Remembered by few, but resting place to many: This is Batignolles Cemetery. It is a serene spot. But it is less visited than other Paris cemeteries.
Batignolles Cemetery opened in 1833. It is in the 17th arrondissement. The cemetery is near the Porte de Clichy metro station.
Batignolles Cemetery is large and leafy. It is peppered with tombs and sculptures. Batignolles Cemetery is the fourth largest cemetery in Paris. Only Père Lachaise Cemetery and Montparnasse Cemetery are bigger. Batignolles Cemetery covers nearly eleven hectares. It contains around fifteen thousand graves. There are approximately nine hundred mature trees here. Most are chestnuts and maples.
Before 1979, Batignolles Cemetery was popular for Russian Orthodox burials. Léon Bakst is buried here. He was a painter and costume designer for the Russian Ballet. Sergei Lyapunov is also buried here. He was a composer and pianist.
The Boulevard Périphérique impacted Batignolles Cemetery. This is a 35 km circular road around Paris. Construction began in 1958 and finished in 1973. It bisected the old part of Batignolles Cemetery. Some graves had to be moved because of the road.
André Breton is buried in Batignolles Cemetery. He was a French writer. He founded the Surrealist movement. His epitaph reads: “I seek the gold of time”. Marguerite Durand is also buried here. She was a journalist and feminist. She founded the magazine “La Fronde”. Paul Verlaine was also buried here. His family grave was moved after the road construction.
You can find a bronze bust of Lorenzo Pagans here. He was a musician and composer. Ferdinand Leenhoff, a Dutch sculptor, created it. There is also a female statue on Louis Soulié’s grave. Clotaire Champy created that statue. Louis Soulié was a painter.
Batignolles Cemetery is open every day. It is free to enter. It offers a peaceful escape in Paris.