible place.” 200 years later, under King Edward the Confessor, the island is mentioned as “a most beautiful place, surrounded by green fields with fertile soil.” The monks began to cultivate blackberries and develop the tradition of English gardening. The abbey gardens, considered the oldest in London, have been preserved to this day.

There are a lot of interesting things you can tell about Westminster Abbey and its interior. Here is a small part of his stories.

The latest news for Westminster Abbey will be the opening in 2018 of the Royal Diamond Jubilee Galleries, a new museum in the medieval triforium. The gallery, located 70 feet in the air, has been hidden from the public for over 700 years. These newly opened galleries will provide visitors with magnificent views of the Palace of Westminster and the church. It will display treasures and collections reflecting the Abbey's rich and varied thousand-year history.

One of the most famous monuments of Gothic architecture is Westminster Abbey. It is located on the west side of the Palace of Westminster in London and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Its construction began in the 11th century, but the main construction work was carried out from the 13th to the 16th centuries. From the old monastery, from which the construction of the abbey began, what remains is the chapel and passages to the dormitory. It was designed in the shape of a cross and its main purpose was the coronation and tomb of the reigning persons. In 1953, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the current Queen of England, took place there. For coronation, the ancient coronation chair of English monarchs is used. This chair has been kept in the abbey for six centuries and under its seat is the “stone of destiny” - a relic of English history.

The grandeur and size of Westminster Abbey is simply breathtaking. Its length is 156.6, and the central nave has the height of an eleven-story building - 31 m. But the greatest value is its interior.

From the inside the building appears much wider and higher than from the outside. Skillful builders made the stone light, almost airy, from which a magnificent tent with protruding ribs and bundles of ribs blossoming at a great height stretched overhead. And all this splendor rests on light marble tables.

The interior of Westminster Abbey, this is what this masterpiece of architecture looks like inside.

One of the attractions of Westminster Abbey is the picturesque, light-colored stone galleries of the monastery courtyard. Behind the western gallery is the house of the abbot, who is the head of the monastery. It was built in the 14th century and has survived to this day. The pearl of English Gothic - the Chapter Hall, which has the shape of a polyhedron, is located in the eastern gallery.

Westminster Abbey is a huge necropolis in which the most famous people of England are buried. It contains more than 3,300 burials. The ashes of Charles Dickens, Isaac Newton, William Shakespeare, Winston Churchill, Lord Byron, Princess Diana and many other prominent Englishmen rest here.

Today Westminster Abbey is a functioning church. Services and liturgies are held there, royal weddings are held in the western wing, and concerts of sacred and secular music are held.

Video: Great Britain. London. Westminster Abbey.

If in the eastern part of the temple the influence of French architecture is strongly felt, then the long nave is typically English. During its construction in the 14th century, Cardinal Simon Langham, the former rector, wanted to speed up the work and insisted that cheaper stone be used for the supports. We must be grateful to Abbot Nicholas Litlington, who did not give in to persuasion and ensured that marble from Purbeck was used for the supports. This gave the temple architectural integrity - you can’t tell from its appearance that it took 500 years to build.

Just like the Poets' Corner, areas were formed in the abbey where people of other professions are immortalized. To the west of the organ, facing the nave, stands a monument to Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) by J. M. Rysbrack. Newton is remembered primarily for his law of gravity, but his other discoveries and inventions in the fields of mechanics, optics and astronomy made him one of the world's greatest scientists. His interests are reflected in the sculpture, which depicts optical and mathematical instruments, his books and a sphere with zodiac signs and constellations. He is buried right in front of the monument.

Other outstanding scientists and engineers are also buried or memorialized here: Michael Faraday (1791-1867), who studied electricity and magnetism; Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), who created the model of the atom. Charles Darwin (1809-92) lies nearby and a medallion with his portrait is mounted on the wall below the organ in the north end of the choir.

