Strolling With the Dead
Paris is the city of lights, and life and food and wine and history and the arts. The list is endless. I have been to Paris several times, so I’ve seen many of the popular sights and some minor ones too. I love revisiting some of my favorites when time allows, and so it is with Cimetière du Père-Lachaise.
Grave of Fredric Chopin (1810-1849) Polish pianist and composer. His heart is buried in Warsaw.
The cemetery is not a minor touristic sight. It is the largest cemetery in Paris (110 acres), visited by about 3.5 million people a year! Why would millions of people want to visit a cemetery when croissants, champagne and the Louvre are waiting? Because it’s actually a peaceful, beautiful garden of meandering paths among the graves of renowned and obscure world citizens.
View of hillside graves at Pere Lachaise.
Grave of Suzon Garrigues, killed in the Batcaclan terrorist attack, Paris 2015
The cemetery was established by Napoleon in 1804 as a municipal cemetery outside of Paris center. It’s located in what is now the 20th arrondissement on the outer edge of the city. The Paris Metro will take you straight to the Pere Lachaise subway stop. In the early 19th century, the city’s cemeteries were overflowing and Paris was a growing, thriving city. Something had to be done. The hillside land was commissioned from an order of Jesuit monks. Père Francois de Lachaise, a member of the order, was a confessor to King Louis XIV and died in 1709, so it seemed only right to name the new cemetery after him.
Some graves are very old and in need of repair.
Gravesite of Jim Morrison, with offerings from fans.
Architect Alexandre-Theodore Brongniart designed the new cemetery, based on English style gardens with paths and trees, but surrounded by carved graves. In its first year, only 13 people were buried there. Jean de La Fontaine and Molière were moved there and the cemetery became more popular with 1001 inhabitants by 1812. It really became the place to be eternally when Pierre Abélard and Héloise ‘d Argenteuil were transferred there. Today the graves of Jim Morrison (lead singer of The Doors) and Oscar Wilde are visitor favorites.
“I hope I will not offend you if I state quite frankly & openly that to me you seem to be the visible personification of absolute perfection”. Written on the plexiglass encasing Oscar Wilde’s gravestone.
The cemetery was expanded several times until 1850. More than a million people are buried there now and more are occasionally added. The columbarium houses many more remains of those who wished to be cremated.
Reclining figure of a man holding a mask of his wife. This couple will be lovingly gazing at each other forever.
It’s difficult to explain the draw of Père Lachaise, it is tranquil and comfortable. I’m familiar with cemeteries that are much more regimented and sterile feeling. Père Lachaise invites you in, to walk the paths, visit the inhabitants, maybe rest a bit on a park bench. Once you are sufficiently relaxed, having visited with some of your favorite musicians, authors or entertainers, you can return to the busy, noisy city, just outside the gates. There’s always a quiet place you can return to when the need arises.
Detail of a mausoleum gate symbolizing “time flies”, thought to be a message to the living visitors of the cemetery.
