Unnamed Road, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 196603
In Catherine Park on the shore of the Lebyazhiy Pond, among the surrounding greenery, stands one of the first pavilions of the park's landscape section – the Pyramid, built in 1770-1772 according to the design of architect Vasily Ivanovich Neelov, in the Neo-Egyptian style. In 1773, four columns made of gray and pink Ural marble were installed on its corners on pedestals.
The artistic composition of this pavilion uses the Pyramid of Cestius in Rome (a funerary monument from the 1st century BC). Pavilions in the form of pyramids—an ancient symbol of eternity—were common in European landscape parks. Ten years later, in 1781, when the Pyramid had completely deteriorated, it was dismantled down to the foundation. It was rebuilt by architect Charles Cameron on the same site and from the same stone in 1782-1783.
The new pyramid, with better proportions and a new interior, was constructed of brick and faced with huge granite blocks, "transported," perfectly fitted and reinforced with iron clamps and lead. In 18th-century documents, the pyramid was called "Egyptian," "pyramid of rough stone," "pyramid with urns," "pyramidal mausoleum," and "pyramidal gazebo." Cameron most often called it "Chinese," although it was created in the style of antiquity.
The work, supply of craftsmen, and materials were contracted to "Sofia merchant" Evdokim Zhdanov, a resident of the city of Sofia. The contract signed with him states: "...the pyramid dismantled from rough stone, according to the design made by architect Cameron and the approved plan... under the supervision and instructions of Cameron... transported by water by stonemasons as ordered with the original stone... To be reassembled in place with proper reinforcement using state-provided iron clamps or filled with lead with the best and most durable craftsmanship." Cameron preserved these clamps and after the repair placed them on the sides of the pyramid as well, only changing the crowning decorations, which were made in the form of vases. The entrance to the pyramid is from the north, from the side of the Large Pond; the doorway narrows slightly towards the top, taking into account the tapering of the edge itself, unlike Neelov’s pyramid, where the entrance was rectangular with a protruding classical portico topped with a pediment, which disrupted the integrity of the structure.
Cameron closed the entrance to the pyramid with a grille of simple design—a row of thin spears. Cameron also executed the interior differently than Neelov. Instead of a rectangular hall, he made a large circular hall covered by a spherical dome with an opening in the center. He also arranged the lighting interestingly—light falls from above through a second, smaller dome with windows cut into it. The floor is paved with marble slabs. On the sides of the circular hall are alternating rectangular and semicircular niches, making the space appear more spacious.
Niches for mourning urns—keepers of ashes—were made inside the walls of the Pyramid. As early as January 1780, "marble statues, columns, bases, capitals, vases of excellent workmanship brought by water from Rome" were delivered to Tsarskoye Selo from St. Petersburg. The Pyramid was "filled with works of art... and even antique pieces themselves."
This type of pavilion, tracing back to ancient Egyptian funerary buildings and common in park architecture of the late 18th to early 19th centuries, was chosen because on the opposite side from the entrance, at the foot of the Pyramid, three of Catherine II's beloved dogs—Tom-Anderson, Zemira, and Duchesse—were buried.
The burial sites were previously marked with white marble plaques engraved with epitaphs.
For the dog Zemira, the French ambassador Count Louis-Philippe de Ségur composed the following text: "Here lies Zemira, and sorrowful graces must cast flowers upon her grave. Like Tom, her ancestor, like Lady, her mother, she was constant in her affections, swift in her run, and had only one fault—she was a little irritable, but her heart was kind. When you love, you fear everything, and Zemira loved the one whom the whole world loves, as she did. How can one be calm amid the rivalry of so many nations? The gods, witnesses of her tenderness, should have rewarded her loyalty with immortality so that she could remain inseparably by her mistress." For Duchesse, the epitaph was composed by Catherine II herself: "Under this stone lies Duchesse Anderson, who was bitten by the skillful Rodgerson."
According to legend, one foggy and damp evening during another walk, as Catherine approached the Pyramid closely, she heard a clear bark that could be mistaken for nothing else: it was her dogs barking. Stopping in amazement, Catherine saw three dog silhouettes near the Pyramid, wagging their tails joyfully and barking in greeting. Noticing that Catherine was watching them, they ran past their mistress and vanished without a trace into the mist.
It is said that even today, on gloomy evenings before the Pyramid, one can see small silhouettes of the dogs and hear their joyful barking before they run past the unexpected visitor and disappear into the cold twilight.
Now, there is no trace left of the columns and the dogs' tombstones by the pyramid, and the circular hall is empty and in poor condition.
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