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Picpus Cemetery

Picpus Cemetery, at 35 rue de Picpus (12th arrondissement), is one of the two private cemeteries in Paris. It was created in June 1794, on the grounds of a former convent, to bury in two mass graves the 1,306 people guillotined at the barrière du Trône, now place de la Nation, between 14 June and 27 July of that year. In 1802 relatives of the victims, among them the Marquise de La Fayette, bought the land and created the cemetery adjoining the graves. The Marquis de La Fayette rests here beside his wife; his coffin is covered with soil from the United States and an American flag flies over the tomb, renewed every 4 July. The poet André Chénier is also buried here, along with sixteen Carmelite nuns. In the chapel, of Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix, marble plaques list the names of all the victims.

Things to do at Picpus Cemetery: 3 missions

• Read the names of the 1,306 guillotinedIn the chapel, look at the marble plaques with the names of the victims of June and July 1794 and note down a surname you recognise.
• Locate the two mass gravesIdentify the walled enclosure that protects the two mass graves: the first with about 1,000 bodies and the second with about 304.
• Find La Fayette's tombLook for the tomb of the Marquis de La Fayette and his wife, marked by an American flag that is renewed every 4 July.

Near Picpus Cemetery

Source: Ville de Paris - Cimetière de Picpus