Père Lachaise Cemetery

Père Lachaise cemetery, named after Louis XIV's confessor Père François de la Chaise, opened in 1804 on a hillside where the king once watched armies skirmish during the Fronde. The city purchased the property and Napoleon declared it a cemetery, with plans laid out by architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart. As Paris' city graveyards filled up, Père Lachaise became one of several new large cemeteries outside the city. Brongniart designed the cemetery with inspiration from English-style gardens, incorporating diverse trees and plants along uneven paths lined with carved graves. Although he envisioned various funerary monuments, only one was constructed in a refined neo-Gothic style: the grave of the Greffulhe family. Passy Cemetery is located near the center of the city, while Montmartre Cemetery is in the north and Montparnasse Cemetery in the south. The transformation of 17 hectares of Mont-Louis into the Cemetery of the East was approved by French officials in 1803, with Brongniart as the neoclassical architect in charge of the project.

Initially, Père Lachaise cemetery faced challenges due to its location outside the city and the reluctance of Roman Catholics to have their graves in a non-blessed place. With only 13 graves in 1804, the administrators decided to boost its popularity by relocating the remains of famous figures like Jean de La Fontaine and Molière to the cemetery. The strategy worked, and in the following years, the number of burials increased significantly, culminating in the transfer of the purported remains of Pierre Abélard and Héloïse d'Argenteuil in 1817. Today, the cemetery holds over one million bodies, and the columbarium holds the remains of those who opted for cremation.

Père Lachaise also holds historical significance, as the Communards' Wall within the cemetery marks the execution site of 147 Communards by the French Army during the Semaine sanglante, the Bloody Week, in 1871. These soldiers were taken from Mazas and la Roquette prisons, tried by military courts, and sentenced to death. They were shot and buried in common graves in the cemetery. The site is a traditional gathering place for members of the French political Left. Adolphe Thiers, who led the suppression of the Commune, is also interred in the cemetery.

In 1823, Étienne-Hippolyte Godde erected a funerary chapel on the site of an ancient Jesuit house, and later designed a monumental entrance in the Neoclassical style.

Jean-Camille Formigé designed a building in 1894 that combined a columbarium and a crematorium in Byzantine Revival architecture. The building's roof features a large brick and sandstone dome, three small domes, and two chimneys. Carl Maumejean added stained glass windows to the main dome in the 1920s. The final columbarium comprises four levels, two in the basement and two outside, capable of holding over 40,800 cases.

The crematorium, France's first, was constructed in 1889, just over a year after the law of 15 November 1887 authorized cremations. However, cremation was not widely adopted until the end of the 20th century. After the Catholic Church overturned its ban on cremation in 1963, its use became more popular due to the efforts of anticlerical and free-thinker activists such as Charles-Ange Laisant and André Lorulot. The number of cremations rose from 49 in 1889 to around 5,000 at the beginning of the 21st century. Cremation currently accounts for 45% of funerals in Paris as of 2012.

The columbarium houses the remains of several famous individuals, including director Max Ophuls and comedian Pierre Dac. However, the box with Maria Callas' name is only a cenotaph.

In 1804, Napoleon introduced a law that addressed how cemeteries should be organized based on religious beliefs. According to this law, a separate section of a large cemetery or a complete cemetery was required to be dedicated to a particular religion. However, a subsequent law in 1881 overturned this requirement. Despite this, at Père Lachaise, a Jewish and a Muslim enclosure had already been established. The law of separation of church and state, implemented on December 9, 1905, did not have any effect on Père Lachaise since private funeral monuments were still permitted to display religious symbols. Nonetheless, the cemetery cross was taken down in June 1883.

Chapel

Alexandre-Theodore Brongniart had a grand vision of an impressive pyramid that could be utilized by various Christian denominations at the site where the old Père Lachaise house once stood. However, this idea was never realized. Instead, in 1820, the Parisian architect Etienne Hippolyte Godde commenced the construction of a chapel. The Catholic Church consecrated the chapel in 1834, and it is now upheld by the basilique Notre-Dame du Perpetuel Secours.

Jewish enclosure

In 1804, a law was enacted that permitted sharing of cemeteries among different religions. The Jewish area within Père Lachaise cemetery was established on February 18th, 1810, in the 7th division, enclosed by a wall and featuring a purification room and a caretaker's pavilion.

From 1865 to 1887, the Jewish enclosure was also located in the 87th division. In 1881, segregation within cemeteries was abolished, leading to the destruction of the enclosure walls, and the burial of Jewish individuals in the 96th division.

Notable figures interred in the 19th century include actress Rachel Felix, the first French rabbi David Sintzheim, and Robles, Singer and Fould Rothschild.

Muslim enclosure

In 1856, the 85th division of a cemetery acquired a new section and opened a Muslim enclosure. The construction of a mosque within the enclosure began in 1855 based on plans created by Marie-Gabriel Jolivet. The mosque consisted of a waiting room, a lavatorium for Muslim purification, and a counter for religious effects. The enclosure officially opened on 1 January 1857, becoming France's first Muslim cemetery. Between 1856 and 1870, only 44 burials occurred within the enclosure, including 6 perpetual concessions, 7 temporary burials, and 31 free of charge. In 1871, the enclosure was reduced in size and an unused section was designated for Jewish burials.

The law passed on 14 November 1881 made segregation in cemeteries illegal, resulting in the removal of the enclosure's fence while preserving the plant hedge. Despite the law, the mosque remained intact, but the Ottoman Empire, responsible for its maintenance, failed in their duty. Plans were made to rebuild the mosque, but due to World War I, the Ottoman Empire became Germany's ally and France's enemy, leading to the cancellation of the project. The mosque was destroyed in 1914, and plans to reconstruct it were abandoned in 1923 in favor of constructing the Grand Mosque of Paris.

Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris is still operational and accepting new burials, but the regulations for interment are strict. To be buried there, one must have lived or died in Paris. Due to the limited availability of plots, there is a waiting list for those hoping to be interred at Père Lachaise. The cemetery features a variety of grave sites ranging from simple headstones to elaborate mini chapels dedicated to famous individuals or families. To make room for more bodies, the cemetery often reopens graves after the decomposition of the original occupant and inter another coffin. Additionally, the cemetery issues 30-year leases on gravesites, after which the remains may be removed and the space made available for new burials. Plots can be purchased for varying lengths of time, and even mausoleums and chapels usually have underground coffins. While some sources incorrectly estimate the number of interred as 300,000, the official website of the city of Paris reports that one million people have been buried there to date. When combined with the remains stored in the Aux Morts ossuary, the total number of human remains exceeds 2-3 million.

Similar to many other cemeteries globally, Père Lachaise has transformed into a small sanctuary for biodiversity. The adoption of new management approaches, such as a ban on pesticides and the implementation of a sterilization initiative to decrease the number of feral cats, have paved the way for the creation of a diverse and flourishing ecosystem. The cemetery now boasts an abundance of plant life, such as cyclamen and orchids, and is home to a variety of animals, including foxes and over 100 species of birds like flycatchers and tawny owls.

Père Lachaise, a famous cemetery in Paris, has been referenced in various forms of media including films, literature, television shows, and video games. The cemetery has appeared in notable films such as Amélie, The Doors, and Elle, as well as in literature including works by Balzac, Dumas, Flaubert, and Hugo. In addition, Père Lachaise has been featured in video games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The cemetery's cultural significance extends beyond French culture and has been recognized in English-language works as well.