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-End of  extended visit

Oscar Wilde tomb (old postcard)

From the Transversale where you are at the tomb of VICTOR NOIR walk to the allée Carette where you make a right. Soon you’ll se the last resting place of OSCAR WILDE, guarded by a strange Egyptian angel, work of the American sculptor Epstein. The face evokes the face of and old Oscar Wilde. This sculpture was forbidden and banned for 6 years time by the prefet de la Seine, because of the male sex he put on the angel, sex mutilated anyway today by some shocked lady visitors! His testicles were used for a long time as a paperweight by the cemetery's director!
Division 94 is an interesting one. Loiter around and you ‘ll see the tombs of Drumont, virulent anti-Semite between the two WW, GRAMME , inventor of the dynamo, represented with an electrical device in his hands, YVETTE GUILBERT, one of the favourite models of Toulouse-Lautrec and the super crook STAVISKY, king of embezzlers and cause of riots that killed 28 people.
In the 95th division (on the transversal 3), my " red" readers will finish their sentimental journey with a look at the tomb of Eugene POTTIER, author of the most translated song on earth but the worst applied in his generous principles: " The Internationale"! It is said that he never heard it sung on the score of de Geyter.

Monument to Sachsenhausen (old postcard)

97th divison, always along the Transversale is the political side of the pere Lachaise, most leftists and communists like the writer Henri BARBUSSE, the poet ELUARD, the leader of the French communist party after WWII Maurice THOREZ. Six memorials to concentration camps, DACHAU, BUCHENWALD (by C. Bancel) MAUTHAUSEN, NEUENGAMME, RAVENSBRUCK, decorated by modern sculptures of which the most impressive BY J.B.Leducq of SACHSENHAUSEN (corpses floating over flames). It’s also in this division that the tomb of EDITH PIAF is located.
Go back and take at the right the Allée Transversale no.3 until the avenue de la Nouvelle Entrée (also called Combattants Etrangers) to see the Columbarium and the entry of the crematory, of very little architectural interest (2606 cremations in 1990) but where the ashes of ISADORA DUNCAN and MAX OPHULS are kept.. Next to the columbarium, division 85 will enchant the fans of MARCEL PROUST.
Let’s change sections and go the division 19, the chemin des Dragons. Impossible to escape the vision of the monstrous duplex of princess Demidov-Strogonov. A marble temple sustained by 6 columns Striking effect assured! A three storied showy monument reminding us that her family became very wealthy with the exploitation of gold, silver and copper mines in the savage Altai mountains of central Asia. A legend –completely invented I would say!— says that a sum of 2 million roubles would be given to the person who would accept to come and live in the sepulchral vault to keep company to the princess. Some people really tried to occupy that vault and the administration still receives from time to time requests from candidates. The last one dates from....1983.
More seriously, let’s remember that the husband of the deceased, chamberlain of emperor Alexander, was a great traveller very interested in arts and sciences.
Prepare now for the highest and most megalomaniac tomb of the cemetery, avenue des Thuyas. It is that of the diplomat FELIX DE BEAUJOUR, ambassador in Sweden, Greece, United States and Turkey. He was a total paranoiac. He built for its later last resting place a giant suppository, 16 meters high.  Certain call it the great schm…. or “Phallus of Felix de Beausejour”.  Emerging from the vegetation can be seen with binoculars from the Sacre Coeur and the Eiffel tower.  
Tell you what to do if your feet are still dragging you. Walk around randomly maybe you will encounter the tomb of the  "negre" (person who writes the books dictated by the author) of ALEXANDRE DUMAS: AUGUSTE MAQUET. All the titles of Dumas books are engraved on the tomb....
You can stroll on, walk hours and discover millions of special tombs, epitaphs or mausoleums. Have a lot of fun :-)

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, edHachete 1990, --Promenade au Pere Lachaise, by Bertrand Beyern, own folders, Vie et Mort au Pere Lachaise, by Bertrand de Langlade, own folders 1998.