Monument to the heroes of Plevna in Kitay-Gorod - the chapel from the inside. Monument-chapel to the heroes of Plevna Chapel to the heroes of Plevna

At the exit from the Kitay-Gorod metro station there is a famous 19th-century chapel dedicated to the Russian grenadiers who died in the battles for Plevna during the liberation of the Balkans. All around, in Ilyinsky Park, landscaping work is in full swing, and the chapel is covered in bird droppings, the paint applied a year ago has peeled off, and rust is visible from under it. The memorial inscriptions on the roof are falling off. Sculptures decorating the walls are corroded by fungus. Ceramic mosaics inside the chapel too.

"Now there are only alcoholics and gays hanging out here. Everything is falling into disrepair. For 10 years now we have been writing letters to the mayor's office asking them to restore the building. Our roof even leaks. The slabs at the base are crooked, wobbly, there are gaps between them. They often drink alcohol on them We throw out bottles and garbage, but the “bulls” that fall between the slabs are difficult to get,” complains Andrei Kuropatov, an activist from the Orthodox social movement “Sorok Sorokov”.

How did it happen that the monument to Russian military valor in the very center of Moscow ended up in such a state and who can save it?- in the material of RIA Novosti.

The Russians forgot how the Balkans were liberated

“In 1992, the chapel was transferred to the use of the Russian Orthodox Church, but at the same time remained on the balance sheet of Moscow. The church does not have the right to carry out restoration of the monument, only the mayor’s office,” says the head of the chapel, assistant to the rector, Archpriest Alexander Saltykov (also rector of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi. - Ed.) Natalya Stepanova.

Twice a year - on December 10 and March 3 - services are held in the chapel: on the day of the capture of Plevna by Russian troops and on the day of the end of the Russian-Turkish war, which liberated the Balkans from the Ottoman yoke.

“Every year, eminent guests come to our memorial service. For example, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the first man to walk in outer space. The Federation Council, State Duma, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs send their representatives here. The Bulgarian ambassador with a delegation, representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and bishops regularly come here The Russian Orthodox Church. We are simply ashamed in front of them that the shrine is in such a state,” complains Stepanova.

According to her, in Bulgaria March 3 is a national holiday, they remember that they gained independence thanks to Russia. The chapel was built for the 10th anniversary of the victory at Plevna at the expense of the grenadiers who wished to perpetuate the names of their comrades who died in battle.

“The monuments dedicated to this war in Bulgaria are now in excellent condition. We often reproach European countries for trampling on monuments associated with our common history. But at the same time, we ourselves forget about the monuments to our military glory,” says the head of the chapel.

Save before winter

Initially, the chapel was decorated with gilding, bronze, and silver, but now there is not even a hint of its former luxury left.

“Back in 1887, the monument was transferred to the jurisdiction of Moscow with instructions to maintain it in proper condition using city funds. It turns out that care was ordered,” notes Stepanova.

According to archival data, before the revolution there was a guardhouse next to the chapel. It, like the chapel itself, was designed by the architect Sherwood, the author of the building of the Historical Museum on Red Square. Now the bishop's vestments, along with brooms and shovels, are stored inside the chapel, on 13 square meters. The room is so crowded that the tables with the names of the dead grenadiers are not visible. The abbot's assistant had to move aside a massive candlestick and several boxes to show me at least one of them.

“We just need to restore the gatehouse, where we could store church equipment,” explains the elder.

This year, it is planned to celebrate a double anniversary in the chapel - 140 years since the capture of Plevna and 130 years since the opening of the monument. If the situation does not change, high-ranking guests risk seeing the chapel in a deplorable state.

“Before the restoration, all the windows were broken, the tiles inside were crumbling, there were mattresses on the floor on which homeless people slept. In 1998, the monument was restored. Unfortunately, over the past years, the chapel has again fallen into an unsatisfactory condition. Due to poor quality restoration, the roof has been leaking since the first days of its transfer The church monument is damaged due to leaks. On the outside of the chapel there are traces of corrosion and rust. All the high reliefs depicting episodes of the liberation war are dirty, and the drainage system is clogged," says Stepanova.

