Calvary Cemetery

The cemetery, known as the oldest in Paris, was officially established in 1688 on land granted by Marie-Anne d'Harcourt, the Benedictine abbess of Montmartre, at the supposed location of an ancient Merovingian necropolis.

Expanded in 1697, it was closed during the Revolution because it was part of the monastic complex of the royal abbey of Montmartre (during the Revolution, cemeteries were considered property of the clergy) and was completely dismantled. Thus, by the law of May 15, 1791, they were considered National assets, and as a result of this law, the Calvary Cemetery, which was the parish cemetery of Montmartre, became the property of the municipality. After the Revolution, it was reopened in 1801, and a new burial site was opened under the name of the Barrière Blanche cemetery.

Once reopened, the Calvary Cemetery then welcomed the burials of the inhabitants of the neighborhood: mainly, members of noble families from the "Lower Montmartre" (the current 9th arrondissement) returning from emigration, but also some residents of the "Upper Montmartre" (the hill), including millers.

A mass grave brings together the remains of soldiers killed in the capture of Paris by the coalition forces, in March 1814. In 1823, the cemetery closed due to saturation. A few new concessions were still granted until 1831, the year the Saint-Vincent Cemetery was opened by the municipality of Montmartre. Since then, the graves, granted in perpetuity, are only used for the burial of descendants of families who acquired the rights, the last burial being in 2010, that of Jean Varenne, of the Debray family.