The difference between a graveyard and a cemetery is that graveyards are attached to churches while cemeteries stand alone.
When the atheistic Cult of Reason was sponsored by the French revolutionary government to replace Catholicism, cemetery gates in France had to bear the inscription "Death is an eternal sleep."
Père Lachaise Cemetery Photo by Peter Poradisch
The London Necropolis Company opened a vast cemetery (at the time the largest in the world) at Brookwood, near Woking, Surrey in 1852. It had a private railway station, adjoining Waterloo, its own trains, and two stations (one for the Anglicans and one for non-Anglicans) in the cemetery itself, with the name Necropolis.
On June 8, 1944, the U.S. First Army established in Normandy the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. France later granted the US permanent, rent-free possession of the cemetery. It contains the remains of 9,387 fallen troops plus a memorial to 1,557 killed there whose remains were either not found or not identified.
When the atheistic Cult of Reason was sponsored by the French revolutionary government to replace Catholicism, cemetery gates in France had to bear the inscription "Death is an eternal sleep."
The most visited cemetery in the world is Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France. It is a major tourist attraction, renowned for its tombs of notable figures, including Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, and Marcel Proust. Père Lachaise Cemetery was opened in 1804 and is now home to over 70,000 tombs. It is one of the largest cemeteries in Paris and is also one of the most beautiful. The cemetery is a park-like setting with winding paths, trees, and flowers.
The London Necropolis Company opened a vast cemetery (at the time the largest in the world) at Brookwood, near Woking, Surrey in 1852. It had a private railway station, adjoining Waterloo, its own trains, and two stations (one for the Anglicans and one for non-Anglicans) in the cemetery itself, with the name Necropolis.
On June 8, 1944, the U.S. First Army established in Normandy the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. France later granted the US permanent, rent-free possession of the cemetery. It contains the remains of 9,387 fallen troops plus a memorial to 1,557 killed there whose remains were either not found or not identified.
In the 1950s, Temple University and the City of Philadelphia disinterred an entire cemetery to expand Temple's campus. The cemetery, known as Monument Cemetery, was home to the graves of over 28,000 people, including many prominent Philadelphians. The city condemned the cemetery in 1955, and the bodies were disinterred and moved to Lawnview Cemetery in Montgomery County. The headstones were dumped into the Delaware River, where many of them can still be seen today.
The most-visited presidential grave is John F. Kennedy's in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
The only other president buried in Arlington is William Howard Taft.
Bessie Smith (1894-1937) is regarded as the greatest female blues singer. After Smith's death, her grave was unmarked for 33 years because her husband, bootlegger Jack Gee, stole the headstone money.
Approximately 200 pets are buried a day in a pet cemetery.
The most-visited presidential grave is John F. Kennedy's in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
The only other president buried in Arlington is William Howard Taft.
Bessie Smith (1894-1937) is regarded as the greatest female blues singer. After Smith's death, her grave was unmarked for 33 years because her husband, bootlegger Jack Gee, stole the headstone money.
Approximately 200 pets are buried a day in a pet cemetery.
The largest cemetery in the world is Wadi al-Salam, located in the city of Najaf, Iraq. It covers an area of 9.17 square kilometers (3.54 sq mi) and is thought to contain millions of sets of human remains, making it one of the largest human burial grounds on Earth.
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| An aerial view of Wadi-al-Salam cemetery |
Wadi al-Salam has been in continuous use since the seventh century and is considered to be a holy site by Shia Muslims. Many Shia Muslims believe that it is a blessing to be buried in Wadi al-Salam, as they believe that it is one of the places where the Day of Judgment will begin.
The cemetery is home to a variety of burial sites, including simple graves, elaborate mausoleums, and family plots. Some of the most notable figures buried in Wadi al-Salam include the first Shia Imam, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Husayn ibn Ali.
The largest cemetery in the Western word is Calverton National Cemetery at Long Island, New York, It covers 1, 045 acres but was opened only in 1978 so hosts the remains of less than 300,000 people.
The second largest cemetery in terms of size is Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg, Germany. It covers an area of 990 acres, and has been in continuous use since 1877.
New York city's Washington Square Park used to be a graveyard. There are over 20,000 people buried there.
The town of Colma in California has 17 cemeteries, about 1.5 million graves but only 1600 living residents. Its motto is "It's great to be alive in Colma."
In New Orleans the tombs are located above the ground in cemeteries, given the high water table in the area.
The USA owns one acre of land in Mexico City that serves as a cemetery for soldiers killed in the Mexican-American War. 170 Years Later, 813 Americans are still buried there.
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