This one is on a subject I seldom write as always prefer the living but as a monument is one of the most visited as in other big city cementeries! Let me tell you a bit about the Père Lachaise cemetery of Paris and briefly on the other important ones, Of course, this will be on my black and white series, no pictures, Hope you enjoy the post as I
The Père Lachaise is the most famous Paris cemetery and also one of the city’s top attractions. It is located in the 20éme arrondissement, The opening of the Père Lachaise Cemetery dates back to 1804. The tomb for the mythical lovers Eloïse and Abélard was one of the first ones here. More than 69,000 decorative tombs and 1 million people have been buried in the cemetery. With this many tombs, it’s not hard to believe that this is the largest cemetery in Paris. However, back history tell us that François d’Aix de La Chaize, born August 25, 1624 at the Château d’Aix, near Saint-Martin-la-Sauveté and died January 20, 1709 in Paris, was a French Jesuit priest. Better known as Father de La Chaize, this Jesuit was the confessor of King Louis XIV for 34 years. His name, spelled Père Lachaise is attached to the largest and most famous cemetery in Paris, created in a former Jesuit property where he had residence.
Five entrances provide access to the interior of the cemetery, These are : The so-called “main” entrance, located on boulevard de Ménilmontant in the 20éme arrondissement, opposite the end of rue de la Roquette; Metro Philippe Auguste line 2 and Bus lines 61, and 69. The Porte du Repos entrance, located at 16, rue du Repos , Métro Philippe Auguste line 2, The Porte de la Réunion entrance, located at the end of rue de la Réunion, at No. 129 , Metro Alexandre Dumas line 2 and Bus line 76, The Porte Gambetta entrance, located rue des Rondeaux, opposite Avenue du Père Lachaise, Metro Gambetta lines 3, and 3bis ; Also, bus lines 26, 60, 61, 69, and 102, The Porte des Amandiers entrance, located on boulevard de Ménilmontant, opposite the station Père Lachaise , Métro Père-Lachaise lines 2, and 3 ; also bus lines 61,and 69,
The main entrance is in the form of a monumental two-pylon hemicyclic portal in the neoclassical style, inaugurated in 1825. It is decorated with winged hourglasses in medallions, torches and garlands of flowers, and closed by a heavy double door. Two Latin biblical sentences are inscribed there translated they are on the left pylon: “Their hope is full of immortality” – Wisdom, III, IV); and on the right pylon: “He who believes in me, though he be dead, shall live” – John, XI), Three types of burial are planned: in mass graves to the left of the entrance, in time-limited concessions around and finally in more prestigious monuments within the wooded areas , In 1817, to restore the image of the cemetery, the prefect of Paris organizes from the Museum of French Monuments, closed in 1816, the transfer of the remains of Héloïse and Abélard to a mausoleum, as well as of Molière and La Fontaine
Some of the other famous names here and the reason of so many visitors me think are : Jim (James Douglas) Morrison Edith Piaf, Simone Signoret and Yves Montand ; Sarah Bernhardt, Isadora Duncan, Maria Callas, Marcel Marceau, Jane Avril, Oscar Wilde,Frédéric Chopin, Gioacchino Rossini, Colette,Guillaume Apollinaire, Honoré de Balzac, Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, Georges Bizet, Jean de la Fontaine, Molière, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas,Eileen Gray, Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart,Gustave Caillebotte, Camille Corot,Jacques-Louis David, Eugene Delacroix, Max Ernst, Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, René Lalique, Ted Lapidus,Amadeo Modigliani ;Camille Pissarro,Sir Richard Wallace ;Marcel Proust ; Louis Ernest Ladurée ; Anthelme Brillat-Savarin ; Colonel Fabien, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, Georges-Eugene Haussmann ; Fulgence Bienvenue ; and Etienne Goeffroy Saint-Hilaire.