Nearby are portraits of other scientists, including the founder of antiseptics Joseph Lister (1827-1912) and Darwin's friend, botanist Sir Joseph Hooker (1817-1911). Engineers are immortalized in the nave, among them the famous watchmakers Thomas Tompion (1638-1713), George Graham (1673-1751) and John Harrison (1693-1776), the creator of the marine chronometer, which made it possible to determine longitude at sea. A memorial to him was opened in 2006.

In the center of the nave is the tomb of the famous traveler and missionary David Livingstone. His heart was buried in Africa, where he died, but 11 months later devoted servants brought his body to the abbey for burial.

At the western end, in the middle of the nave, is a large green marble memorial to Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), the country's inspirational leader during the Second World War. The monument was unveiled by the Queen on September 19, 1965 - 25 years after the Battle of Britain.

The most famous tomb in the abbey is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Situated at the west end of the nave and surrounded by a border of red poppies, it commemorates the fallen not only of the First World War, but of all wars. All official state visits begin with the laying of a wreath at the grave, and a memorial service is held here each year on Remembrance Sunday.

The idea of ​​burying a British soldier whose name and rank is unknown at Westminster among the kings and princes came from a young army chaplain, David Railton, in 1916 while he was serving on the Western Front. One evening, returning to his apartment, Railton saw a wooden grave cross with the inscription: “Unknown British Soldier.” Two years after the end of the war, he sent a letter to the prior of Westminster proposing that an unknown soldier be buried in the abbey. The abbot received the idea with enthusiasm, but King George V doubted whether such a burial would be considered belated. However, the government and public supported the plan, and it was eventually approved.

On a warship, accompanied by six destroyers, the soldier's body was solemnly carried from France to Britain. On the morning of November 11, 1920, he was brought to the abbey on a gun carriage, stopping at Whitehall, where the king unveiled the cenotaph. The coffin was carried into the abbey through the north portal and carried along the nave, lined with 100 recipients of the Victoria Cross, Britain's highest award for valour. The flag that was used to cover the coffin hangs on a column nearby. David Railton covered the temporary altars with this flag while giving communion to the soldiers. On the adjacent columns there is a bell from the ship Verdun, which delivered the body to Britain, and the Congressional Medal of Honor, an award to a soldier from the United States.

Sir Joseph Hooker is one of the scholars who is memorialized on the north side of the choir.

View from the nave to the choir railing; on the left is a monument to Isaac Newton by J.M. Risbrack.

