Cemetery of Agramonte (Porto, Portugal)

Cemetery of Agramonte (Porto, Portugal)
The resting place of a number of eminent figures, such as count Ferreira, sculptor Henrique Moreira, archaeologist António Augusto da Rocha Peixoto, cellist Guilhermina Suggia, filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira and others.

About the cemetery

Only in 1855 does the situation of the Porto cemeteries begins to change, as consequence of the second great cholera epidemic. The civil authorities managed to close the private cemeteries, which were in bad condition, and simultaneously had a new municipal cemetery built rather hastily - Agramonte.

In a first stage, this cemetery was mostly used to bury the cholera victims. Since there were two municipal cemeteries, the population began to see Prado do Repouso as a more dignified cemetery, considering it wasn’t improvised as Agramonte was (whose chapel was made of wood). Furthermore, some “bold people” had already erected monuments in Prado do Repouso.

The Private Sections of Municipal Cemeteries

Following the 1855 epidemic, all the cemeteries belonging to the Brotherhoods had to be reopened, although the maintenance of those in no condition was increasingly less consensual. In a lengthy and difficult process, each Brotherhood made a deal with the Porto City Council to acquire private sections in the municipal cemeteries. With the restructuring of the Agramonte Cemetery, around 1869, other Brotherhoods of the city established their private cemeteries there.

Of the private catholic cemeteries already in existence, only those of Lapa and Bonfim remained in their own location, because although they were not public, their design was urban and modern (especially that of Lapa), standing on elevated ground and reasonably away from houses. Porto now has eight cemeteries with private sections, which is unique in the country.

Address

Rua de Agramonte (main entrance)
Rua João Martins Branco (side entrance, opened only on special occasions)
4150-031 Porto
Portugal

Contacts

Phone: +351 22 6066604
Fax: +351 22 6067583
Email: cemiterio-agramonte@cm-porto.pt

Other information

Tourist information
http://www.portoturismo.pt/pt/default.asp

City Hall site
http://www.cm-porto.pt/