Picpus Cemetery
Encyclopedia
The Picpus Cemetery is the largest private cemetery in the city of Paris
, France
. It was created from land seized from the convent of the Chanoinesses de St-Augustin
, during the Revolution
. It contains the remains of French aristocrats who had been guillotined during the French Revolution ( 1789–1799 ). It is of particular interest to American visitors for Picpus cemetery also holds the tomb of the Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) over which an American flag is always present.
stations are Nation
and Picpus
.
, where the guillotine
was set up under the Terror in 1794, on the Place du Trone, then called the Place du Trône Renversé. Between June 13 and July 28 as many as 55 people a day were executed. A pit was dug at the end of the garden where the decapitated bodies were thrown in together, noblemen and nuns, grocers and soldiers, laborers and innkeepers. A second pit was dug when the first filled up. The names of those buried in the two common pits, over 1300 men and women, are inscribed on the walls of the chapel. Of the 1109 men, there were 108 nobles, 108 churchmen, 136 monastics (gens de robe) 178 military, and 579 commoners. 197 women were buried there, 51 from the nobility, 23 nuns and 123 commoners. The bloodshed stopped when Robespierre himself was beheaded, and the garden was closed off.
Among the women, sixteen Carmelite nuns
ranging in age from 29 to 78, were brought to the guillotine together, singing hymns as they were led to the scaffold, an incident commemorated in the opera Dialogues of the Carmelites
. They were beatified
in 1906.
In 1797, in secret, the land was acquired by Princess Amelie de Salm de Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, whose brother, Frédéric II de Salm-Kirburg, was buried in one of the common graves. In 1803, a group of family members bought up the rest of the land, and built a second cemetery next to the common graves. In a meeting held in 1802, underwriters designated eleven of them to form a Committee:
Many of these noble families still use the cemetery as a place of burial. There is also a commemorative plaque in memory of members of these families who were deported and died in the camps during the Second World War.
The General Lafayette, who died a natural death, is buried here, and an American Flag flies over his grave. He is buried next to his wife, Adrienne de La Fayette
, whose sister and mother were among those beheaded and thrown into the common pit.
The entrance to the cemetery is at 35 rue de Picpus, in the 12th arrondissement
. It is open to the public in the afternoon only.The simple chapel, run by the sisters of the Sacred Heart, holds a small, fine 15th century sculpture of the Vierge de la Paix, reputed to have cured Louis XIV of a serious illness.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It was created from land seized from the convent of the Chanoinesses de St-Augustin
Coignard
The Coignard was a convent of Canonesses founded in Paris on 7 October 1647 and dedicated to Saint-Augustin de la Victoire-de-Lépante...
, during the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. It contains the remains of French aristocrats who had been guillotined during the French Revolution ( 1789–1799 ). It is of particular interest to American visitors for Picpus cemetery also holds the tomb of the Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) over which an American flag is always present.
Location
Located at 35 Rue Picpus ( 35 Picpus street) in 12th arrondissement, it can be visited in the afternoon every day except Monday, from 2PM to 6PM (Admission: € 3). The Chapel of Our Lady of Peace is located at the entrance of the cemetery. The nearest Paris metroParis Métro
The Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...
stations are Nation
Nation (Paris Metro and RER)
Nation is a station of the Paris Métro and of Île-de-France's regional high-speed RER. It serves lines 1, 2, 6 and 9 of the Paris Métro and line A of the RER....
and Picpus
Picpus
Picpus may refer to:* Cimetière de Picpus, a cemetery in Paris*The Picpus Fathers, an order of the Catholic Church, whose official name is the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary*Picpus, a journal edited by Charles Asprey and Simon Grant...
.
History
The cemetery is only five minutes from Place de la NationPlace de la Nation
The place de la Nation is a square in Paris, on the border of the 11th and 12th arrondissements...
, where the guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
was set up under the Terror in 1794, on the Place du Trone, then called the Place du Trône Renversé. Between June 13 and July 28 as many as 55 people a day were executed. A pit was dug at the end of the garden where the decapitated bodies were thrown in together, noblemen and nuns, grocers and soldiers, laborers and innkeepers. A second pit was dug when the first filled up. The names of those buried in the two common pits, over 1300 men and women, are inscribed on the walls of the chapel. Of the 1109 men, there were 108 nobles, 108 churchmen, 136 monastics (gens de robe) 178 military, and 579 commoners. 197 women were buried there, 51 from the nobility, 23 nuns and 123 commoners. The bloodshed stopped when Robespierre himself was beheaded, and the garden was closed off.
Among the women, sixteen Carmelite nuns
Martyrs of Compiègne
The Martyrs of Compiègne are sixteen Carmelite nuns who were guillotined On 17 July 1794 during the Reign of Terror. They are commemorated on 17 July of the Carmelite Calendar of Saints.Terrye Newkirk writes in :...
ranging in age from 29 to 78, were brought to the guillotine together, singing hymns as they were led to the scaffold, an incident commemorated in the opera Dialogues of the Carmelites
Dialogues of the Carmelites
Dialogues of the Carmelites , is an opera in three acts by Francis Poulenc. In 1953, M. Valcarenghi approached Poulenc to commission a ballet for La Scala in Milan; when Poulenc found the proposed subject uninspiring, Valcarenghi suggested instead a screenplay by Georges Bernanos, based on the...
