Père Lachaise Cemetery[1], near Paris, France, is the world’s most visited cemetery. It is also the country's largest cemetery[2], at 44 hectares (110 acres). The land for the cemetery was originally owned by the Catholic confessor to Louis XIV, Father Francois d’Aix de La Chaise, and is named in his honor.
When Père Lachaise Cemetery opened in 1804, it was considered to have some radical ideas. First, it was not in a traditional churchyard setting, instead, it was a park-like setting far away from the heart of the city. Second, the cemetery was non-denominational which was unheard of in its day. Finally, families could buy burial plots in perpetuity rather than requiring bones to be exhumed and moved to an ossuary after a period of time.
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History of Père Lachaise Cemetery
From the Middle Ages to the 1700s, it had been a long-standing tradition for the dead to be buried under the floors of local churches, temples, and synagogues. It was believed that the most holy burial locations would increase the chances for the deceased to achieve salvation. So the most talented, holy, and prestigious community members were buried nearest to the altar.
Others were buried under the floorboards down the aisles and beneath the pews. When the subfloors were full, burials were made within the walls. When the walls were full, alcoves were added for more burials. When the alcoves were full, bodies were buried in the churchyards. Those who had been excommunicated, were unbaptized, or who had committed serious crimes were buried outside the churchyard walls.
All those dead bodies buried inside the city limits were causing disease. The Père Lachaise Cemetery was created as a result of a declaration made by Napoleon in 1804. Napoleon’s decree put an end to burials both inside and outside of churches, temples, synagogues within French cities in an attempt to improve public health. Burial space outside the city was desperately needed.
A design for a huge park-like cemetery was put forth by neoclassical architect Alexandre-Theodore Brongniart[3]. English-style gardens were his inspiration for the cemetery plan. Trees were planted for shade, trails encouraged strolling, and park benches were provided for rest. Père Lachaise Cemetery was unique because its park-like atmosphere welcomed not only the dead but also the living. It became a place for picnics and social gatherings.
Near failure
When Père Lachaise Cemetery first opened, Parisians did not want to bury their loved ones there. They felt the cemetery was too far from their homes in the city. In 1804, the Père Lachaise held only 13 graves. By the next year, there were 44 burials. Slow but steady growth continued. By 1806, there were 49 graves. In 1807, there were 62, and by 1812, there were 833 graves.
To increase the number of burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery, administrators devised a marketing strategy. In 1817, with great fanfare, they transferred of the remains of two famous French poets, Jean de La Fontaine[4] and Molière[5], to the new cemetery. These burials were followed by the relocation of other deceased notables from musicians to politicians and artists to authors.
Consequently, it became very popular to be buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery and by 1830, there were more than 30,000 graves in the cemetery.
War in the cemetery
In the 1780s the French commoners were fed up with paying most of the taxes while the royalty and clergy lived extravagantly and paid next to nothing in taxes. So the commoners came together to set up the Paris Commune[6], a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
The Paris Commune lasted only two months, but this short-lived government introduced many concepts now considered commonplace in modern democracies, such as women’s rights, worker’s rights, and the separation of church and state. The uprising came to an end following a intense week of fighting that left at least 10,000 Parisians dead and the city largely destroyed.
The last-ditch fighters of the Commune, called the Communards[7], made a final desperate stand against the troops of the French government at Père Lachaise Cemetery on May 28, 1871, hiding and shooting from behind headstones.
Following their defeat, the Communards were lined up in groups against the walls of the cemetery, and shot by firing squads. Nearly 150 of them are buried at the cemetery in a mass grave. A few of the Communards survived and lived hidden inside the Père Lachaise Cemetery for years, only venturing into Paris at night to forage for food.
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
In order to be buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery, the deceased must have lived and/or died in Paris and even then, there is a waiting list.
Gravesites at Père Lachaise Cemetery are typically issued with 30-year leases. If a lease is not renewed by family members, the remains are removed and space is made for a new grave. Abandoned remains are boxed, tagged, and transferred to Aux Morts ossuary[8], also at the Père Lachaise Cemetery.
The most visited cemetery in the world
Today, the living outnumber the dead at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Each year the cemetery welcomes more than 3.5 million visitors[9], and it is the final resting place for nearly one million deceased Parisians.
Père Lachaise Cemetery has traditional upright gravestones, long flat sepulchers, as well as many family mausoleums. The mausoleums line the rows, up and down the hills, with each mausoleum resembling a miniature house. Likewise, the interior of the family mausoleums resemble miniature homes, with rooms that are similar to family parlors or living rooms.
Guests can enter the mausoleums to sit on red velvet cushioned chairs with carved wooden backs to linger and remember times gone by. Shelves with candles, flowers, family photos, crosses, and angel figurines line the walls. Scriptures lie on a table for visitors looking for comfort.
Nineteenth-century sculptures abound, as families tried to outdo each other with elaborate monuments. Rather than real or silk flowers, delicate porcelain flowers in all colors are common decorations on the graves at Père Lachaise.
Notable burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery
- Oscar Wilde(1854 – 1900; poet, playwright, and author)
- Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849; composer and pianist)
Explore more about famous cemeteries
- France, Church Burials and Civil Deaths, MyHeritage Catalog Collection
- Cemetery Records Worldwide, BillionGraves in MyHeritage Catalog Collection
- The Seven Largest Cemeteries in the World, BillionGraves Blog
- Three Amazing Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- London's Magnificent Seven Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 Cemeteries to See Before You Die, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 of the World's Most Beautiful Cemeteries, BillionGraves Blog
- 10 Things You Don’t Know About Cemeteries, Legacy Family Tree Webinars
References
- ↑ Père Lachaise Cemetery, Napoleon.org
- ↑ Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris Tourist Office article.
- ↑ Alexandre Théodore Brongniart, International Architecture Database
- ↑ Jean de la Fontaine, Chateau de Versailles
- ↑ Molière, Chateau de Versailles
- ↑ Paris Commune of 1871, History.com
- ↑ Paris Commune: the revolt dividing France, BBC
- ↑ https://adrianleeds.com/subscribe-to-our-publications/nouvellettre/an-easter-visit-to-the-dead/, The Adrian Leeds Group
- ↑ All you Need to Know about Père Lachaise Cemetery, TootBus Paris