Where are the keys to Berlin kept?

Many have heard that the keys to Berlin are kept in Russia. And many are rightly proud of this fact.

If you read books or ask a question on the Internet about the keys to Berlin, you can get a lot of interesting information right off the bat.

Well, firstly, as they rightly write everywhere, the keys to the German capital were handed over to Russian generals in 1760 after our troops took Berlin.

Secondly, there you can also find out that these keys were transferred for eternal storage to the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Sometimes they specify that they are stored next to the grave of Kutuzov. At the same time, a photo is attached, in which some keys are really visible behind the grave of the great commander.

Also, many historians write that when Hitler wanted to capture Leningrad in 1941, his goal (including) was the keys to the capital of Germany.

There are also stories that during the storming of Berlin in 1945, some participants were given symbolic keys to Berlin. Which were an exact copy of those that were kept in the Kazan Cathedral. There is also a version that these copies of the keys were even dropped from a plane over our troops. Apparently everyone gets it.

Reading all this, it is difficult not to feel proud of our Motherland, but there is one significant but.

If you come to this cathedral, you will not find the keys there. More precisely, the keys to several cities taken by our army are really stored there. But not from Berlin.

Of course, not everyone can afford to go to the Kazan Cathedral and look, but I don’t offer anyone to take my word for it. But since not only I, but also many others could not find the keys to Berlin, not only near the grave of Kutuzov, but also in other parts of the cathedral, I sent a request. Directly to the Kazan Cathedral, the correct and full name of which is the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

Here is what they answered me:

“I answer for sure that there are no keys to Berlin in the Kazan Cathedral!

There are keys to Lübeck, Mons, Nancy, Gertrudenberg, Bremen and the fortresses of Avena. In addition, boards have been preserved in the cathedral, where the keys to the years were previously placed. Hamburg, Danzing, Utrech, Reims, Aachen, Namur, Kassel, Dresden, Cologne, Leipzig and the fortresses of Königsfen, Modlin, Czestochowa, Breda, Marsal and Thorn.

In preparation for the 50th Anniversary in 1862, the Museum of the First Patriotic War of 1812 was created in Moscow and the bulk of military relics went there.

arch. Mikhail Shastin.

Suddenly. Then a quite reasonable question arises: were there any keys to Berlin at all? And if they were, where are they?

I hasten to reassure, there were keys and the glory of Russian weapons cannot be overshadowed by anything.

This story is quite interesting, perhaps, I will state it in detail.

It happened during the Seven Years’ War. The Prussian king Frederick II called it “the war of three women.” Because he had to fight with Austria, which was ruled by Empress Maria Theresa, with Russia, where Empress Elizabeth was on the throne, and with France, where the royal mistress Madame Pompadour ruled everything. Friedrich did not respect the Austrian army, and their Saxon allies not only surrounded and captured everyone in the first battle, but also forced them to fight in his army. The French army, which, although it was then considered the best in Europe, was also treated with contempt and easily defeated it. The Russian army, Friedrich, at first perceived as barbarians, with whom it was unworthy to fight. That is why he did not personally command military operations against the Russians, entrusting this to his field marshals.

But as the war progressed, the king’s opinion changed more and more. Suffice it to say that when, a few years after the end of the Seven Years’ War, the Russian commander Pyotr Alekseevich Rumyantsev arrived in Berlin on business, on the orders of Frederick, the entire general staff of the Prussian army, led by the monarch, came to his apartment with hats in their hands. To pay my respects to the outstanding Russian military commander. Still would. Everyone who had to fight with the Russian army and suffered defeat from it (and there were no others) and who were lucky to survive after that, begin to respect our army.

King Frederick had more than serious reasons. First, the Russian army occupied East Prussia. And not just occupied, but annexed to Russia and forced all the inhabitants, including the great philosopher Emanuel Kant, to take an oath of allegiance. So East Prussia has been ours since the 18th century, and there is nothing strange in the fact that the Kaliningrad University is named after the Russian subject Emmanuel Kant.

Then the Russian army utterly defeated the Prussians at Gross-Jegersdorf, however, Frederick himself was not there. After that, Frederick personally led the army against the Russians, and gave the battle of Zornsdorf. There were no winners, the battle itself ended only because both sides, due to huge losses, were unable to continue it. Friedrich, after the battle, said the historical phrase: “These people are easier to kill than to defeat!”

