Père Lachaise

Père Lachaise 

a cemetery in Paris that is the former estate of Louis XIV’s confessor, Father (in French, Père) La Chaise. Important cultural and scientific figures are buried in Père La-chaise, including La Fontaine, Molière, C. Nodier, A. Daudet, A. de Musset, H. de Balzac, P. J. Béranger, F. Chopin, G. Rossini, E. Delacroix, D. Ingres, F. J. Talma, and D. F. Arago. Military and political figures are also buried here, including Marshals M. Ney and A. Masséna.

In May 1871 the cemetery was the site of the last battles between the Parisian Communards and the Versailles troops. On May 27, Communards who had been taken prisoner were shot to death in front of the northeastern wall of the cemetery. Near the monument erected on this site, the Mur des Fédérés, are buried prominent figures in the workers’ movement, including P. Lafargue, M. Thorez, M. Cachin, P. Vaillant-Couturier, and A. Barbusse, as well as members of the Resistance and other fighters for democracy. A monument to the Buchenwald victims was unveiled in Père Lachaise in 1964 (bronze, sculptor L. Ban-selle).

REFERENCES

Duclos, J. Na shturm neba. Moscow, 1962. Chapter 10. (Translated from French.)
Paul-Albert, N. Histoire du cimetière du Père La Chaise. Paris, 1937.