Another problem is that the electricity is out. The wires leading to the chapel were simply cut off - they are still hanging on the wall. And now all the wiring - as part of landscaping in the area - has been removed underground.

“Anniversaries are approaching, the monument urgently needs to be washed with special technical means and electricity supplied before frost sets in. We really hope that they will hear us,” says the head of the chapel.

© Photo: courtesy of the press service of the “Forty Forties” movement

© Photo: courtesy of the press service of the “Forty Forties” movement

No restoration planned

The Moscow City Heritage Agency clarified to RIA Novosti that the monument to the heroes of Plevna was accepted under state protection in 1960.

“The technical condition of the monument is satisfactory, the expositional condition is unsatisfactory. According to information received routinely, work to repair the monument is planned by the Department of Capital Repairs of the city of Moscow as part of the improvement of the square in 2017,” says the document provided by the Moscow City Heritage.

As a representative of the press service of the Moscow City Heritage explained, “technically the chapel is not dangerous, it is not collapsing, but its appearance is not the best - there are external chips and other damage.” The organization also clarified that there are no plans for conservation or restoration of the monument.

It's not enough to just paint

Experts are perplexed. According to architect Nikolai Avvakumov, the current painting of the monument is a strange decision. “Before the restoration, the chapel was cast iron in color. I don’t know exactly what the original plan was, but it looked better in a dark color. During the restoration in 1998, it was completely dismantled and then reassembled. Many considered such intervention unjustified, because usually this they make changes that do not correspond to the author’s plan. In addition, after such work, buildings often begin to quickly collapse,” explains the architect.

According to him, when the chapel was opened when it was handed over to the Church, the ceramics inside seemed to have been shot or broken with sharp objects. “After the restoration, all the holes were covered with some kind of compound. And the ceramic icons were “painted” on top with oil paint. Because of this, there was a feeling of something unreal,” says Avvakumov.

And all the stones that can be seen in pre-revolutionary photographs have disappeared somewhere. They were once brought from Bulgaria to create a sense of the landscape of the places where the battles took place.

"This is, of course, a unique object. As an Orthodox church, it is also interesting because of the presence of sculptures. It would be nice to restore everything. Now is the anniversary year, but it turns out that all this was thrown away somewhere. Everything is so rusty that just painting is not enough - we must first remove the rust get rid of it. Of course, such objects require constant care. As soon as something is wrong, it is necessary to eliminate it immediately. After all, our climate is harsh for the preservation of such rare buildings,” Avvakumov is convinced.

"Bad place"

From the chapel, Andrei Kuropatov and I walked along Ilyinsky Square to the monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius. At the base of the monument there is a window with a lamp, but there is no fire in it.

“Previously, every year at Easter, the Holy Fire was brought here from Jerusalem and the flame was kept alive for all 12 months. But, apparently, the place here is somehow not good, and the contingent that gathers in the park... In general, the Holy Fire has not burned here for the last two years ", summed up the Orthodox activist.

Moscow, Lubyansky proezd, metro: “Kitai-Gorod”.

In Soviet times, the chapel on Ilyinsky Square seemed like an incomprehensible monument to a long-gone past, which by some miracle remained standing between the buildings of the central committees of the party and the Komsomol. It’s unlikely that anyone remembered the wonderful words spoken on the day of its opening by Lieutenant Colonel I. Ya. Sokol: “Let this monument, erected by grateful grenadiers to their fallen comrades, remind future generations, from year to year, from century to century, how they know how to stand for honor and glory of the Motherland to her faithful sons, when they are inspired by the holy Orthodox faith, boundless love for the Tsar and the Fatherland.”

The chapel-monument to the grenadiers who fell in the battle near Plevna was built on the initiative and voluntary donations of the surviving grenadiers who took part in the Battle of Plevna. The construction of the monument was supported by the entire Russian society, which perceived the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878 as its sacred duty to protect fraternal peoples of the same faith. The opening of the Plevna Chapel took place on November 27, 1887, on the day of the tenth anniversary of the heroic battle of Plevna. The author of the project was the famous academician of architecture V. O. Sherwood. Inside, the chapel was decorated with rich ceramic decor, completely covering all surfaces. At the main images - Saints Alexander Nevsky, Saint George the Victorious and Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker - unquenchable lamps burned.

