Grenelle Cemetery, Cemetery in the 15th arrondissement, Paris, France
The Cimetière de Grenelle is an active cemetery in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, on Rue Saint-Charles near the corner of Rue Cauchy. The grounds are rectangular and flat, with cross-shaped paths lined by old chestnut trees that form a green canopy overhead.
In 1835, the residents of Grenelle, then still an independent village, bought land known as "Les Belles-Noix" to bury their dead, as they had previously relied on the nearby cemetery of Vaugirard. When Grenelle was absorbed into Paris in 1860, the cemetery became part of the city.
The name Grenelle comes from an old French word, "garenne," referring to a type of game warren. Today, the graves of ordinary tradespeople stand beside those of artists and architects, giving a sense of who once lived in this former village.
The entrance is on Rue Saint-Charles, and the grounds are small enough to walk through in about an hour. Downloading a map of the graves before your visit makes it much easier to find specific tombs.
The Violet family tomb, named after the man who helped build the Grenelle neighborhood, is said not to hold his remains at all, as he is believed to be buried at Père-Lachaise. The sculptor Marius Rémondot created a marble statue of a weeping woman for his own family tomb, one of the most striking works on the grounds.
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