Five beautiful cemeteries across the world

The purpose of a vacation is usually to get away from the mundane of the day-to-day and enjoy your life, but sometimes the most enjoyable things can be found in the beauty of death.  I’m not talking about dropping dead, of course.  What I am speaking of are the many cemeteries across the world that are, due to humanity’s desire to explain the end of our lives, collections of art.  Many people don’t feel comfortable in the places of the dead, but you might be surprised as what treasures await.  Since the beginning of time memorials have been made to express that mix of the beauty of a person’s life combined with the sadness of death.  Sometimes tomb building has even become as competitive among the rich as museum patronage, leading to some very elaborate construction.  Every tomb, headstone, crypt or mausoleum has the potential to be amazing.  Here, I list five cemeteries that are exceptional for their artistic bent.

Highgate Cemetery - London, England

Opened in 1839, HighgateCemetery was first conceived of as a solution to the high death count and low amount of places set aside to house the dead during this time period.  Over time, Highgate became a popular location among the elite to place their remains.  This led to some truly remarkable and memorable tombs.

At Highgate, one can see not only a beautiful, Gothic-styled chapel, but a countless number of tombs that display many styles.  The cemetery even houses the body of Karl Marx, for those that like to visit the graves of the famous.  The cemetery fell into decline over time but was recently revitalized.  It now remains a splendid mixture of man-made tombs and natural undergrowth.  It costs a little bit of cash to get in and explore, but the money goes toward the upkeep of the cemetery, so it’s worth the small price.

La RecoletaCemetery - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Built up over time around a convent that closed in 1822, La Recoleta was the first public cemetery in the country of Argentina.  It most likely would have remained a small and innocuous place if it hadn’t been for a wave of disease that hit the city.  Rich folks fled their neighborhoods and moved in the vicinity of La Recoleta to escape the disease and began spending large sums of money to extravagantly bury their dead.

Based on a grid-like pattern, the cemetery is built up around a series of tree-lined main avenues.  It is filled with mausoleums in various states of decay that display a conglomeration of many styles, from old and classical to distinctively modern and innovative.  Imagery ranges from pyramidal structures to traditional crosses to statues of pagan gods.  La Recoleta also happens to be the final resting place of many of the country’s biggest politicians, artists and other famous names.

Okunoin Cemetery – Mt. Koya, Japan

The village of Mount Koya is considered by many to be one of the most sacred places in all of Japan.  In addition to being home to more than 100 Buddhist temples, it is also the final resting place of Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism.  The forest surrounding MountKoya contains the largest cemetery in the country, Okunoin.

You make your way through Okunoin via winding paths lined with stone lanterns.  The lanterns are lit at night and following them you will find the most famous lantern of all in Lantern Hall.  This light is said to have been burning for more than 1000 years without a break, ever since the death of Daishi.  Walking through the cemetery one will see countless pillars and statues, particularly statues of the Japanese deity known as Jizo.  This child-monk is the protector of the dead and special to those who have lost children.  The cemetery is, as stated, among the forest of the mountain and creates an amazing atmosphere of trees and stone.  For a great gallery of photos, check out this site.

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery - Paris, France

Pere-Lachaise is high up on the list when it comes to famous and visually spectacular cemeteries.  It was brought into existence in 1804 and inaugurated by Napoleon himself.  It is so large that the paths winding through it have their own street signs so that you don’t get lost.  According to the Paris tourism department, more than 1 million people are buried at Pere-Lachaise.

The cemetery is a maze of sculptures, statues, tombs, mausoleums and crypts.  Some of these are simply astounding in their artistic merit and have few rivals in the world that don’t involve monolithic constructs.  It also houses more than a few famous people, including such personalities as Oscar Wilde, Chopin and Jim Morrison.  Visitors are free to wander the cemetery on their own or take a tour, though you’d best bring a map if you plan on going in solo.

Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno - Genoa, Italy

Italy’s Staglieno cemetery was first begun in 1844 and took around seven years to complete.  Over time it has grown to become one of the largest cemeteries in all of Europe.  Many rich folks were attracted to the cemetery and decided to bury their loved ones there, all of them wanting to honor their dead an extraordinary aesthetic manner.  The result is a massive garden of sculptures that even most museums couldn’t hope to rival.  Most of these sculptures are truly impressive and some of them are placed within more elaborate settings as well.  A verbal description can never hope to do Staglieno justice.  It is something that has to be seen to be fully appreciated, preferably up close.  Though there are some very amazing photos at this site that show many of the cemetery’s highlights.

Gravestones photo courtesy of Hartmann Linge

Highgate Egyptian Avenue entrance photo courtesy of JohnArmagh via Wikicommons

La Recoleta photo courtesy of Liam Quinn via Wikicommons

Okunoin photo courtesy of Blue Lotus via Wikicommons

Pere-Lachaise photo courtesy of Pierre-Yves Beaudouin via Wikicommons

Staglieno angel photo courtesy of Twice25 & Rinina25 via Wikicommons