The surviving evidence brings to us the exciting moments of this truly national, pan-Slavic celebration. Before the consecration of the chapel, a military parade took place, in which 12 battalions of various military branches and 4 squadrons of the Moscow garrison took part. The parade was hosted by Field Marshal Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (senior), Commander-in-Chief of the Danube Army. The celebrations were attended by the Moscow Governor General, Prince V. A. Dolgorukov, the full City Duma, and representatives of the Moscow military class. The entire area around the chapel from the side of the streets and the square was filled with many people. At the time of consecration, the greatest Moscow shrine - the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God - was brought to the Plevna Chapel with a procession of the cross. The water-blessing prayer service was led by Metropolitan Ioannikis of Moscow, who, co-served by the priests of all the grenadier regiments and with the singing of the Synodal Choir, performed the rite of consecration. During the proclamation of “Eternal Memory” to the fallen soldiers - liberators of Bulgaria, the names of Emperor Alexander II - the liberator and Duke Sergei Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg, who died near Plevna - were remembered. In conclusion, the act of transferring the memorial chapel to the city of Moscow for eternity was announced with a will to always preserve the memory of the fallen soldiers and perform their church commemoration on the day of the battle, November 28.

Muscovites always solemnly celebrated the day of remembrance of the fallen grenadiers commanded to them. But the revolutionary hard times that came swept away much of what was dear to us. The chapel was closed and destroyed. They repeatedly tried to destroy it by order of the Central Committee, but it miraculously survived, reminding us with its disfigured appearance of the atrocities to which the Russian Church was subjected. The maddened barbarians made a toilet in it. Apparently, the desecration of the large crucifix that was in the chapel, which has now been transferred to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kadashi, dates back to this time. Someone’s intrepid hand in blind malice clawed out Christ’s eyes. Now this Cross reminds us not only of the suffering of the Savior, but also of those terrible times of persecution of the Church, which we so quickly forget.

The chapel stood in a disfigured state until the mid-1940s, when, in circumstances of mortal danger, the state turned to the Church for support. By the end of the war, it was put in order, the cross was restored and the inscriptions were gilded. But without services, the chapel quickly collapsed. At the end of the 1950s, it was completely covered with a preservative composition and acquired the appearance of a black cast-iron monument so familiar to Muscovites.

On March 3, 1990, on the day of the Independence of Bulgaria, Metropolitan Juvenaly, co-served by the clergy of the Bulgarian courtyard in Moscow, celebrated a memorial service for the slain soldiers who died for the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke. We must pay tribute, the Bulgarians, feeling gratitude to the Russian people, annually laid wreaths at the monument on the day of the Battle of Plevna.

For a long time the chapel remained not returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. The initiator of the transfer was the Society of Zealots of Orthodox Culture. In December 1992, the chapel was finally transferred to the Church and assigned to the St. Nicholas Church. There are some surprising coincidences to note here. For a long time, the rector of the Nikolo-Kuznetsk Church was the deeply revered Archpriest Vsevolod Shpiller, who was in exile in Bulgaria before returning to Russia. On the day of the liberation of Plevna, December 10, the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” is celebrated and the memory of the blessed Prince Vsevolod-Gabriel, whose name the rector bore, is celebrated.

All these signs gave strength to a small group of enthusiasts led by the chairman of the Society of Zealots of Orthodox Culture, Professor D.I. Zarudny, who sought the transfer of the chapel to the Church, and then the revival of its beauty and significance in the spiritual life of the capital. With the blessing of Patriarch Alexy, a Board of Trustees was created for the restoration of the chapel-monument, which was headed by Archpriest Alexander Saltykov, confessor of the Society of Zealots of Orthodox Culture. Since 1993, the Society’s first priority has been the resumption of regular services in the chapel on days of remembrance of soldiers who “laid their lives for the Church and Fatherland.”

