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Origin and history

The cemetery of Montfort-l'Amaury, located in the Yvelines department in Île-de-France, was created after the closure of the ancient medieval cemetery around the church in the sixteenth century. He was moved north of the village, between the streets of Saint-Nicolas, Amaury and the Rue des Fossés. This site is distinguished by its covered galleries, built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which served as mass graves and house family chapels. These galleries, organized in cloisters, have been classified as historical monuments since 1875. The entrance is made by a gothic gate, and the funerary space, open sky, is fitted out in tiered terraces, the highest being the most recent.

The cemetery houses 19th-century steles and a bust of Maurice Ravel, composer who lived in Montfort-l'Amaury, whose house is now a museum. Among the buried figures are cultural figures such as Celeste Albaret (governor of Marcel Proust), Charles Aznavour (singer and actor), or Edgar Demange (a lawyer of Alfred Dreyfus). Family chapels, such as the Biancours (MPs and Monarchist Prefects) or Rassam (film producers), illustrate the historical and social importance of the site. Some, such as the Petau de Maulette, are distinguished by their imposing architecture.

The south and north galleries date from the 16th century, while the east ones from the 17th century. Their cloistered arrangement, partially surrounding the cemetery, evokes the funeral traditions of the Ancien Régime, where the mass graves welcomed the bones exhumed to free space. The site, owned by the commune, remains an active place of memory, mixing architectural heritage and local history, as evidenced by the tombs of Dany Robin (actress) or Georges Marchal (comédien de la Comédie-Française).

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