About the cemetery

The East Cemetery of Paris, well known as "Père-Lachaise", was opened in 1804 as a response to the closure of the ancient and overcrowded churchyards.

The site was initially located in open country; now it towers over Paris. Alexandre Théodore Brongniart (1793-1813, the architect of la Bourse (centre city), designed it as a contemplative space, inspired by the British gardens.

The global reputation of the cemetery is based on many characteristics:

• For it still conserves material testimonies of its first appearance, the graveyard is of major importance. Indeed, the history of the foundation of cemeteries during the 19th century has been marked by the Romantic conception of Brongniart and several European burial sites have emulated it. 
• The Pere-Lachaise is the last home of an exceptional concentration of important figures (from Chopin to Jim Morrison) and shelters memorials of first importance (from the “Mur des Fédérés of the Commune of Paris to memorials of concentration camps). The associated monuments are often realized by the greatest artists of all nations. 
• The walk through the place is always made different and surprising by numerous extravagant monuments (the smokestack of the Beaujour grave, the telegraph of the Chappe’s tomb, the Allan Kardec’s Dolmen for instance) and the beauty of the park.

Last but not least, the cemetery also presents a complete set of funerary buildings, linked to the History and the organisation of the Mortuary Services: Chapel, Crematorium, Columbarium and Boneyard.

Contacts
The Cemetery of Père-Lachaise
8, boulevard de Ménilmontant
75020 Paris
France

Website: Cemeteries of Paris

Tel. +33 155258210
Tel/Fax: +33 143704216