Pere Lachaise Cemetery

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery is located on a hillside in Paris that used to be the home of a wealthy merchant. This home was turned into a Jesuit hospice in the 17th century. Le Pere La Chaise, Louis XIV’s confessor, made the Jesuit house his residence in 1652. The property was bought by the city many years after Le Pere La Chaise’ death and turned into this cemetery.The cemetery took it’s name, Pere La Chaise, from Louis XIV’s confessor. Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, a prominent French architect, was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to design this cemetery in 1804.

Pere-Lachaise is the largest cemetery in Paris. It is known to be the most visited cemetery in the world. Many famous figures are buried in this cemetery including Jim Morrison, an American rock star who died in Paris.

Shortly after opening, the cemetery didn’t attract many funerals because it was too far from the city. In an attempt to make their cemetery more popular, the management had the bodies of famous people transferred to their cemetery. This made people want to be buried among the greats, and now Pere-Lachaise is world famous.