Time traveling is not possible. Yet here we are at Cimeti\u00e8re de Croix in Lille. It is a place where time seems to slow. Here lie stories etched in stone.
Cimeti\u00e8re de Croix is not just a burial ground. It’s a chronicle of Lille. It whispers tales of lives lived. It echoes with the city’s past.
Imagine this cemetery in France. It is one of the oldest and largest. Cimeti\u00e8re de Croix spans 22 hectares. That’s about 54 acres. Opened in 1779 it holds about 36000 graves.
Originally part of the Coustenoble-Dujardin family estate, the family requested the area remain a landscape. The family’s wish was granted. This place is now a beautiful park.
As you wander, notice the mix of tombs. You will see Catholic graves. You will also see Jewish, Muslim and Turkish sections. Some graves even bear Freemason symbols. These symbols include squares and compasses.
Look around at the wildlife. Squirrels, cats and birds call this place home. Fruit trees like persimmon and walnut thrive here. The city cares for these natural inhabitants. The Cimeti\u00e8re de Croix even has a pond and beehives.
Many prominent people rest here at Cimeti\u00e8re de Croix. Consider Émile Dubuisson. He was a noted architect. Admire the final resting place of General Louis Faidherbe. He was a Senegal administrator and senator. Remember Henri Ghesquières. He was a socialist deputy. The Germans killed him.
The artist Eliza de Try is also buried here. Her life-size bronze statue stands near the main entrance. The statue shows her playing the cello. She was a celebrated musician. Her talent took her across Europe and America.
Near her lies Alfred Quesnay. He played flute at the Lille theater. A bronze bust shows a muse weeping for him. The angel is from the Amiens cathedral.
Five Lille resistance fighters from World War I are also at Cimeti\u00e8re de Croix. Jules Maertens, Eugène Deconynck, and others were executed. Maertens’ tomb is very moving. A bronze France mourns his fallen body.
Eugène Jacquet, a resistance leader, was a Freemason. His grave displays Masonic symbols. The grave of Sylvère Verhulst has a bronze profile medallion.
The Decottignies tomb is especially poignant. A mother kneels before her son’s wooden cross. His helmet rests atop it. The cross shows his regiment. Camille Decottignies died in battle at age 23.
Consider the story of Louis-Alfred Delepoulle. The Germans held him hostage during World War I. He later created an association for hostages. He is among the Captifs on Lille’s war memorial.
The Degryse family tomb is art deco. It features a bas-relief. The art shows Christ’s resurrection.
Toward the back, discover the Jewish section. There are also British citizens buried here. The British had settled in Lille in the mid-1800s. The vegetation here is lush.
The Leconte-Collette family mausoleum resembles a Greek temple. This family sold shoes. The faces of a daughter and daughter-in-law adorn the stone coffin.
The family of General Charles de Gaulle also has a connection here. Julia Mac Cartan Delannoy, de Gaulle’s grandmother, is part of the Mac Cartan lineage.
As you leave Cimeti\u00e8re de Croix, remember the stories. The Cimeti\u00e8re de Croix is a place of rest. It is also a testament to life. Each tomb holds a memory. Each monument tells a tale. This is the history of Lille in stone.