1998 became a significant year in the life of the chapel - the year of the 120th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria and the signing of the San Stefano Peace Treaty. On March 1, Forgiveness Sunday, the consecration and opening of the memorial chapel took place in the presence of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. On the third of March, on the day of the national holiday of the Bulgarian people - Independence Day - a solemn commemoration of the soldiers by the clergy of the Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches took place at the newly consecrated chapel. The Bulgarian Embassy, ​​representatives of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Moscow government, officers of the Moscow Military District, military academies, and the general public took part in the celebrations of both days. Wreaths were laid from the Ministry of Defense and the Bulgarian Embassy.

On the 121st anniversary of the Battle of Plevna, on December 10, 1998, the traditional Moscow commemoration of the grenadiers took place at the restored chapel sparkling with a golden cross. In front of military personnel of various military branches lined up in a square, representatives of the Bulgarian embassy and generals in ceremonial formation to the sounds of a military orchestra, a company of honor guard passed, paying signs of honor to the fallen grenadiers, wreaths were laid from the Bulgarian embassy and the Moscow Military District. Following this, a funeral service was held. There were wonderful words imbued with the spirit of unity and grateful memory to the fallen grenadiers, which were spoken by Bishop Alexy of Orekhovo-Zuevsky, Ambassador of Bulgaria Vasil Takiev, representatives of the Moscow government, the Ministry of Defense and public organizations.

In December 1999, taking into account the significance and role of the monument in the revival of the traditions of the Orthodox military, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II took direct charge of the great military shrine, establishing the Patriarchal Compound at the Chapel-Monument to the Grenadiers.

In a difficult time for fraternal Yugoslavia (1999), when NATO planes bombed cities and villages, destroying not only the country’s infrastructure, but also ancient Orthodox shrines, weekly prayers and memorial services were held in the Grenadier Chapel with the participation of many people for the innocent victims.

Nowadays, it has become a good tradition to regularly perform funeral services at this holy place. For a number of years, memorial services have been held at the Chapel in a solemn atmosphere for the Russian grenadier soldiers who died in the battles near Plevna for the liberation of the fraternal Balkan peoples from the yoke of the Ottoman Empire.

The chapel-monument to the grenadiers was built on the initiative and voluntary donations of the surviving grenadiers who took part in the Battle of Plevna. The opening of the Plevna Chapel took place on November 27, 1887, on the day of the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Plevna. The opening was marked by a parade of units of the Grenadier Corps, received by Field Marshal General Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (senior). City Mayor N.A. Alekseev was presented with an act of transfer of the monument-chapel to Moscow.

Lieutenant Colonel I.Ya. Falcon: “Let this monument, erected by grateful grenadiers to their fallen comrades, remind future generations, from year to year, from century to century, how its faithful sons know how to stand for the honor and glory of the Motherland, when they are inspired by the holy Orthodox faith, boundless love to the Tsar and the Fatherland."

Initially, they wanted to install the monument at the site of the battle near Plevna, but Muscovites, seeing the monument in disassembled form in the summer of 1887 in Neskuchny Garden, demanded that it be left in the capital.

The author of the project was the famous academician of architecture V.O. Sherwood. The cast-iron octagonal tent-chapel on a low pedestal is crowned with an Orthodox cross. The parts cast from cast iron were assembled and mounted with perfect precision - not a single seam was visible on the surface. The side faces of the monument are decorated with 4 high reliefs: a Russian peasant blessing his grenadier son before a campaign; a Janissary with a dagger, snatching a child from the hands of a Bulgarian mother; a grenadier taking a Turkish soldier prisoner; a wounded Russian warrior, with his last effort, tearing off the chains from the woman who personifies Bulgaria. On the edges of the tent there are inscriptions: “Grenadiers to their comrades who fell in the glorious battle near Plevna on November 28, 1877,” “In memory of the war with Turkey of 1877-78” and a list of the main battles: Plevna, Kars, Aladzha, Hadji Vali. In front of the monument there are cast-iron pedestals with the inscription “In favor of the crippled grenadiers and their families,” on which there were mugs for donations. The interior of the chapel, decorated with polychrome tiles, contained picturesque images of Alexander Nevsky, John the Warrior, Nicholas the Wonderworker, Cyril and Methodius, and bronze plates with the names of the fallen grenadiers: 18 officers and 542 soldiers.

