The Three Velho Sisters:
The Forgotten Baronesses of Tsarskoye Selo
Article Author: Historian Sergei Gavrilov
When speaking of Pushkin’s female circle during his Lyceum years, Ekaterina Bakunina or Natalia Kochubey are most often recalled. But living right alongside the young poet were other girls—the three Velho sisters, daughters of the court banker Baron Joseph Velho and Sofia Severin. They were a constant presence in Tsarskoye Selo in the 1810s—literally across the street from the Lyceum.
And although Pushkin scarcely mentioned them in his verse, their biographies offer a remarkable cross-section of the era: court intrigues, Lyceum legends, the tragically short life of one sister, and the long life of another spent in the shadows. Only recently have materials about them begun to penetrate Pushkin studies, for instance, in this article by Sergei Gavrilov:
“↪ The Third Sister… The Life of Celestine Velho”
Sofia Velho — “the universal favorite of the youth.”
Sofia, the eldest sister, was born in 1793. She was indeed that “universal favorite of the youth” of whom Annenkov wrote. We read in his work “an anecdote about Pushkin meeting, in the house of Baron Velho, whose eldest daughter was the universal favorite of the youth, the Sovereign Alexander Pavlovich; about their journey to the Babolovo Palace, a monument to which remains Pushkin’s unpublished inscription, and so forth”[1] (Annenkov, Pushkin in the Alexandrine Era).
Sofia truly moved at the very center of Tsarskoye Selo life. Emperor Alexander I frequently visited her mother’s house, and contemporaries made no secret of his distinct favor toward the young woman.
Later, Sofia married Alexei Rebinder, future commander of the Semyonovsky Regiment. Their daughter was baptized by the Emperor himself—an exceedingly rare honor: the godparents were the infant’s maternal grandmother and Emperor Alexander I.
Sofia died early in 1840, leaving behind five children.
Josephine Velho — a Muse with a Tragic Fate
Josephine is the most enigmatic of the sisters. She was born in 1802, after her father’s demise, and, despite having a living mother, was raised in the home of Tepper de Ferguson, who was married to her mother’s sister. He was a music teacher at the Lyceum, and thus Josephine was in constant contact with the Lyceum students:
“In his home, the Lyceum students… gathered for choral lessons… drank tea, chattered, sang, and made music.”
The young poets, Pushkin included, inevitably fixed their attention upon this beautiful and vivacious girl.
“The poetic images of Josephine… created that unique atmosphere… of the final year of Pushkin’s class at the Lyceum.” (Stupel)
But her fate was cut tragically short: in 1820, Josephine died in Paris after falling from a window. Tepper wrote of the “slander” that surrounded her name, which only heightens the aura of mystery.
Later, researchers even speculated that Josephine might have been Pushkin’s “secret love,” the woman whose memory echoes throughout his mature lyric poetry.
Celestine Velho — “the third sister” who lived a long life
Celestine is the middle sister by age—meaning she was actually the second, yet by far the most underappreciated.
“There are practically no documents in circulation concerning the third sister, Celestine.” It is precisely this gap that Sergei fills, reconstructing her biography through the archives of Estonia and Finland.
Birth and Youth
Celestine was born in 1796. She spent her childhood in Europe; her mother took her daughters across Germany and Italy during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1811, the family settled in Tsarskoye Selo, in a house on Srednyaya Street – the very one the Lyceum student Langer included in his album “12 Views of Tsarskoye Selo.”
The Lyceum Years
It was Celestine and her sisters who became the addressees of Pushkin’s impromptu verse:
“And you shall be left wondering / On the shore of frozen waters: / ‘Is Mademoiselle Schröder with the red nose / Not bringing the dear Velhos?'”
This is a rare instance of Pushkin mentioning them directly.
Marriage and Relocations
Celestine married late, in 1837, after Pushkin’s death. Her husband was Baron Ernst Kaulbars, an officer in the Russian army. With him, she moved to Helsingfors (Helsinki), where the Baron served as the town major.
Yakov Grot, a future academician, frequently visited the Kaulbarses and left behind a wealth of lively details:
“At her place is now the best spot to spend a slice of the evening.” (Ya. Grot. From a letter to P. Pletnev)
The Final Years
After her husband’s retirement, Celestine lived in Revel (Tallinn), on Russkaya Street, right next to the Catholic cathedral. She died in 1883 at the age of 87:
“…died… of senile decrepitude… partook of the Holy Sacraments.”
Her grave has not survived, but her will has, in which she leaves a substantial portion of her estate to the Catholic parish.
Why They Are Worth Remembering
The history of the Velho sisters is a story of how women on the periphery of Pushkin’s biography turn out to be crucial witnesses to the era:
- Sofia — at the center of Alexander I’s court intrigues.
- Josephine — in the circle of the Lyceum students, quite possibly the young Pushkin’s first muse.
- Celestine — the connecting link between the Lyceum, Finland, Estonia, and later Pushkin studies.
Their fates are not merely biographies. They form the background against which Pushkin was formed, his milieu, his earliest impressions of female beauty; they educated his sensibilities. And they also reflect his impressions of the complex relationships within female society. Such is the essence of The Tale of Tsar Saltan, conceived when he saw Celestine once again in Tsarskoye Selo in the summer of 1831…