And in the battle of Kunersdorf, the Prussian army under the command of Friedrich was utterly defeated. The king himself was almost taken prisoner, and his hat was brought to General-in-Chief Pyotr Semenovich Saltykov as a trophy. Only the inconsistency of the allies and political motives did not allow then to take Berlin and end the war.

However, Berlin still took. A year after the Battle of Kunersdorf, in 1760, a Russian detachment under the command of General Gottlob Kurt Heinrich von Totleben approached Berlin and tried to take it by storm. The assault was repulsed. A detachment of General Chernyshev came to the aid of Totleben, and a detachment of General Panin also hurried to Berlin. The Prussian troops garrisoned in the capital did not want to put the city at risk, realizing that in the event of an assault, little would remain of the city. The city was surrendered, the garrison was first released, as some say, because of a good “gift” from the Germans to Totleben. However, Chernyshev, a man of temper and implacable temper (all like his father), ordered the Germans to catch up. So not everyone left.

The Austrians who came along with the Russian troops under the command of General Lassi tried to rob the city, but Russian soldiers prevented them from doing so. What, apparently, the inhabitants of Berlin have not forgotten.

There was no point in holding the city in that situation in the theater of operations, so a few days later the Russian and Austrian troops left Berlin.

Generals Chernyshev and Panin were promoted and received orders, but General Totleben, although he was presented for awards, for some reason did not receive them. Maybe he really stole? Nevertheless, the regiments that entered Berlin (nine infantry and two cavalry) received silver trumpets “for the capture of Berlin on September 28, 1760.”

According to the then-existing tradition, the symbolic keys to the city were handed over to the Russian general. According to some sources, the keys were handed over for “humane relations with the locals.” Given that Russian soldiers prevented the Austrians from raping and robbing Berliners, this is not hard to believe. The general, who was given such an important symbol, turned out to be Zakhary Grigorievich Chernyshev.

A man of a very interesting fate, about which it is necessary to tell.

Well, firstly, it is believed that he is one of the illegitimate sons of Peter the Great. Although some historians question this fact. His mother, Avdotya Ivanovna, nee Rzhevskaya, lived at the palace of Peter the Great from the age of fifteen and had children from him. Peter married her to his batman Grigory Petrovich Chernyshev, giving four thousand souls of peasants as a dowry.

The young and handsome Zachary enjoyed great favor with Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, the future Empress. What did not really like the current Empress Elizabeth, and the count was sent to war. During the Seven Years’ War, Chernyshev distinguished himself in the battle of Zornsdorf. But he was also captured there. True, he was soon ransomed from captivity, and he took part in the aforementioned raid on Berlin in 1760.

After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna and the coming to power of Peter III, when Russia suddenly became an ally of Prussia, Chernyshev commanded a corps attached to Frederick’s army, for which he received the Order of the Black Eagle from him. And again in Berlin. Although, I must say, Chernyshev did not have a chance to take part in battles with recent Austrian allies. Peter III soon died, Catherine came to power, the Russian army was ordered to return home. Finally, the most unusual victory was won at the battle of Burkersdorf. At the request of Frederick, the Russian troops were delayed, but the Austrians did not know that Chernyshev would not fight, and from fear of the Russian troops alone they lost the battle.

Upon returning to Russia, Chernyshev was appointed vice president of the Military Collegium, which corresponds to the Minister of War, and a general staff was created under him. Then he was the governor of Belarus, and then became the first Moscow governor-general. It was he who built the “Chernyshev Palace” on Tverskaya, which has since become the main residence of all Moscow mayors.

However, returning to the topic of our story, we are interested in another building erected on his orders.

In his estate near Moscow, Yaropolets, Zakhary Grigorievich Chernyshev ordered the construction of a temple, which was called the “Temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.” The building is a unique, very unusual architecture. Its exact creator is unknown, according to one version, the temple was built by the famous architect Vasily Bazhenov, according to another – by Matvey Kazakov.

When the temple was built in 1798, the keys to Berlin were placed on the altar, which were once given to General Chernyshev. Where all the other years were stored.

After the revolution, the estate fell into disrepair, unique architectural monuments (the palace and the temple) began to collapse, all valuable property was looted. In 1941, German troops arrived there. Until now, the temple stands in a “ruined state.” What happened to the keys to Berlin after that is unknown.

Actually, the keys are just a symbol, in modern terms, something virtual. And it doesn’t matter if they were or not, whether they were made of wood or iron, or even gold. It is important that in 1945 Berlin was taken by our army, and not for the first time.

Kirill Shishkin.