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Buenos Aires, Cemeteries, Greece, Kazimierz, Krakow, La Recoleta, Paris, Pere-Lachaise, Sarajevo
What is it about cemeteries that attracts visitors and photographers? Some find it morbid and bizarre to walk around among gravestones and the dead, but I find most cemeteries to be peaceful and hauntingly beautiful places to spend an hour or two.
A rainy morning in Père-Lachaise Cemetery is one of my favorite memories of Paris. The weak morning sun seeping through the mist and illuminating the cobblestone walkways was the perfect backdrop for the mossy headstones engraved with famous names. Any reader, musician, artist, or just plain citizen of the world can appreciate a reflective stroll by the resting places of Proust, Molière, Chopin, Jim Morrison, and Seurat, among many others.
An Ottoman-era cemetery high above Sarajevo is an incredible vantage point for seeing the valley in which this embattled Balkan city lies. The stories of snipers shooting down from these hills during the Seige of Sarajevo come frightening alive with this view, and the 15th century setting adds to the drama of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tangled history.
Eva Perón’s grave is but one small reason to venture into La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires. As in Paris, the architecture of the tombs is spectacular in itself, and the narrow lanes arranged in a grid pattern evoke almost a neighborhood feeling among the tiny buildings. An abundance of cats and cobwebs adds to the mysterious allure here.
In Krakow, there are two fascinating cemeteries in the Kazimierz neighborhood, the “New” (1800s) and “Old” (1500s) Jewish Cemeteries. Oddly, the “new” one feels more ancient than the older one (also known as Remuh), perhaps because so many of the headstones are aslant and covered with moss. The older-growth trees half block the sun, dappling the toppling graves with light and shadow.
When I thought back on a number of trips, I was astonished to realize just how many other cemeteries I had visited, from the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, to Arlington National in Washington, D.C., Montparnasse in Paris, and St. Louis in New Orleans.
Among all these monuments to mortality, perhaps the most emotional was an overgrown plot in Vasta, Greece, where I located the rough stone under which my great-grandfather lies. Grand or humble, cemeteries can be a quiet step back in time and a surprisingly serene way to spend a few hours outside on my travels.
I bet you’d like the cemetery in Venice, which is on an island so tourists and mourners have to take the waterbus to get there.
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I’m sure I would! I’ll have to check it out someday; thanks for the tip!
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Great post!
Have you been to the one in Havana? It is beautiful. And like you, I also loved Pere Lachaise. Oh and if you like Ottoman cemeteries, you should also check out ones in Turkey such as Eyup Cemetery in Istanbul.
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Thanks! No, I have not been to Cuba, but would love to go (and not just for the cemeteries!). I’ve been to Istanbul, but have not seen that one, unfortunately. When I do travel with others, it’s not always easy to convince them to roam a cemetery with me!
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Wow. I am very glad that You presented the cemetery of Père-Lachaise. It is my favorite cemetery. I have been there thrice. In Finland, we have beautiful and well-kept cemeteries, which offer awesome , gorgeous art, especially memorials and at same time information about our country.
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Now I’m sorry I didn’t seek out any cemeteries while in Finland a a few years ago! I did notice an abundance of public art, which I really enjoyed, and the country itself is so naturally beautiful. Thanks for checking out my blog and this older post!
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Your blog is high quality blog.
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Thank you!
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There’s a great cemetery ( Monumentale) in Milan too if you are ever there. Louise
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Thanks for the tip! If I ever get to Milan I will check it out.
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