After 1917, most of the interior decoration, decorations and bronze plates with the names of the dead grenadiers were lost, the chapel was closed and destroyed. A toilet was installed in it. The chapel stood disfigured until the end of the century. 1940s, by the end of the war it was put in order, the cross was restored and the inscriptions were gilded. But without services, the chapel quickly collapsed. In the end 1950s it was completely covered with a preservative composition and took on the appearance of a black cast-iron monument.

On March 3, 1990, on the day of the Independence Day of Bulgaria, Metropolitan Juvenaly, co-served by the clergy of the Bulgarian courtyard in Moscow, celebrated a memorial service for the soldiers who died for the liberation of Bulgaria. In December 1992, the chapel was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church and assigned to the Nikolo-Kuznetsky Church. On March 1, 1998, to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria and the signing of the San Stefano Peace Treaty, the consecration and opening of the memorial chapel took place in the presence of Patriarch Alexy II. In December 1999, the Patriarch took direct control of the military shrine, establishing the Patriarchal Compound at the chapel-monument to the grenadiers. Currently, funeral services are regularly held at this place.

Object of cultural heritage of federal significance.

Monument to the heroes of Plevna - and the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”, a unique structure on one of the squares in the center of Moscow, combining the features of the monument and church architecture. It is a cast-iron octagonal tent on a low pedestal, topped with a small dome with a cross.

The memorial chapel was erected in memory of the grenadiers who died in the battle of Plevna (Bulgaria) during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Funds for the construction of the monument were collected by the surviving grenadiers with the support of the Moscow Archaeological Society. The construction was led by the famous Moscow architect and sculptor, author of the project for the Historical Museum on Kremlin Square, Vladimir Sherwood.

The monument was inaugurated on the tenth anniversary of the battle - December 11 (November 28), 1887. In honor of this event, a parade of units of the Grenadier Corps was organized, which was hosted by Field Marshal General, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder.

During the Soviet period, the chapel was looted and closed, most of the interior decoration was lost, and a public toilet was built inside. After the war they began to put it in order. At the end of the 1950s, the monument was covered with protective black paint. In December 1992, the chapel was transferred to the Church. In 1998, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria, the solemn consecration and opening of the restored monument took place in the presence of Patriarch Alexy II and representatives of the Bulgarian embassy.

Interesting facts about the Monument to the Heroes of Plevna

• The temple is decorated with four high reliefs: 1) a Russian peasant blessing his grenadier son before the war; 2) a Turkish warrior takes away her child from a Bulgarian mother; 3) a grenadier takes a Turkish soldier prisoner; 4) a dying Russian warrior breaks the chains from a woman who symbolizes Bulgaria, liberated by the Russians from the Turkish yoke.
• Inside the chapel, bronze plates were installed with the names of the fallen grenadiers - 18 officers and 542 soldiers. They were lost during the Soviet period.

The monument was erected in 1888. This is a tribute to the memory of the grenadiers who died in one of the most fierce battles that took place during the Russian-Turkish War.

Battles near Plevna

One of the important episodes of the Russian-Turkish War is the siege of Plevna. Turkish troops fortified themselves in this city in 1877 and stubbornly held the defense, as a result of which the advance of the Russian army was delayed. July 20 is the date of the first assault.

On July 19, Turkish and Russian batteries fired at each other for four hours. Nevertheless, the Russian army moved on to a decisive assault the very next day. About 2,000 Turks died in the battle. Losses for the Russian army were more significant. Despite this, the military command began preparing the next assault, which took place on July 30. At the end of the day the order to retreat was given. About three thousand Russian soldiers died in this battle.

The idea of ​​​​creating a monument to the heroes of Plevna

In 1878, an event occurred that ended the Russian-Turkish War. Namely, the conclusion of a peace treaty, which in history was called the Peace of San Stefano. After this event, Russian military leaders came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a monument to the heroes of Plevna in Moscow.

One of the initiators was General Ivan Ganetsky. The authorities took this event quite seriously, and therefore even convened a special commission, which was supposed to control the collection of money for the future monument, as well as select the appropriate project.

