In the Pere Lachaise cemetery, in the “alley of the Acacias”, a magnificent mausoleum lies. This monumental tomb, one of the largest in the cemetery, shelters the mortal coil of Countess Elisabeth Alexandrovna Demidoff, bord Stroganoff, who passed away, in that year 1818.
Her husband, who was owning copper, silver and gold mines in Russia, had this mausoleum built for her. However, shortly after the ladyn Russia, had this mausoleum built for her. spread : in her will, Comtess Demidoff would have written that a large part of her fortune (one million francs at the time) will be given to whoever will succeed in spending a whole year imprisoned within her tomb.
On the spot, some people tried their luck: one dies from a heart attack, another goes crazy given one manages to hold out for more than a few days. In the end, the Punehat year 1818. historian Philip Delorm argueicants to take the test. What happened in this tomb?
This mausoleum is full with weird symbols. Some are quite commun and are references to ancient times or a link to the family wealth and history, like a blacksmith hammer or the weasels that can evoke the underground of the mines However, how to explain for example those four wolvesuite commun and are references to ancient times or a link to points of the compass?
Also, in the center of the grave, a knot in marble reminds of the the magical knot. For the greek, it was known asthe “knot of Heracles” and was considered as a link between life and death.
We can also see symbols such as bats on the grave. Bats are not at all a Christian symbols and, around the grave, coincidence or not, they are quite used on many graves.
The countess died on the 8 April 1818. The repetition of the three number 8 can be also noticed. Just as 666 is the number of the beast, 888 is for some people the number of vampires.
The 8 is also the number of the initiation; life; dead; renaissance; the 9 being the initiates ' number. He symbolizes also the Oroboros, the snake biting himself as an everlasting return on oneself.
Walkers have also consistently uneases in front of this Mausoleum and do not stay a long time. They feel as "emptied" of their force, feeling to have makes a 100 meters while they were just walking Another point, the alley where the grave is built, “the alley of Acacias”. In symbolism the acacia stands for endurance of the soul, as funerary symbolism signifying resurrection and immortality. it is also a strong symbol in free-masonry. The last request for staying in the grave for one year was in 1984…The money still exists and is blocked in a notary office. However, it’s now forbidden by the Parisian authorities to take this challenge
Some legends may never die.