Cemetary Père Lachaise, Paris

Cemetaries in Paris

Irrespectively of our religious thoughts, there are the practical matter of where we put our dead. Different cultures and places in the world deal with this necessity differently. Paris, being more than two millennium old, in no exception.

There is something intriguing to everyone about the old cemeteries in Paris. I recently bought a guide to summer walks in Paris and among the suggestions of parks and green spaces there were the cemeteries. There are 14 marked cemeteries within the city limits. I say marked because there are certainly more cemeteries that have been built upon or forgotten. Not forgotten are the Catecombs of Paris, those underground caves carved into the limestone over the centuries to keep the remains of millions of Parisians, but the Catecombs are for another story.

Le Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Late Summer

Last Sunday, after being inspired by my adventure in the Cimètaire de Montparnasse on Friday, I ventured to La Cimetière du Père Lachaise for the sunny afternoon, taking Métro line 6 from Montparnasse to Nation then line 2 to station Philippe Auguste in the 20th. The leaves are starting to turn yellow in many of the trees and families were strolling with babies in carriages along the cobblestone lanes. To me it seemed a dichotomy to enjoy such a pleasant afternoon among thousands of dead. And who were they, the tens of thousands resting here ? Certainly many are or were quite famous and known throughout the world in their time and indeed our own.

Death and Decay

It is disturbing that there are so many magnificent tombs that have fallen into a state of decay, obviously being forgotten and lost by those who once loved the deceased. Someone once built stately monuments, tombs, statues for their loved ones. Obviously those who did so follwed and are gone as well. The generations who followed were more and more removed.

Walking through a grand cemetery such as Père Lachaise makes me think of my own mortality and the certainty of my death, then years later of me being forgotten. Death and eventually being forgotten will happen to everyone after dozens, hundreds or thousands of years. These macabre photos are my interpretation of that eventuality.