. They were beatified
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
in 1906.
In 1797, in secret, the land was acquired by Princess Amelie de Salm de Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, whose brother, Frédéric II de Salm-Kirburg, was buried in one of the common graves. In 1803, a group of family members bought up the rest of the land, and built a second cemetery next to the common graves. In a meeting held in 1802, underwriters designated eleven of them to form a Committee:
- Madame Montagu, born L. D. de Noailles, President
- Maurice de Montmorency
- Mr. Aimard de Nicolaï
- The widow Madame Rebours, born Barville
- Madame Freteau widow, born Moreau
- Madame de La FayetteAdrienne de La FayetteMarie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles, marquise de La Fayette , the daughter of Jean de Noailles, and Henriette Anne Louise d'Aguesseau, married Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette....
, born Adrienne de Noailles - Madame widow Titon, born Benterot
- Madame Faudoas widow, née de Bernières
- Madame Charton widow, born Chauchat
- Philippe de Noailles de Poix
- Theodule M. de Grammont
Many of these noble families still use the cemetery as a place of burial. There is also a commemorative plaque in memory of members of these families who were deported and died in the camps during the Second World War.
The General Lafayette, who died a natural death, is buried here, and an American Flag flies over his grave. He is buried next to his wife, Adrienne de La Fayette
Adrienne de La Fayette
Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles, marquise de La Fayette , the daughter of Jean de Noailles, and Henriette Anne Louise d'Aguesseau, married Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette....
, whose sister and mother were among those beheaded and thrown into the common pit.
The entrance to the cemetery is at 35 rue de Picpus, in the 12th arrondissement
XIIe arrondissement
The 12th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France....
. It is open to the public in the afternoon only.The simple chapel, run by the sisters of the Sacred Heart, holds a small, fine 15th century sculpture of the Vierge de la Paix, reputed to have cured Louis XIV of a serious illness.
Famous tombs
- Lafayette
- Antoine LavoisierAntoine LavoisierAntoine-Laurent de Lavoisier , the "father of modern chemistry", was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology...
who first outlined the principle of Conservation of massConservation of massThe law of conservation of mass, also known as the principle of mass/matter conservation, states that the mass of an isolated system will remain constant over time...
. - André ChénierAndré ChénierAndré Marie Chénier was a French poet, associated with the events of the French Revolution of which he was a victim. His sensual, emotive poetry marks him as one of the precursors of the Romantic movement...
, guillotined on 7 Thermidor Year II, in the Picpus pits - Aimé Picquet du BoisguyAimé Picquet du BoisguyAimé Casimir Marie Picquet, chevalier du Boisguy, sometimes spelt Bois-Guy, was a French chouan general during the French Revolution. He was nicknamed "the little general" by his men due to his youth...
, general Chouan. - 1,306 victims of the terrorReign of TerrorThe Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
between June 14 and 27 July 1794 - The Carmelite nuns, Martyrs of CompiègneMartyrs of CompiègneThe Martyrs of Compiègne are sixteen Carmelite nuns who were guillotined On 17 July 1794 during the Reign of Terror. They are commemorated on 17 July of the Carmelite Calendar of Saints.Terrye Newkirk writes in :...
, guillotined and buried in one of two mass graves - Jean-Antoine RoucherJean-Antoine RoucherJean-Antoine Roucher , was a French poet.Roucher was the son of a tailor from Montpellier. His epithalamium on Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette won him the favour of Turgot, and a salt-tax collectorship. His poem, entitled Les Mois, appeared in 1779, was praised in manuscript, but critically...
(1745–1794), poet, recipient of Gabelle, guillotined, 7 Thermidor Year II (see the engraving The last wagon) - Alexandre de Beauharnais guillotined, 5 Thermidor, Year II (23 July 1794)
- Frederick III, Prince of Salm-KyrburgFrederick III, Prince of Salm-KyrburgFrederick III John Otto Francis Christian Philip, prince of Salm-Kyrburg, Hornes and Overijse, Gemen and Count of Solre-le-Château. Frederick was the eldest son of Philip Joseph, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg and Princess Maria Theresa of Hornes. He grew up at the French court...
, German prince, colonel of the German troops, the battalion commander of the Fontaine-Grenelle, brother of the prince Antoine Aloys of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and brother of Amélie Zephyrinus Salm-Kirburg , guillotined, 6 messidor, Year II (23 July 1794). - Marguerite Louise d'OrléansMarguerite Louise d'OrléansMarguerite Louise d'Orléans was Grand Duchess of Tuscany, as the wife of Grand Duke Cosimo III de' Medici. Deprived of her lover, Charles V of Lorraine, and yearning for France, Marguerite Louise despised her husband and his family, whom she often quarrelled with and falsely suspected of...
, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (1645–1721) - "G. Lenotre" (nom-de-plume of Louis Léon Théodore GosselinThéodore GosselinLouis Léon Théodore Gosselin was a French historian and playwright who wrote under the pen name G. Lenotre. He wrote articles in publications such as Le Figaro, Revue des deux mondes, Le Monde illustré and Le Temps...
, 1855-1935), French academician, historian and author of many works about the French Revolution, including 'Jardin de Picpus".