The Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris is an open-air museum of architecture, there is a lot of greenery, peace and quiet. People come to worship the ashes of their idols, for romantic dates or just to spend a day in nature with friends.
Story
This was once the area inhabited by beggars, thieves, prostitutes and robbers. It was better for a stranger not to appear on the streets of the suburbs – at best, they would be robbed. In the first half of the 15th century, a rich merchant built a palace of amazing luxury on one of the nearby hills, which later became the property of the Jesuit Order that arose, as well as the land around. At the same time, the first burials began to appear, and the Jesuits began to own the land and the mansion. One of the founders of the order was called François de la Chaise.
This man was a mentor, confessor of the then ruling monarch – Louis XIV, nicknamed the Sun King, who patronized the order, providing various privileges. The Jesuits expanded their possessions, laid out a beautiful garden, which later became a favorite walking area for the Parisians.
When the king died, the order fell into decay, its lands were taken over by the state, and the luxurious garden was redesigned. A chapel was built on the site of the Jesuit monastery. The plot for burials was allocated by order of Napoleon. In 1804, the city bought it for a lot of money. In those days, the capital was much smaller in size, it was necessary to bury the dead far from the center, it was difficult for people to get to it.
To increase popularity, the ashes of famous personalities were transferred here, among whom were Lafontaine, Moliere. This decision of the government led to the fact that in the 20s of the XIX century there were 33 thousand graves here.
Who is buried
The necropolis is located in the eastern part of the capital. Officially called Eastern. It is considered a museum of tombstone sculpture with an area of almost 0.5 square meters. km. To get around only known burials, you need to spend a whole day. Over the past centuries, cultural figures, writers, scientists, aristocrats have found their last refuge here. The whole city, where the streets are properly planned, there are alleys and squares, forged plates with site numbers are installed. And, as in any city, there are luxurious palaces and columbarium apartment buildings.
Many old crypts are slowly collapsing, there is no one to take care of them – beautiful stained-glass windows are broken, pieces of stone decorations are chipped off, garbage is not removed everywhere. Among the iconic places is the Wall of the Communards. At this place in 1871, 147 active members of the Paris Commune were shot. The wall has existed since its foundation, the bas-reliefs were made in 1880-1890 in memory of people selflessly devoted to their work. A memorial was erected to the victims of the Great Patriotic War who died in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. In 2005, a monument dedicated to the Russian members of the Resistance appeared.
Eloise and Pierre Belard
Everyone is shaken by the tragic fate of Eloise and Pierre. Pierre Beliard, a philosopher, monk and poet who lived in the 11th century, once met a girl named Eloise. The young people fell in love and fled to Brittany, afraid of being separated from their relatives. Subsequently, Eloise and Pierre managed to secretly get married.
The influential guardian of the woman did not accept her marriage and ordered her to be forcibly sent to the monastery, and Pierre to be castrated. They reunited only after death – they were buried in the same grave. A sad story of love and loyalty.
Frederic Chopin
The sounds of the solemn “Piano Sonata N 2” saw off many people on their last journey. This is the Funeral March of the famous composer and virtuoso performer Frederic Chopin. According to Chopin's will, his heart should be sent to his historical homeland – Poland, and his body was buried in Paris. The wish was fulfilled, now the heart is immured in one of the churches in Warsaw.The grave of the maestro is crowned by the figure of Euterpe, the goddess of music and poetry.
Jean Louis Andre Theodore Géricault
Jean Louis Andre Theodore Géricault was born at the end of the 18th century into a family. The painting “The Raft of the Medusa” brought fame to the painter, the artist rejoiced and planned new works. The tragedy that happened soon destroyed all dreams – a man fell from a horse, died from injuries received during the fall. This happened in 1824, Gericault was not 33 years old.
Edith Piaf
On the grave of the legendary Edith Piaf lies a black plate with an Orthodox cross. There are always fresh flowers here – admirers do not forget their “little sparrow”, as the French affectionately called the miniature Piaf. In the life of an outstanding singer there were ups and downs, love and disappointment, poverty and prosperity. From the age of 9, the girl began to sing on the streets. At the age of 47, fate made a gift – the love of the handsome Greek Sarano.
Piaf even changed her faith and converted to Orthodoxy. She took care of her until her death, she wanted her husband to become a singer. Piaf passed away in 1963, Paris plunged into mourning, more than 40 thousand people saw off their idol on their last journey. The husband survived his wife by 7 years and is buried nearby.
