Barclay de Tolly Mausoleum, Helme, Estonia

The Barclay de Tolly Mausoleum commemorates one of the most famous Russian commanders who fought Napoleon in 1812 and 1813 and who culminated his triumph with a march through Paris in March 1814. His family was partially of Scottish extraction but from the 17th century had lived in what is now Latvia and Lithuania. Following the Russian conquest of Finland in 1809, he was the first governor-general there until 1812.

Jõgeveste was the estate of his wife's family and his body was brought back there after his death in East Prussia in 1818. The mausoleum was completed in 1823 on the instructions of de Tolly's wife Eleanor von Smitten. She commissioned Apollon Shchedrin, a leading St Petersburg architect, to design it and its structure has remained intact since then, although the two coffins were opened during World War II. The exterior design suggests parallels to a Roman triumphal arch, the interior to a chapel with an altar recess where the bust of de Tolly is placed. The statue on the right is of Athena, the Greek goddess of war, and on the left the statue of a sitting woman represents the symbol of mourning. Outside are the tombs of de Tolly's son and daughter-in-law and a Soviet memorial to soldiers killed in the 1944 invasion of Estonia.

User Reviews

Irina Mazurika (5 months ago)
Very friendly guide, who knows a lot of history of commander's life. In Mausoleum it is possible to see coffins with remains of him an his wife

Jesper Bexkens (4 years ago)
Very quiet place, good memorial. Staff is friendly and extremely helpful. They can explain at great length the history of Barclay de Tolly.

Raivo Teeäär (4 years ago)
Elu kahe maailma piiril. The final resting place of the great Russian military leader.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)

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