Élisabeth Alexandrovna de Demidoff

Birth Name:
Baroness Elizaveta Alexandrovna Stroganova
Birth Date:
December 1, 1776
Birth Place:
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Death Date:
March 27, 1818
Place of Death:
Paris, France
Age:
41
Cause of Death:
Unkown
Cemetery Name:
Cimetière du Père Lachaise
Claim to Fame:
Historical Figure
Baroness Elizaveta Alexandrovna Stroganova was a Russian aristocrat of the Stroganov family. Married to Count Nikolai Nikitich Demidov, they had two children - Pavel (Paul) (1798–1840) and Anatoly (Anatole) (1812–1869). They were of completely different characters and often lived apart. She was beautiful, light and witty, and her husband more introspective, and so they soon grew bored with each other and they separated and she returned to live in Paris, where she died in 1818 and was buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery where she rests in the cemetery's largest mausoleum.

Fun Fact: Why is her tomb considered the most haunted of Père Lachaise?
According to legend, the Baroness did not want to be alone in her grave. She would die on April 8th, 1818, leaving a very strange will behind her. Her will allegedly read that, in order to inherit her fortune, a candidate should spend 365 days and 366 nights locked alone in her mausoleum.

Despite the unusual request, the fortune of Princess Demidoff was important enough to give it a try, and soon there were a few requests to attempt the quest! A few candidates agreed to be locked in the mausoleum, where they would be served food and be given a bucket that would be emptied daily for their own waste.

Not many survived the challenge for longer than a week, and they would usually be taken out after spending hours crying for help and knocking the doors, with a terrified look in their faces, often scratched and showing bruises.

The witnesses declared that they felt how life abandoned them in the mausoleum. The body of Princess Demidoff had been placed in the centre of the mausoleum in a coffin made of crystal, and the room was said to be covered in mirrors, with intricate symbols surrounding the area.

Some suggested that the Princess was a vampire, for her body didn’t show any signs of decomposition. Others that she was feeding on the energy of her visitors for when it was time to come back to life.

Be as it may, the mausoleum of Elisabeth Demidoff was locked by order of the city council after many incidents with those that attempted to inherit the fortune of the Princess, and her wealth remains unclaimed up to this day.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Cimetière du Père Lachaise

16 Rue du Repos, 6ème division, Chemin Lesseps

Paris, , 75020

France

Europe

Map:

Grave Location:

Division 19

Grave Location Description

The spectacular tomb of Élisabeth Alexandrovna de Demidoff, the largest tomb in all of Cimetière du Père Lachaise, is located in the middle of Division 19 which is bordered by Chemin du Dragon and Chemin des Chevres.

Grave Location GPS

48.859560, 2.395012

Visiting The Grave:

Photos:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

Read More About Élisabeth Alexandrovna de Demidoff:

Videos Featuring Élisabeth Alexandrovna de Demidoff:
The Mausoleum of Baroness Demidoff - A Portal of Nightmares
Nice tour of Pere Lachaise

See More:

James Monroe

popular name: James Monroe

date_of_death: July 4, 1831

age: 73

cause_of_death: Tuberculosis

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: James Monroe was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He oversaw major westward expansion of the U.S. and strengthened American foreign policy in 1823 with the Monroe Doctrine, a warning to European countries against further colonization and intervention in the Western Hemisphere.

Toots Shor

popular name: Toots Shor

date_of_death: January 23, 1977

age: 73

cause_of_death: Cancer

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: Until recently, Toots Shor was long forgotten by most –– now a whole new generation is discovering NYC’s legendary “saloon” thanks to Mad Men. The Mad Men design team even built a virtual Toots Shor set (where Don and Betty drank martinis and ate their famous Caesar Salad prepared at tableside) and sparked a renewed interest in the style of the period. The original was a bar/restaurant in NYC that thrived in the 40s and 50s –– a place where actors, writers, singers, journalists and sports figures came to play. In its heyday, it was the place to go, located at 51 w 51st Street from 1940 to 1959 (after that it moved around the corner to 52nd Street). The ringmaster was Toots Shor - one of New York's most famous restaurateurs and one of the country's foremost patrons of artists, actors, musicians and sports figures.

Anton Cermak

popular name: Anton Cermak

date_of_death: March 6, 1933

age: 59

cause_of_death: Ulcerative colitis, peritonitis and gunshot wounds

claim_to_fame: Historical Figure

best_know_for: Anton Cermak was the 44th mayor of Chicago who was shot while shaking hands with President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami, Florida after a day of fishing on February 15, 1933. Cermak was shot in the lung and wounded during Giuseppe Zangara's assassination attempt on President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt. One of the last things he said was "I'm glad it was me, instead of you".

Back to Top