Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia
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Elizabeth Mikhailovna, Grand Duchess of Russia (Moscow, 26 May 1826 - Wiesbaden, 28 January 1845) was the second child and daughter of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia and Princess Charlotte of Wurttemberg who took the name Elena Pavlovna upon her conversion to the Orthodox faith. Through her father, Elizabeth was a granddaughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia, and a niece of both Russian emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I.
Elizabeth, nicknamed "Lili", was born in the Kremlin in Moscow and she was named after her aunt who had died eariler that month, the Empress Elizabeth, wife of Emperor Alexander I and a close friend of Elena Pavlovna. She grew up with her other siblings in the Mikhailovsky Palace in Saint Petersburg. Elizabeth was said to be the prettiest among her sisters, and like her mother, Elena Pavlovna, Elizabeth was graceful in manners and well-educated. By the end of 1843, Adolf, Duke of Nassau was visiting St Petersburg and met Elizabeth for the first time. Adolf's stepmother was Princess Pauline of Wurttemberg, Elizabeth's maternal aunt, and so he was related to the Russians in some way. Adolf and Elizabeth fell in love and they eventually got married in 31 January 1844 in St Petersburg. Elizabeth was 17 years old and Adolf was 26.
After the wedding, the couple stayed in Russia for some time until they moved to Germany and took up residence in Castle Biebrich in Wiesbaden. Elizabeth, now Duchess of Nassau, was popular among the people.
She and Adolf were happily married and the news that she was already pregnant with their first child brought great happiness to the couple. Unfortunately, their happiness would not last long and after only a year, Elizabeth died giving birth to a daughter, who didn't survive as well. The grief-stricken Adolf ordered the construction of a Russian Orthodox church - the St. Elizabeth's Church in Neroberg Park, Wiesbaden - to house the remains of his beloved wife. The location of the church on the hill was chosen by Adolf himself so that he could always have a view of the church from his residence. Elizabeth's sarcophagus can still be seen today inside the church.
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