Napoleon's Tomb, Les Invalides
Paris, France
Few of the defeated and expelled rulers were awarded such a luxurious burial. In 1861, the ashes of Emperor Napoleon were transported to Paris from St. Helena and buried in the cathedral of the Invalides. In the center of the crypt stands a sarcophagus made of red porphyry. It is surrounded by 12 statues telling about Napoleon's victories. The names of conquered cities (among which, by the way, is Moscow) are inscribed on the floor. Now the Invalides with the military museum located in it is included in the program of any sightseeing tour of Paris, so hundreds of tourists visit the emperor’s grave every day. Oscar Wilde’s grave, Père Lachaise cemetery
Paris, France
Thousands of fans visit Oscar Wilde's grave every year. Initially, the writer was buried in another cemetery, but then his ashes were transferred to Père Lachaise, where a winged sphinx was installed above the burial. This monument stood quietly until about the mid-1980s, until a new wave of interest in the writer began. From that time on, the monument began to be regularly covered with graffiti, and then a strange tradition arose of applying painted lips to it, leaving a lipstick imprint on the white stone. A year ago, on the 111th anniversary of the writer’s death, they finally decided to protect the monument from especially loving fans and covered it with thick protective glass.
Jim Morrison's grave, Père Lachaise Cemetery
Paris, France
Although more than 40 years have passed since the death of the charismatic leader of the rock band The Doors, questions about his death have not diminished: the reason for the musician’s death is not completely clear, and it is unclear why he had to be buried in a closed coffin. Some devoted fans prefer to think that the idol did not die, but simply got tired of everything and decided to disappear, faking his death. But nevertheless, they constantly come to his modest grave on the outskirts of the cemetery and, in memory of Morrison, indulge in all sorts of “bad excesses” there; especially many dubious personalities gather in this corner of the necropolis on the musician’s birthday.
Emile Zola's grave, Montmartre cemetery
Paris, France
Typically, guides show Russian tourists in Paris the Père Lachaise memorial cemetery, and in the Montmartre area they only lead to the observation deck of the Sacré-Coeur Cathedral, forgetting that nearby is the second famous necropolis, where Théophile Gautier, Pauline Viardot, Vaslav Nijinsky, Francois Truffaut are buried , Edgar Degas and many other popular personalities. However, most people come to this cemetery to worship the grave of the writer Emile Zola. And although the writer’s ashes, a few years after his death, were moved to the tomb of the most prominent people in France - the Pantheon, the grave has been preserved and there are always fresh flowers at the monument.
Federico Fellini's grave, city cemetery
Rimini, Italy
Tourists who have been to the popular Italian resort of Rimini know that the local airport is named after the famous director Federico Fellini. And if you go on a tour of the city, you will definitely be shown the grave of the great Italian - it is located at the very entrance to the city cemetery. The unusual tombstone looks like the bow of a ship, reminiscent of one of the films of the cinematic genius.
Isaac Newton's grave, Westminster Abbey
London, Great Britain
In Westminster Abbey, the traditional place of coronation of the rulers of Great Britain, Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens are buried, and many other famous names can be read on the stone slabs. But most often visitors come to this place to see the ornate tombstone inscription: “Here lies Sir Isaac Newton, the nobleman who, with an almost divine mind, was the first to prove with the torch of mathematics the motion of the planets, the paths of comets, and the tides of the oceans... Let mortals rejoice that such a thing existed adornment of the human race."
Karl Marx's grave, Highgate Cemetery
London, Great Britain
Any communist arriving in London considers it his duty to bow to the ashes of Karl Marx. Local supporters of this party erected a pompous bust on his grave, which, however, is completely different from the canonical Soviet images. If Karl Marx and his ideology are of little interest to you, it is still worth visiting Highgate Cemetery in the northern part of the British capital: there are many crypts and tombstones of the Victorian era and, in addition to the founder of Marxism, such respected figures as the scientist Michael Faraday or the writer George are buried Eliot.
Lenin Mausoleum
Moscow, Russia
On Red Square, near the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Lenin’s body is kept in a granite mausoleum in a bulletproof glass sarcophagus. The scientific experiment on its preservation lasts almost a century; even a special laboratory was created for this purpose: every 18 months, scientists immerse the remains in a special embalming fluid, all parameters of the body are constantly recorded and studied. In Soviet times, one could spend long hours in line at the mausoleum; people stood around the clock. Now there are much fewer people who want to look at the leader’s body, and if you have never been to the mausoleum before, you should hurry: apparently, Lenin’s body will be buried in the near future.

Nikita Khrushchev's grave, Novodevichy Cemetery
Moscow, Russia
In the Novodevichy cemetery you can study the history of our country: many historical figures, writers, artists and other famous personalities who lived in the last couple of centuries are buried there, so few people come here to see only one of the graves, but almost every visitor stops at the one located on the central alley of the monument at the grave of Nikita Khrushchev. The monument by Ernst Neizvestny consists of black and white slabs, which symbolizes the controversial personality of one of the leaders of the Soviet Union.

Vysotsky's grave, Vagankovskoe cemetery
Moscow, Russia
The program of sightseeing bus tours around Moscow often includes a visit to the Vagankovsky cemetery and the grave of Vladimir Vysotsky. Finding it is very easy: it is located right in front of the main entrance. Nowadays, few people remember that several decades ago the director of the cemetery needed great courage to bury an actor and musician who was disliked by the country’s leadership in such a place: the authorities insisted that the grave be located on the edge in the farthest corner of the necropolis.