Cemeterie Passy

We spent our New Year’s Day walk in the fascinating Cemeterie Passy. Pere Lachaise gets all the press, and Monparnasse is a lovely stroll, but Passy is fascinating in its own right. Located in the 16^th, just northwest of the Trocadero in a fairly ritzy neighborhood, it is small and dense. It also happens to have a great view of the Eiffel Tour, which the hordes at the Trocadero were busily capturing. 
 
I’ve probably written here before about the European habit of “renting” a burial site. All over Spain graves and columbaria walls were plastered with notices that rent was due, and if not paid the residents would be ousted. Passy’s residents seem to be sufficiently well-heeled that the majority of the tombs were purchased “in perpetuity”. No looming eviction for these folks! But that does not guarantee upkeep, and many of the crypts were in poor shape.
 
Passy’s residents are a fascinating blend. Many Comtes, Princes, Barons and the like, even an Emperor. Also many members of various Legions of Honor, Institutes, and Academies. One grave marker had the fascinating notation that the family underneath were members of the Sons of the American Revolution. One imagines an ancestor who tagged along with Lafayette to the Colonies. Many nationalities are represented including Russians, Poles, Americans, Brits, Italians, Spaniards, Persians, Armenians, Vietnamese, and many more. We found recognizable names including Debussy, Guerlain, Givenchy, and so on. It appears that many of France’s aviation pioneers are buried here, with one headstone showing global flight paths and another celebrating the first Paris to New York flight.
 
The architecture and art of cemeteries always draws me in. There were some lovely pieces of stained glass and tile mosaics. One marble crypt with the name Talleyrand was a simple spiral staircase. A far larger crypt included two staircases, a mourning room with velvet-covered chairs, and seemed to sink a full two stories below the ground surface. Handy that this cemetery is located on an old hill, and is now behind massive retaining walls. 
 
The cemetery is home to living chestnut trees. After having walked past roasted chestnut sellers every day for weeks, it was amusing to find them in their natural form scattered about.

~Lucy

Mosaic Headstone

Allons Aviators!

Cemetery with a View