Paris main visit page 2

Introduction

Some figures and quick visit

More extended visit 1

More extended visit 2

End of extended visit

Paris-20th arr-Cemetery of Père Lachaise-More extended visit (part 2)

Let's go back to the avenue du Puits, take the alley running along the rue du Repos, admire the tomb of CAMILLE PISSARRO and pay respect to the great female comedian RACHEL. She was quite hungry of men and nobody knows the number of lovers she had (Musset, Girardin and Walewski were, Napoleon III succeeded, Victor Hugo failed :-( ). (I quote the Routard): To a prince who sent her following notice: " When? Where? How much?" she responded: " Tomorrow. At my place. Free and for nothing."(unquote) She died of tuberculosis in 1858. A little further look up the tombs of the ROTHSHILD family. Not far from there the tomb of Casimir Perier. At the springtime, bees make their hive in the hollow head of the statue!
Now don’t fool yourself looking up the tomb of MOLIERE AND LAFONTAINE, supposedly buried in the 26th division. They are surely not there since it is very unlikely, seen the conditions of liquidation of the Parisian cemeteries at the end of the 18th century, that their bones and remains would have been found. On La Fontaine's tomb....a fable of course! There are two sarcophagi, only the one of Lafontaine is sculpted. Continue to descend the chemin Moliere and take the chemin Laplace, right side hand, coming out on the avenue Transversale no.1.

Alain Kardec Tomb

Walk until the avenue des Combattants Etrangers, make a right and stop a while tosee quite a spectacle: the tomb of ALAIN KARDEC, the most flourished tomb of the Pere Lachaise, founder of the "spiritism". The grave is decorated by a bust  (Capellaro) In all types of weather, every day, admirers, fanatics, curious people bring a contribution in the limit of their possibilities. His tomb is in the shape of a dolmen, you will find it easily, and it’s the most odoriferous of the area. A social and cultural phenomenon we owe some interest.  Kardec, ignored by the French, is read by millions of Brazilians. Native from Lyon, this mystic professor will soon become a prophet, a guide of minds. He was fascinated by the world of magnetising, sleep walkers and hypnosis.  He wrote a few books (Le Livre des Esprits) translated in numerous languages. In this book he pretends that the text was dictated by John the Evangelist, Socrates, Franklin, Napoleon….excuse the modesty!!!  On this tomb, the most visited like I said already, or you see two persons pray in silence, or others falling into trance. In the same division as Kardec, the tomb of Sarah Bernhardt is rather disappointing.. Not very far, division 44, the tomb of Simone Signoret, Yves Montands wife.

Victor Noir

Continue he avenue des Combattants Etrangers and make a right at the avenue Transversale no .2 until you reach the tomb of VICTOR NOIR (92th division). That’s quite a guy and also very visited in the cemetery. This young journalist he was going to be married the next day!) went to Neuilly to the apartment of the prince Pierre Bonaparte (cousin of Napoleon III) to invite him for a duel with another journalist (Pascal Grousset) of the paper ”La Marseillaise”. The discussion got out of proportions and the prince shot Victor Noir straight in the chest from close range. Noir died a few minutes later. Immense scandal, just before the Commune de Paris began to heat the minds of the Parisians. He was first buried in Neuilly in front of 100,000 persons (Victor Hugo attended the funeral) but transferred to Pere Lachaise later.. The sculptor Dalou made his recumbent effigy. The hat rolled on the floor.  He represented the young man in an admirable way, with at a certain point of his trousers, a very expressive prominence , at least for the young and less young ladies who come here to touch the “sacred “hump", glide their fingers over it, even kiss it (yes, I didn’t see it, but Vincent de Langlade did) or…sit on it since it became the patron of virility and fecundity. Yes, dear readers, some fanatic ladies rub their “ little flower” on the magic bump and make the wish to meet soon a virile male, have a child or marry within the year. But, you should see how the effigy is worn out by the thousand of hands who try to gain some sexual strength from the place...
Next article: Oscar Wilde and others….

Bibliography

--Vie et histoire des arrondissements de Paris, ed.Hervas, 1985-1988, 20 volumes- Le piéton de Paris, by L.P. Fargue, ed.Gallimard 1997- Guides du Routard 1998, ed.Hachette, Parijs, een wereldstad, by Hilaire Verbert, ed. Nelle 1996-Guide de Cimetieres de Paris, by M.Le Clere, ed.Hachette 1990, --Promenade au Pere Lachaise, by Bertrand Beyern, own folders.