The structures here to mention me think are : The Crematorium-columbarium , The Cremation was authorized in France from 1887-1889. It was not until the end of the century, in 1894, that work on the columbarium-crematorium began. The complex consists of a neo-Byzantine style chapel and four wings. The roof is made up of a large brick and sandstone dome, three small half-domes and two chimneys, The definitive columbarium consists of five levels: two underground, two outdoors and a crypt below the exterior gallery C , The crematorium is the first to be built in France , Since 1998, the crematorium has been managed by a private operator within the framework of a public service delegation. The columbarium, as a funerary space, remains an integral part of the Père-Lachaise cemetery, which manages it. On the site of the house of Father de La Chaize, a chapel, construction began in the second half of 1820 and was completed at the end of 1821, It was not consecrated until 1834. It now depends on the Basilica Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
The City of Paris on the Pére LaChaize cemetery : https://www.paris.fr/dossiers/bienvenue-au-cimetiere-du-pere-lachaise-47
The official association of Amis et Passionnés du Père Lachaise (APPL) :https://www.appl-lachaise.net/
The municipal cemeteries of Paris, some of the other famous are :
The Montmartre Cemetery, 20 Avenue Rachel, in the 18éme arrondissement. The Montmartre Cemetery opened its doors in 1825, and it looks pretty much like Père Lachaise but with the particularity of being crossed by the metallic bridge of Caulaincourt, built in 1888. Here lies amongst others Dalida , Nijinsky, Degas , and Zola
The Catacombs of Paris 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy is another of the famous cemeteries Paris has to offer and perhaps the most fascinating. The Catacombs is an underground cemetery set in the tunnels of former quarries right below the streets of Paris, in the 14éme arrondissement. Located 20 meters underground, there are a series of interesting tunnels and pathways where the remains of millions of Parisians lay.
The Montparnasse Cemetery, 3 Boulevard Edgar Quinet in the 14éme arrondissement, is one of the most beautiful cemeteries in Paris. The Montparnasse Cemetery was built on the site of three farms , You can wander along the tree-lined pathways and discover the Moulin de la Charité, an old flour windmill that belonged to one of the farms. When the cemetery was inaugurated, the mill was the house of the guardian.
The Picpus Cemetery 35 Rue de Picpus tucked away in a secretive location in the 12éme arrondissement. This small private cemetery was the place where noblemen who had been guillotined at Place de la Nation during the French revolution were thrown into mass graves. There are believed to be around 1306 victims buried in the Cemetery all of whom were killed between the 14 June and the 27 July 1794, .Among these tombstones, you will find the final resting place of the Maquis de Lafayette and his wife. This tomb is frequently visited by Americans visiting Paris and every 4 of July receives a little homage from the American authorities in Paris
The Passy Cemetery 2 Rue du Commandant Schloesing, 16éme arrondissement is one of the smallest cemeteries in Paris. It was Napoleon I that first opened the Passy Cemetery in 1820. The cemetery sits behind the Trocadéro and is surrounded by chestnut trees, Famous names to look for are Edouard Manet, Claude Debussy, and Berthe Morisot. The last Emperor of Vietnam, the daughter of the last Shah of Persia, and some members of the family Romanov are also buried here, It is the only Parisian Cemetery that has a heated waiting room for mourners in winter
The Calvaire Cemetery 2 Rue du Mont-Cenis, in Montmartre 18éme arrondissement, takes its name from a Calvary erected in the garden that extends it. It is the oldest cemetery in Paris, and also the smallest with less than 600 m², with only 85 tombs. Opened at the end of the 17C on the site of an old Merovingian necropolis, the Calvaire Cemetery was closed during the French revolution. All the tombs then disappeared, including the burial of the sculptor Pigalle, who died in 1785. The Calvaire Cemetery was reopened from 1801 to 1831, the year in which the Cemetery of Saint Vincent in Montmartre opened. No more burials took place there, except those of descendants of people already buried there. A common grave accommodates the remains of hundreds of French and foreign soldiers who fell in March 1814 during the capture of Paris by the Allies, united against Napoleon. The cemetery opens its doors only on 1 November and (sometimes) during the European Heritage Days. Climb the dome of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, which offers an exceptional panoramic view of all of Paris and its region ; and of the Calvaire cemetery just below!
The Charonne Cemetery 119 Rue de Bagnolet, 20éme arrondissement, is a tiny parish cemetery that opened to the public in 1791. You’ll find this cemetery on the outskirts of Paris. Compared to some of the other cemeteries in Paris this is a much quieter and less frequented (yet interesting) spot.
The Paris tourist office on the cemeteries of Paris : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/article/visiting-paris-cemeteries-a026
There you go folks, just one of the oddities of my eternal Paris, Yet for some reason , very popular not for me thus, I rather let them rest in peace, but if you are in the neighborhood , why not, very educational and historical too. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Pére Lachaise and other cemeteries of Paris as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 