Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise is a must-see for those like me who love to wander through cemeteries admiring their beautiful sculptures and elaborate tombs. On the day we visited this centuries-old cemetery, the weather was wet and misty, giving the old architectural tombs and simpler graves an aura of deep peace and solemnness.
Within the tall walls, the cemetery is vast and maze-like with tombs and graves interspersed with monuments, fabulous sculpture, tall trees, a few lonely bright flowers and lots of leaves and moss on this winter day.
Within the tall walls, the cemetery is vast and maze-like with tombs and graves interspersed with monuments, fabulous sculpture, tall trees, a few lonely bright flowers and lots of leaves and moss on this winter day.
Established by Napoleon in 1804, Cimetiere Père Lachaise takes its name from the father confessor to Louis XIV, Père François de la Chaise (1624–1709).
The cemetery was designed by Alexandre Théodore Brongniart in the form of an English garden and is lined with trees and flowers, which at the time of our visit were waiting patiently for spring.
The cemetery was designed by Alexandre Théodore Brongniart in the form of an English garden and is lined with trees and flowers, which at the time of our visit were waiting patiently for spring.
The cemetery’s chapel, the work of architect Étienne Hippolyte Godde, is located on the site of the house in which Pere François d’Aix de La Chaise lived until his death in 1709.
The evocative sculptural figures populating the cemetery are beautifully posed in scenes of supplication, prayer, honor and oratory or resting peacefully, reflecting, deep in thought.
But the most amazing thing about this cemetery are the many Illuminati; painters, poets, politicians, writers, musicians and notables of the last two centuries who lived and died in Paris.
Among them are luminaries such as Chopin, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Collette, Gertrude Stein and Modigliani, as well as the more contemporary famous such as rock legend of The Doors, Jim Morrison who died in Paris in 1971.
Like wraiths floating among the stones, we caught occasional glimpses of other tourists like us wandering lost among the long tomb-lanes in search of a particular famous grave.
Below: Theodore Gericault Painter 1791-1824
Below: I don't know who this is but I loved the tomb sculpture!
Below: Frederick Chopin Composer 1810 - 1849
As you can probably guess, since we were accompanied by my niece, we were on a mission to find Jim Morrison’s much memorialized grave. I wasn’t surprised to find several other people gathered at the Morrison gravesite when we arrived, all gazing at the flowers and old photos of Morrison placed around the stone tomb. It is quite modest and low to the ground, hidden behind other graves.
In a strange way, the most interesting monument to Jim Morrison is the tree nearby with multitudes of gum stuck to it by visiting fans as tribute to the artist. The immediate area around the grave is protected by camera and completely encircled by metal barricades to keep devotees from taking souvenirs by chipping off pieces of the stone and even trying to sleep on the tomb overnight.
In a strange way, the most interesting monument to Jim Morrison is the tree nearby with multitudes of gum stuck to it by visiting fans as tribute to the artist. The immediate area around the grave is protected by camera and completely encircled by metal barricades to keep devotees from taking souvenirs by chipping off pieces of the stone and even trying to sleep on the tomb overnight.
Since we were limited in time, we had to leave the cemetery before finding every tomb I would have liked to have seen. I’ve already made a promise to myself to revisit Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise next time I’m in Paris, not just to see where the rest of the many famous artists, writers, musicians and notables of history are buried in this beautiful cemetery, but just to wander for a bit more in this amazing tomb-city of the dead.
Location: Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise - 16 Rue du Repos, Paris
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