In the area of Novaya Sylvia in Pavlovsky Park stands the Mausoleum of Paul I. This is not the emperor’s tomb. Paul I, like all members of the imperial family, is buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. In one of her letters, Empress Maria Feodorovna refers to it as a “Monument,” and in the contract with architect Carlo Domenico Visconti, she calls it a “Temple.” The modern name is “To the Benefactor-Spouse” or “Mausoleum of Paul I.”

Wishing to immortalize the memory of her late husband, the widowed Empress Maria Feodorovna commissioned several architects to design the monument. In 1805, she approved the design by architect Tom de Thomon, who based his work on the facade motif of the tomb monument of Sophia Dorothea, Maria Feodorovna’s mother, buried in Charlottenburg.

In the summer of 1805, the foundation of the Mausoleum was laid. Its construction was overseen by master stonemason Visconti. The memorial structure without a burial, or in other words, a false tomb (cenotaph), was sculpted by the famous Russian sculptor Ivan Petrovich Martos. In 1810, a solemn opening ceremony of the Mausoleum took place.

The Mausoleum “To the Benefactor-Spouse” is located deep within Pavlovsky Park, in a dense, difficult-to-access forest, on the edge of a ravine. It is designed in the form of a small Greek prostyle temple, with a four-columned portico. The Doric order columns, carved from red granite, contrast with the gray marble capitals. The walls of the Mausoleum are made of brick, faced with yellowish sandstone. The doorway is located in the center of the main facade. On the pediment above the doorway is an inscription in raised gilded letters – “To the Benefactor-Spouse.”

Additionally, on the southern pediment one can read: “To Paul I, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia. Born on September 20, 1754. Died on March 11, 1801.”

"And suddenly a deserted temple in the wilderness before me:

The path is overgrown, all around are gray bushes;

Among crimson lindens a thick oak darkens

And the funeral firs slumber"

This is how Zhukovsky conveys his impressions of the monument.

The Mausoleum is accessed through tall ornate iron doors, made according to Tom de Thomon’s sketches. Gilded funerary emblems—upside-down torches and urns of tears—adorn the door grille. The walls of the Mausoleum are clad in artificial white marble. At the bottom, it is accented by a tall panel of dark gray marble. The bas-relief depicts the figure of the “Allegory of History,” created by sculptor Jean-Baptiste Nageon.

On the southern wall, more precisely on the bas-relief in the center on a low pedestal, there is an image of an urn covered with drapery. The folds of the mourning cloth spread widely and fill the entire central bas-relief area. On either side of the urn are two figures of weeping cupids holding inverted torches. To their right is a globe, to their left a palette with brushes. The sculptural ensemble “Mourning Sciences and Arts” belongs to sculptor Joseph Camberlen. The sketches for both bas-reliefs were developed by architect Tom de Thomon.

One dramatic legend is associated with Paul’s Mausoleum in Pavlovsk. The chief architect of Pavlovsky Park, Andrey Nikiforovich Voronikhin, was involved in the construction of the Mausoleum by virtue of his position. And once, supposedly while at the construction site, the 54-year-old architect, full of creative energy, died. The circumstances of his death are unknown; some said he suffered a stroke, others claimed he committed suicide. But everyone emphasized that this tragedy occurred not just anywhere, but precisely in the Mausoleum.

The interior of the Mausoleum is executed in a distinctly ascetic manner. All attention is drawn to the monument. Here, against the backdrop of a dark red granite pyramid stands a sculptural composition of white marble. We see a kneeling woman in ancient attire, grieving as she leans over a funerary urn. The crown on her head is a sign of her status as a mourner. The sculpture is placed on a high pedestal and decorated with a bas-relief that allegorically depicts all of Paul I’s children as of the date of his death, March 11, 1801. The pedestal and pyramid are the work of stonemason Samson Sukhanov.

Sources:

http://www.pavlovskmuseum.ru/about/park/layout/39/1151/

https://tonkosti.ru/%D0%9F%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C-%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%BD%D1%8F

https://www.votpusk.ru/country/dostoprim_info.asp?ID=10127