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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Père Lachaise Cemetery (French: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, [simtjɛːʁ dy pɛːʁ laʃɛːz]; formerly, cimetière de l'Est, "Cemetery of the East") is the largest cemetery and park in the city of Paris (44 hectares or 110 acres).[1]
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise | |
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Details | |
Established | 1804 |
Location | |
Country | France |
Coordinates | 48.860°N 2.396°E / 48.860; 2.396 |
Type | Public, non-denominational |
Size | 44 hectares (110 acres) |
No. of interments | Over one million |
Find a Grave | Cimetière du Père-Lachaise |
Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement and is notable for being the first garden cemetery, as well as the first municipal cemetery.[2]The cemetery is home not only to graves sites and mausoleums, but also to several monuments to various wars including WWI, WWII, and also the Holocaust.[3]
The completion of the cemetery represented an almost 20 year process of proposals for a site of this kind.[4] A 60 year effort to rid the center of Paris of unsanitary disposal of remains, Pére Lachaise was important historical marker of modernization for the city.[4]To date, the cemetery is the burial ground to at least 1,000,000 people including some notable historical figures and artists,[3]and attracts 3 million visitors per year.[1]
The entrance to the cemetery is on Boulevard de Ménilmontant,[5]which can be best accessed by Métro Philippe Auguste (line 2). Many tourists prefer to take the Métro to the Gambetta stop (line 3), as it allows them quick access to one of the cemeteries more famous occupants, Oscar Wilde.This method also provides visitors with a largely downhill tour of the cemetery.[5]