The Cemetery of Montparnasse owns a double identity - both traditional and avant-gardist.
About the cemetery
The cemetery of Montparnasse was originally known as Le Cimetière du Sud (Southern Cemetery) and it officially opened 25 July 1824. Since its opening, more than 300,000 people have been buried there. The actual space of the cemetery was formerly a huge stone heap, hence its quite ironical the name of “Mount-Parnassus”. From these days remains a mill at the heart of the cemetery, which has no mortuary use.
Like the other main cemeteries of the city, the Cemetery of Montparnasse could also be considered as a real garden-museum for the 19th century monuments and home to numerous historic personalities (from Aloysius Bertrand and Saint-Saëns or Huysmans).
But the cemetery also offers an exceptional concentration of artwork realisations and celebrities of the 20th century. Here lie the Surrealist authors (like Desnos), the exile writers (like Ionesco, Cioran and Beckett) and other famous artists (from Brassaï to Gainsbourg).
Like the other main cemeteries of the city, the Cemetery of Montparnasse could also be considered as a real garden-museum for the 19th century monuments and home to numerous historic personalities (from Aloysius Bertrand and Saint-Saëns or Huysmans).
But the cemetery also offers an exceptional concentration of artwork realisations and celebrities of the 20th century. Here lie the Surrealist authors (like Desnos), the exile writers (like Ionesco, Cioran and Beckett) and other famous artists (from Brassaï to Gainsbourg).
*Photo source: www.wikipedia.org
3, boulevard Edgard-Quinet
75014 Paris
France
Address
The Cemetery of Montparnasse3, boulevard Edgard-Quinet
75014 Paris
France