One doesn't usually associate a cemetery with a romantic stroll - but a visit to Pere-Lachaise begs exactly that. Tucked away in a corner of northeastern Paris, the cemetery is affectionately called le cite des mortes - the city of the dead - by Parisians. With its rolling hills, thousands of trees, winding paths with carefully plotted "street" names and elaborate sepulchers and tombs, it's easy to see why Pere-Lachaise is considered OAris' most hauntingly beautiful place of rest. Countless great figures have their resting place here, including Chopin, Proust, Colette, or Jim Morrison.
Interesting facts about Pere Lachaise Cemetery:
- The cemetery was named after Pere de la Chaise, who was King Louis IV's confessor. The priest resided in a Jesuit residence that stood at the site of the present-day chapel.
- The Emperor Napoleon I inaugurated the cemetery in 1804. In order to mark the new cemetery as a place of prestige, the remains of French playwright Moliere and famous lovers Abelard and Heloise were transferred to Pere-Lachaise in the early 19th century.
- Housing some 300,000 graves, Pere-Lachaise is Paris' largest cemetery and one of the globe's most-visited with hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
War Monuments: Southeast Corner:
- One of Pere-Lachaise's more moving features is its memorial to World War II Deportees and Resistants. The five monuments are located in the cemetery's southeast corner, near the "Porte de la Reunion" entrance.
- Another historic war site is the Communard's Wall, where nearly 150 people were massacred during the last week of the Paris Commune in 1871
A few famous graves:
Mideastern Section/Principal Entry
- Colette (writer)
- Alfred de Musset (poet)
- Baron Haussmann (19th century architect who designed modern Paris)
- Frederic Chopin (classical musician)
South-Central Section
- Moliere, La Fontaine (playwrights)
- Victor Hugo (writer)
- Jim Morrison (American rock musician)
- Sarah Bernhardt (actress)
Northern Section
- Richard Wright (American writer)
- Isadora Duncan (American dancer)
- Marcel Proust (writer)
- Delacroix (painter)
- Guillaume Apollinaire (poet)
- Balzac (writer)
Far-east and Southeast Corner
- Oscar Wild (Irish writer)
- Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas (American writers)
- Edith Piaf (musician)
- Modigliani (Italian painter)
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