Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The cemetery of the Père-Lachaise, officially named cemetery of the East, was inaugurated on May 21, 1804 on the former property of the Jesuits, Mont-Louis. Designed by architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, he broke with traditional cemeteries by adopting an English-style garden plan, with winding alleys lined with trees and funerary monuments. Originally despised by the Parisians because of its remoteness and location in a popular neighborhood, it became a popular place after the transfer of the remains of Héloïse and Abélard (1817), then Molière and La Fontaine. These symbolic translations, orchestrated by the prefect of Paris, transformed the cemetery into a place of national memory.

The site experienced five major expansions between 1824 and 1850, from 17 to 44 hectares. Its monumental portal, the work of Étienne-Hippolyte Godde (1825), is inspired by neoclassicism, with Latin biblical inscriptions and funerary motifs (winged sandals, torches). The cemetery housed denominational squares (Jewish, Muslim, Protestant) until their prohibition in 1881. During the Commune of Paris (1871), he was the scene of bloody clashes: 147 federated were shot at the wall of the Fédérés, which became a symbol of the Versaillaise repression.

In the 19th century, the Père-Lachaise became an open museum thanks to renowned sculptors and architects, such as David d'Angers (monuments of the Marshals of Empire) or Hector Guimard. The columbarium-crematorium, built by Jean-Camille Formigé (1894), was the first of France, with a neo-Byzantine architecture and a sandstone dome. Personalities such as Oscar Wilde, Frédéric Chopin and Jim Morrison rest there, attracting more than 3.5 million visitors annually. Partly classified as historical monuments (1983-2008), it combines funerary heritage, biodiversity (4,000 trees, 80 species) and collective memory.

The Catholic chapel, financed by a legacy in 1821 and consecrated in 1834, coexisted with lost places of worship, such as the mosque of the Muslim square (destroyed in 1914). The cemetery reflects social developments, from the prohibition of denominational squares (1881) to the secularization of funerals. Today, there is still an active place, managed by the City of Paris, where burials, commemorations (Commune, Shoah) and cultural tourism are held. Its status as a classified site (1962) protects its romantic part, while 30,000 funeral monuments are listed or classified.

World War I marked the cemetery: in 1918 German shells (Grosse Bertha) damaged the Thuvenin chapel. Columbarium, with its 26,600 cells, became a place of memory for AIDS victims in the 1980s. The cemetery also houses memorials (wars, disasters) and remarkable trees, such as a maple tree from Montpellier planted in 1883. Despite its saturation since the 1950s, there remains a major green space in Paris, hosting a diverse fauna (renards, bats, 40 species of birds).

Future

The Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest Paris cemetery in Paris and one of the most famous in the world. Located in the 20th arrondissement, many famous people are buried there.

It hosts more than three and a half million visitors each year, making it the most visited cemetery in the world.

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