Honore de Balzac
The French said goodbye to the author of The Human Comedy, Shagreen Skin and Father Goriot on August 18, 1850. An accidental death claimed the greatest realist writer at the age of 51 – Balzac accidentally hit his foot on the edge of the bed, gangrene developed. The disease was facilitated by a long-term disease of the blood vessels. Just five months after his marriage to Hanska, the woman Balzac had loved for years.
Yves Montan
Yves Montand, chanson legend and actor, died of a heart attack at the age of 70 during the filming of the movie IP-5. Buried with his wife, Oscar-winning actress Simone Signoret. An unpleasant story happened with the burial: a certain young woman claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of an actor. The body was exhumed, material was taken for DNA analysis, the fact of relationship was not confirmed. In vain disturbed the remains.
Amedeo Modigliani
The Italian painter and sculptor, a representative of expressionism, came to Paris at the age of 22 almost a beggar. He connected his life with this city and was buried here. He died in 1920 from meningitis at the age of 35.
The day after the death of the artist, his wife could not stand the grief and threw herself out of the window of the 5th floor, being in the last month of pregnancy. First, the woman was buried in another cemetery, in 1930 she was reburied with Modigliani. Now the whole family rests here – husband, wife and unborn child.
Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison was the most popular member of The Doors. The musician passed away due to unexplained circumstances at the age of 27 in July 1971. Accidentally overdosed on drugs, or wanted to commit suicide, has not yet been clarified.
Admirers and fans of the group began to organize orgies, drank, smoked drugs, damaged monuments. The administration decided to fence off the grave. “Morrison's Wall” is the name of the wall of the neighboring crypt, which is being vandalized – Morrison’s fans constantly paint it with words from the famous composition “Light my fire”, which, by the way, turned out to be a farewell for the musician.
Russian burials
Russians often emigrated to France, among them there are many aristocrats, artists and artists, scientists and writers, and they are buried here:
- The Demidov family mausoleum is the most luxurious and richest on the territory, made of Carrara marble in the spirit of Ancient Greece. The whole building is installed on a huge pedestal, which is a tomb.
- Felia Litvin is an opera singer born in Russia in 1860. She devoted many years to her singing career, in France she sang on the best stages. At a more mature age, she took up teaching, died in 1936.
- Scientific ethnographer, orientalist Nikolai Khanykov, the statue at the burial site was made by the famous sculptor Antokolsky;
- Decembrist Nikolai Ivanovich Turgenev.
Russian artists Pavel Chelishchev, Vitaly Statsinsky, Valentina Krapivnitskaya, representatives of noble families – a large number of wonderful people of Russian origin, who left Russia for various reasons, found eternal rest in their second homeland.
City's legends
Pere Lachaise is covered with superstitions and myths. The necropolis is, by definition, a sad place, although this does not prevent some from thinking about earthly joys. If you are unlucky in love, you should visit the grave of Eleanor Dubla, Robespierre's beloved woman. It is passed down from generation to generation: if you make an inscription on a stone slab, then you will definitely be reciprocated.
At noon, people who believe in mysticism read Tarot cards at this place. Everything that the cards say comes true with incredible and frightening accuracy. If you can’t get pregnant in any way, you don’t have to go to the doctors, in this case the utopian Auguste Blanc helps a lot, or rather, his statue represents the lying figure of a man. You just need to stroke a well-known place for him – the baby will definitely appear.
Oscar Wilde – if you kiss his statue, as the legend says, then the love of a girl or boy will certainly be happy. Therefore, the sculpture of the writer was always stained with lipstick. I had to protect the monument with a transparent glass wall.
And a very piquant story – the sphinx, installed at the top of the monument, had a penis. It was actively used by representatives of non-traditional sexual orientation (Wilde was gay). To stop vandalism, the sphinx had to give up its dignity. According to some reports, this part of the body was chipped off and carried away by an admirer of Wilde.
At night here, despite the fact that the territory is officially closed, it is not calm. All sorts of occultists and satanists infiltrate the territory in various ways. They chose the crypt of the Russian princess Demidova, who, according to legend, gets up from her bed every night and serves a black mass. Only a true Satanist can hear this.
Another legend associated with the burial. As if before her death, the princess promised that if someone dares to spend a year in her crypt, the ghost will give him two million in gold. Some people wanted to get huge money, spent some time in the crypt and then claimed to have seen the ghost of Demidova predicting the future.
Where is it located and how to get there
The cemetery is located on Boulevard Menilmontant.
You can get there by metro:
By bus:
Admission is free, opening hours:
Legends of world art lie in this beautiful place: writers Molière and Beaumarchais, actress Sarah Bernhardt, mime Marcel Marceau, opera diva Maria Callas, composers Rossini and Bizet. You can list the big names for a long time, if there is an opportunity, it is better to see everything with your own eyes.