Project

In 1878, about 27,000 rubles were collected. By that time, the commission had developed a competition program for drawing up the project. At least 10 artists took part in it. At the first consideration, the commission members gave preference to the project of the architect Walberg. However, it was later decided that none of the proposed projects corresponded to the greatness of the event, which would be immortalized in the future monument.

Then the historian and archaeologist Ivan Zabelin proposed entrusting the creation of the project to V. O. Sherwood. This architect at one time made a significant contribution to the appearance of the capital. Thus, V. O. Sherwood is the author of the project according to which the building of the Imperial Historical Museum was erected.

Opening of the monument

Where is the monument to the heroes of Plevna? Every Moscow resident knows how to get to Ilyinsky Square, where it is located. The monument is located very close to one of the exits from the Kitay-Gorod metro station. But few have been inside this chapel, much less know about the history of its origin.

The opening of the monument to the heroes of Plevna took place in 1887. It was accompanied by a festive parade, in which units of the Grenadier Corps participated. For almost 30 years, this monument has delighted Muscovites and awakened bright patriotic feelings in them. Everything changed in 1917.

Chapel in the 20th century

The monument to the heroes of Plevna was destroyed after the revolution. At the end of the twenties, it was included in the list of buildings intended for demolition. Some government officials even put forward the idea of ​​erecting a monument to the revolutionary Kuibyshev on the site of the monument. Fortunately, such plans were not implemented.

The temple-monument to the heroes of Plevna was in a deplorable state for about twenty years. It was put in order only after the end of the war. At the end of the forties, the inscription was gilded and the cross was restored.

In 1957, a fence was erected, which was lost in the early twenties. Such actions to restore the monument were carried out in honor of the Festival of Youth and Students. After all, the chapel is located in the very heart of the capital, and therefore its importance in the overall appearance of Moscow could be underestimated only by the revolutionaries of the first wave, among whom, as is known, people who preferred to destroy rather than build prevailed.

Restoration work

The outside of the chapel was coated twice with a special anti-corrosion solution. The first time was in 1959. The second - 11 years later. That is why during the Soviet years the monument had a gloomy black color.

In the mid-eighties, the Moscow City Council decided to completely restore the monument-chapel. But such processes in Soviet times, and especially during perestroika, proceeded rather sluggishly. For several years, the appearance of the historical landmark has changed little.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the chapel was handed over to the Orthodox Churches. Its interior decoration was, of course, not restored immediately, but only in the late nineties. In 1998, the anniversary of the signing of the San Stefano Treaty was celebrated. On March 1, the chapel was opened. Patriarch Alexy II was present at this solemn event.

Artistic Features

The appearance of the monument was quite unusual even against the backdrop of 19th century Moscow. Outwardly, it resembles a small temple of the sixteenth century. The base has an octagonal shape. Materials such as cast iron and granite were used to create the chapel.

The octagonal tent, topped with a crown, reminiscent of Monomakh's cap, tapers towards the top. At the very top there is an eight-pointed cross.

The first years of its existence, the monument was multi-colored on the outside. The heads, kokoshnik, and cross are gilded. Paint imitating gilding was also applied to the tent and doors. The high relief was covered with copper. It is worth noting that the parts are assembled perfectly: not a single seam is visible on the surface of the chapel.

The monument is decorated with high reliefs located on the side faces. They depict rather tragic scenes. So, on one of the high reliefs you can see a cruel Janissary who snatches a child from the hands of his mother. The other depicts a Russian peasant. The old man blesses his grenadier son and probably gives parting words to fight on the battlefield for life and death.

The third high relief depicts a grenadier taking a Turkish warrior prisoner. The fourth scene shows a Russian soldier freeing a Bulgarian woman. It is worth saying that the monument discussed in this article, according to one version, should have been erected not far from Plevna. However, Russian-Bulgarian relations suddenly deteriorated, and therefore they decided to leave the chapel in Moscow.

On the monument you can also see solemn inscriptions dedicated to the soldiers who died in the glorious battle. Quotations from the New Testament are engraved on the western and eastern edges. At the end of the 19th century, in front of the entrance to the chapel there were stands with mugs for donation. The money collected went to the soldiers who lost their health during the siege of Plevna, and to the orphans of the grenadiers.