Obelisk of the Broglie Brothers

In 1827, an obelisk was erected on the Levkaty Rock in Monrepo in memory of the brothers of Pavel Andreevich's wife — Auguste and Karl de Broglie (de Broglie), who died in the Patriotic War of 1812. They served in the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky Guards Regiments. The obelisk fit harmoniously into the surrounding landscape and became one of the symbols of the park. Pavel Nikolai's wife was named Alexandrina-Simplicia de Broglie. She had three brothers. Two of them laid down their lives for their second homeland (Russia) while still very young. By military rank, they were lieutenants and simply did not have time to rise to high ranks. Therefore, there are no portraits of the de Broglie brothers in the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace, but for us, they are still heroes. The eldest brother, Prince Auguste-César de Broglie, died at Austerlitz; the youngest brother, Prince Charles-François de Broglie, died at Kulm. The middle brother, Prince Alphonse-Gabriel-Octave de Broglie, or, as he was called in Russia, Gavriil Evstafievich de Broglie (or Broglio-Revel), lived a fairly long life, returned to his historical homeland after the restoration of the monarchy, and died there. He was also a participant in the Napoleonic Wars, fought at Austerlitz, was wounded by a bullet in the leg at Friedland, participated in battles at Borodino, Tarutino, and Maloyaroslavets, as well as at Lutzen, Bautzen, Kulm, Leipzig, and Paris. For his displayed valor, he was awarded the Order of St. George 4th class and a gold sword for bravery. He was discharged from service with his uniform at the rank of colonel in 1816 and immediately left for France with his mother. The branch of the de Broglie princes continues in France to this day.

Let us return to Vyborg. The monument in Monrepo Park was made of gray-green marble in the form of an obelisk on a pedestal with a two-tiered socle, designed by the English architect Charles Heathcote Tatham in the workshop of the Swedish sculptor Erik Göthe and installed in Monrepo in July 1827. Marble plates with Latin inscriptions were once inserted into the niches of the pedestal: on the north and south sides, inscriptions were dedicated to Alexander I and the installation of the obelisk by Pavel Nikolai; on the east and west sides — to the de Broglie brothers. The inscriptions use the Latinized spelling of their names: Auguste and Karl Broglio (Broglio). Therefore, the monument is called the "Obelisk of the Broglio Brothers." Unfortunately, the eastern plate dedicated to Auguste-César de Broglie has been lost. According to the canons of landscape gardening art, the obelisk is a form of materialized memory, free from cemetery mood and excessive solemnity. It is a more natural silhouette that blends with nature. If we recall that the Temple of Amour, dedicated to Love, once stood on Levkaty Rock in Monrepo, then in the change of structures one can notice a certain continuity: the Broglio obelisk expresses both the grateful memory of descendants, their mutual respect, Pavel Nikolai’s love for his wife and her family, and their all-encompassing love for people and the Motherland.

Researchers report that in Russia the surname Broglie is often known by another pronunciation: Broglio, Brolio, Broli. The first emigrants from this ancient Franco-Italian aristocratic family appeared in Russia at the end of the 18th century, when the fires of the Great French Revolution blazed in France. At that time, many French nobles left their homeland and found refuge at European courts. Alexandrina’s grandfather, the last marshal of pre-revolutionary France, Duke Victor-François de Broglie, after several attempts to pacify the rebellious citizens of Paris, left the country, accompanied the brother of King Louis XVI, Count d’Artois, in exile, served with a detachment of emigrants in England, and then in 1798 ended up in Russia. Here he soon retired and moved to Westphalia. Alexandrina Nikolai’s father, August-Joseph de Broglie, died before the family arrived in Russia; according to some sources, he was executed by revolutionaries. Alexandrina’s mother, Françoise de Broglie, upon arriving in Russia, developed friendly relations with the family of Ludwig Heinrich Nikolai. Together with her daughter Alexandrina, the princess was a frequent guest of the Nikolai family in Saint Petersburg. They also came to Monrepo for the summer. It is very likely that Alexandrina’s brothers also visited Monrepo. According to Pavel Nikolai, Alexandrina was beloved by all. Pavel and Alexandrina’s wedding took place in January 1811 in Monrepo. For their descendants, the de Broglies became close relatives.

Alphonse-Octave and Charles-François (Alexandrina’s brothers) were educated in Saint Petersburg at the Landed Nobility Corps. Faddey Venediktovich Bulgarin, a future writer and journalist who studied there and was friendly with Charles de Broglie, wrote in his "Memoirs" that "they were all excellent people, with intelligence, soul, and talents. Interacting with these excellent young men had a strong influence on me." The eldest of the de Broglie brothers, Auguste, who was already commissioned as a lieutenant in the Preobrazhensky Regiment in 1798, continued attending classes in cartography and Russian language at the corps.

