Élisabeth 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:
The Odd and the Interesting
Baroness Elizaveta Alexandrovna Stroganova was a Russian aristocrat of the Stroganov family. By birth she belonged to the highest nobility of the capital. Elizabeth's father was the owner of the Taman and Kynovsky factories and more than half a million acres of land. Her mother Elizaveta Alexandrovna Zagryazhskaya was a lady in waiting and a famous beauty of Catherine II's court. At age 17 she married Count Nikolai Nikitich Demidov and 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 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 (this is untrue).

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 (this is also not true).

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 (this is made up).

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 (again, completely false).

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 (a complete fabrication).

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Cimetière du Père Lachaise

16 Rue du Repos, 6ème division, Chemin Lesseps

Paris, , 75020

France

Europe

Map:

Map of Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris, France
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise in Paris, France

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 (the top level of her grave) and Chemin des Chevres (the bottom level of her grave).

Grave Location GPS

48.859560, 2.395012

Visiting The Grave:

Photos:

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

FAQ's

Élisabeth de Demidoff was born on December 1, 1776.

Élisabeth de Demidoff was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Élisabeth de Demidoff died on March 27, 1818.

Élisabeth de Demidoff died in Paris, France.

Élisabeth de Demidoff was 41.

The cause of death was Unkown.

Élisabeth de Demidoff's grave is in Cimetière du Père Lachaise

Read More About Élisabeth de Demidoff:

Videos Featuring Élisabeth de Demidoff:

Watch YouTube video titled The Mausoleum of Baroness Demidoff - A Portal of Nightmares
The Mausoleum of Baroness Demidoff - A Portal of Nightmares
Watch YouTube video titled Nice tour of Pere Lachaise
Nice tour of Pere Lachaise
Watch YouTube video titled Terrifying Ghost Footage Captured at Paris Cemetery!
Terrifying Ghost Footage Captured at Paris Cemetery!

See More:

Chang and Eng Bunker

popular name: Chang and Eng Bunker

date_of_death: January 17, 1874

age: 62

cause_of_death: Chang: cerebral blood clot/Eng: unknown

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Chang Bunker and Eng Bunker were Siamese-American conjoined twin brothers whose fame led to the term "Siamese twins" to become synonymous for conjoined twins in general. They were first pair of conjoined twins whose condition was well documented in medical records. Eng and Chang Bunker were connected at the chest by a five-inch-wide band of flesh, and performed as curiosities world-wide. After retiring from performing, they settled in Mount Airy, North Carolina, bought a farm, and took up farming. They became naturalized citizens, adopting the surname Bunker, and in April 1843 they married a pair of sisters, Adelaide and Sarah Yates. Chang Bunker died on January 17, 1874, from a cerebral blood clot and his brother Eng Bunker died three hours later.

Charles Atlas

popular name: Charles Atlas

date_of_death: December 24, 1972

age: 80

cause_of_death: Heart attack

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Charles Atlas was an Italian-born American bodybuilder best remembered as the developer of a bodybuilding method and its associated exercise program which spawned a landmark advertising campaign featuring his name and likeness; it has been described as one of the longest-lasting and most memorable ad campaigns of all time.

Elizabeth Glaser

popular name: Elizabeth Glaser

date_of_death: December 3, 1994

age: 47

cause_of_death: Complications from AIDS

claim_to_fame: The Odd and the Interesting

best_know_for: Elizabeth Glaser was an actress, educator, activist, author, and founder of the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Elizabeth Glaser. In fact, it was Elizabeth Glaser’s fight to save her HIV-positive children led to her creation of the Pediatric AIDS Foundation to save children worldwide from the devastation of AIDS. Shortly after her marriage to actor Paul Michael Glaser, while giving birth to Ariel, Elizabeth hemorrhaged and was transfused with seven pints of blood. It wasn't until four years later that Elizabeth found out that she had been infected with the AIDS virus through the blood transfusion, and passed it on through her breastmilk to Ariel, who later died at the age of seven years old. The couple also had a son, Jake, who was infected with the virus in utero. Upon the death of her daughter, Glaser raised awareness of pediatric AIDS and pushed to extend availability of the drug AZT to children. In 1988, Glaser founded the Pediatric AIDS Association. In 1992, she spoke at the Democratic National Convention, criticizing the government’s failure to address the AIDS crisis. Her 1991 book, In the Absence of Angels, was praised for its honest discussion of losing a child. Glaser lost her battle with AIDS in 1994.

Back to Top