Pere-Lachaise Cemetery
Pere-Lachaise Cemetery is one of the most famous burial grounds in the world. It is located in the east of Paris, and is referred to by residents as the Cemetery of the East. In terms of size, Père-Lachaise is the largest cemetery in the French capital. Burials occupy 48 hectares and are divided into 77 thousand plots. The Paris cemetery is widely known, thanks to the graves of celebrities and a huge number of tomb sculptures. More than two million visitors visit the place every year.
Video: Père Lachaise Cemetery
Contents- Highlights
- History of Père-Lachaise Cemetery
- Most famous graves
Russian burials at Père-Lachaise Cemetery - Monuments and memorials
- How to get there
Highlights
It is free to enter the grounds. The Père-Lachaise cemetery is available to visitors on weekends: from November 6 to March 16 from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm, the rest of the year from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. On Saturdays the cemetery opens at 8.30 a.m. and on Sundays at 9.00 a.m.
.History of Père-Lachaise Cemetery
In the Middle Ages, to the east of the French capital, the Champ l’Evêque hill was a poor neighborhood that was home to many criminals. In 1430, a wealthy merchant built a mansion here, which later became the property of a Jesuit monastery. Then the area on the hill was named after the Jesuit priest François d’Aix de Lachaise, the spiritual adviser of the French monarch Louis XIV.
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Many fans visit the graves of actors Sarah Bernhardt, Annie Girardot and Marcel Marceau, singers Yves Montand, Maria Callas and Edith Piaf, and Italian inventor Ettore Bugatti. The graves of artists Eugène Delacroix, Gustave Doré, Camille Corot, Amedeo Modigliani, Camille Pissarro and Dominique Engrand are popular. Many tourists come to visit the tomb of the famous composer Frederic Chopin, to whose “Funeral March” burials are performed all over the world.
.Russian burials at Père-Lachaise cemetery
In order for the French to remember this tragedy, the bas-relief “Monument to the Dead”, which was created by French sculptor Albert Bartolomé, was placed here. Nearby are the graves of prominent figures of the Paris Commune. Ironically, in the same section of the Père-Lachaise cemetery lies Adolphe Thiers, the man who ordered the execution of the last Communards.
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Since 1880, marches and demonstrations of the workers’ parties have been held near the Monument of the Communards. Nowadays such rallies are organized on the last Sunday of May. Interestingly, in the French press, the phrase “Wall of the Communards” is used as a synonym for the struggle for democracy.
>In 2005, a monument dedicated to Russian participants in the resistance movement appeared in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. The bronze figure was made by Vladimir Surovtsev and Viktor Panasenko.
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How to get there
Père-Lachaise Cemetery is located in the 20th arrondissement of Paris and is considered part of the Boulevard de Ménilmontant. It is accessible from various metro stations. From “Philippe Auguste” you can go to the main entrance. From “Père Lachaise” get to the side entrance, but from this metro station to the territory of the cemetery you need to walk about 0.5 km. Many tourists prefer to get off at the “Gambetta” station, because then you can see the Père Lachaise cemetery from top to bottom and start the tour from the tomb of the famous English writer Oscar Wilde.
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