According to Matvey Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol, a Decembrist who served alongside the younger de Broglie brothers in the Semyonovsky Regiment, all the sons of the emigrants were fluent in Russian and were respected among soldiers and officers. One can say not only respected but also inspired feelings of friendship, strong attachment, and love among their comrades-in-arms. For example, Alexander Vasilyevich Chicherin, who served with Broglio in the Semyonovsky Regiment (and died of a wound in Prague a few days after the Battle of Kulm), wrote in his diary about Charles-François: "I love Broglio as much as I respect him, and I cannot resist the pleasure of talking with him for hours every time we meet." Probably, education, kindness, and excellent human qualities were characteristic of all members of the de Broglie (Broglio) family.

The scientific archive of GIAPMZ contains documents that convey the warmth of relationships and the concerns of relatives. In correspondence from the Nikolai family, Françoise de Broglie (mother of our heroes and wife of Pavel Nikolai) is called the "Princess of Revel" (Revel is the French form of the name of the Italian city Revello, from where the family originated; therefore, in sources the full surname de Broglio-Revel is found, with the stress on the last syllable). The Nikolais deeply sympathize with her grief — the death of her eldest son Auguste at Austerlitz in 1805. He was only 22 years old. Here is what Pavel Nikolai’s parents wrote:

"…You can hardly imagine the state of the Princess of Revel. She lost her Auguste, her eldest son, at Austerlitz. She still thinks that he, like many who were considered dead, will return, and upon confirmation of the sad news, her grief became as strong as at the first moment. Moreover, news came of her father’s death, which was hidden from her due to her weakness. Her daughter looks like a little angel. Karl, trying to comfort his mother, said to her in particular: ‘Is it not better that we lost our Auguste, and not our emperor, who was exposed to the same danger?’ We will bring the princess to Monrepo together with her daughter as soon as possible…". What sincerity and incredible patriotism!

The death of the second brother, Karl (Charles-François), at the Battle of Kulm (1813) is recounted by the aforementioned Decembrist Matvey Ivanovich Muravyov-Apostol, who served in the company commanded by the middle Broglio, Alphonse Gabriel-Octave:

"…Upon learning of his brother’s death, Prince Broglio locked himself in his tent. On the morning of August 18, comrades came to visit him and saw the prince sleeping in the tent beside his dead brother. At night, tormented by the thought that his brother’s body was left to be devoured by beasts, Prince Broglio went to search for his dead brother. Even he did not understand how he could find him: the nights in the last days of August were dark, and our battalions during the Kulm battle charged several times with bayonets…". Six months later, in March 1814, Muravyov-Apostol and the middle Broglio entered Paris together. Members of the Broglio family enjoyed authority in all the states where they lived and served; they held high posts everywhere, were overt and covert ministers, distinguished themselves in the military field, and some representatives of the family left their mark in science. For example, Louis de Broglie (1892–1987) received the Nobel Prize in 1929 for discovering the wave nature of electrons. At the award ceremony, it was noted that de Broglie’s brilliant discovery, developing the ideas of Einstein and Bohr, eliminated the boundary in minds between the world of light (waves) and matter (particles). Perhaps he is the most famous person among the de Broglies. In practice, the discovery of electron-related waves later led to the creation of the electron microscope. Waves associated with material particles are now called de Broglie waves. Physicist Louis de Broglie is a second cousin twice removed of "our" Broglio-Broglie brothers and sister.

Visitors to Monrepo Park often wonder whether another well-known Broglio in Russia — Silveriy Frantsevich Broglio, a lyceum classmate of Pushkin — is related to "our" Broglio-Broglies. It can be said that he is. But very, very, very distantly. According to genealogical data, Silveriy is the great-great-grandson of Mario Felice, Count di Casalborgone, the sixth cousin (!) of General François-Marie, Count de Broglie. François de Broglie (1671–1745) was the great-grandfather of our heroes. So, there is some "degree of kinship" between them and Silveriy, but no one is likely to determine it precisely.

Such amazing stories are invisibly written in letters on the stones of the modest obelisk of the Broglio brothers in Vyborg’s Monrepo Park. Those who can read — let them read; those who can listen — let them hear.

Sources:

https://aalto.vbgcity.ru/node/492

neue-semljaki.de/our-people/life-of-famous-people/277-nikolai-family-owners-of-monrepo.html