Cemeteries hold a special fascination with me. They are the repository of a community’s history as told through the lives of the individuals who lived and worked there. Especially fascinating are cemeteries with tombs–cities of the dead, which with we are so familiar in New Orleans.
But Pere Lachaise stands alone and above them all.
Pere Lachaise Cemetery is the largest and arguably the most famous of Paris’s three main historic cemeteries. Pere Lachaise himself was the Jesuit confessor to Louis XIV, who awarded his faithful priest a large plot of land. He certainly deserved the favor–Lord only knows what sins Pere Lachaise had to absolve in a lifetime of service to the Sun King.
After Louis XIV died, the Jesuits were expelled from France, as they were from virtually every other country where they ministered. Pere Lachaise’s plot was taken back by the French government and was not made a cemetery until 1804 by no less than Napoleon I himself. Most French did not want their earthly remains to spend eternity in grounds not blessed by the Catholic Church, so Pere Lachaise remained sparsely populated until 1817, when the purported remains of Heloise and Abelard, the legendary medieval lovers, were entombed there.
Today, Pere Lachaise is a city of the dead as only New Orleanians can appreciate. It is older, denser and more populated by historic figures than anything at home. As much a park as a cemetery, Pere Lachaise’s tree-lined lanes wander around a large hill surrounded by centuries-old stone walls. Parisians of all ages come here to walk the grounds in silent solitude. Young lovers cuddle on the concrete benches facing soot-covered tombs. And of course, tourists like us who are fascinated by the history of the people laid to rest there visit to wander, locate and gaze at the final resting places of famous people.
There are signs at the entrances to Pere Llachaise listing the locations of the luminaries buried there, but I opted to invest 2.50 in an old fashioned analog paper map. Word of advice to those who visit–invest the 2.50. It keeps you from wandering around aimlessly searching for your favorite celebrity, thinker or historic figure.
In addition to its famous individuals, Pere Lachaise includes a row of monuments commemorating the victims of Nazi persecution and extermination; a monument to the 147 communards who were shot during the uprising in 1871 and three WWI memorials.
Because of its age and its location right in the middle of today’s eastern Paris, most of Pere Lachaise’s older tombs are covered in thick layers of dark soot, rendering many of the inscriptions illegible. And some of the graves are slowly deteriorating, some day to be replaced by future families. Pere
Lachaise today still operates as an active cemetery, with names inscribed in Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew and even occasionally English. It is truly an international city of the dead, one that makes Metairie Cemetery seem insignificant in comparison.
We walked through Pere Lachaise on a cool, cloudy day sprinkled with a few spots of rain. Somehow that seemed to be perfect conditions to visit the residents of la cité des morts. RIP. Until we visit again.