Jonathan Edwards’s grave in Princeton, New Jersey
OK, I know this may seem like a morbid topic, but I love visiting cemeteries. However, I think Americans are beholden to a cultural captivity of fear of cemeteries. In the rest of the world, especially Europe, cemeteries do not evoke images of zombies or Stephen King novels. In Europe, many people are buried in churches, and it’s not a creepy thing—rather, it is an honor. I found, after living for five years in Europe, that my view of cemeteries had altered drastically. Now I quite like to stroll through cemeteries because of their peace and beauty. Sometimes I even go to cemeteries to pray or jog, or simply to escape from the crowds.
Also, for anyone interested in history, it’s really fascinating to visit the graves of famous people. It’s one thing to visit, say, the home of William Shakespeare, but it’s quite another thing to see his grave, to think that his actual body lies right there, just a matter of feet from you!
So I’ve compiled a list of my twenty favorite cemeteries in the world, in my order of preference. I’ve only mentioned ones that I’ve personally visited, and I highly recommend that you see these if you happen upon them!
1) Père Lachaise (Paris, France): perhaps the best cemetery in the world. It is huge, maze-like, and requires some time to explore. Be sure to buy a map at the gate otherwise you will never find what you’re looking for! The following famous people are buried there: Eugène Delacroix, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Frederic Chopin, Camille Pissarro, Molière, Marcel Proust, Georges Bizet, Peter Abelard, and much more!
2) Westminster Abbey (London, England): one of the grandest churches in the world, where the most famous Britons are buried, including: most Kings & Queens of England (note particularly the joint tomb of the sisters Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Mary I aka Bloody Mary), Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and William Wilberforce. Also don’t miss the Poet’s Corner which is dedicated to the greatest authors that England has ever produced, such as Chaucer, Shelley, Eliot, Kipling, Wordsworth, and Shakespeare! And there is a little-known but interesting (to me at least) classical musicians’ corner which includes Ralph Vaughan Williams, Edgar Elgar, and William Walton.
3) Sun Yat-Sen Memorial (Nanjing, China): located at the foot of the Purple Mountain, this is perhaps the single grandest mausoleum I have ever seen. You must ascend 392 steps to the top, an awe-inspiring height and sight. Once at the top, Dr. Sun’s tomb is elegant and absolutely fitting for the “Father of Modern China.”
4) Arlington National Cemetery (Washington, DC): stately and majestic, the many rows of crosses (with the occasional Star of David for the Jewish servicemen) show the people who have died in service to our country. It makes you swell with patriotic pride just being there!
5) Basilica di Santa Croce (Florence, Italy): this church is fascinating because it contains the tombs of three very notable people: Galileo, Machiavelli, and Michelangelo! Notice particularly the figurines on Michelangelo’s tomb which represent the three crafts he was famous for: sculpture, painting, and architecture.
6) La Recoleta (Buenos Aires, Argentina): the most famous person buried here is Eva Perón, but this cemetery is worth strolling around just for its beauty and expansive grounds.
7) Mount of Olives (Jerusalem, Israel): impressive not just because of its age (it is one of the oldest cemeteries in the world, in use since the first century A.D.), there is also tremendous Biblical significance to this place. You can look down into the Kidron Valley which lies between the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives, which itself contains many graves because it is on the Eastern side of the city where people were buried to anticipate the return of the Messiah from the East.
8 ) Harvard (Cambridge, Massachusetts): the Mt. Auburn Cemetery is stunningly beautiful, well landscaped, and has a mythic quality to it with lakes and Greek architecture. Also, buried here are: Phillips Brooks, Mary Baker Eddy, Isabella Stewart Gardner, Henry Wadworth Longfellow, and Charles Tufts. You gotta check out Eddy’s mausoleum, it’s quite a sight to see!
9) Yale (New Haven, Connecticut): the Grove Street Cemetery has pleasant lanes to stroll, and is the burial place of Eli Whitney (the inventor of the cotton gin), Noah Webster (of American Dictionary fame), Walter Camp (the inventor of American football), Bart Giamatti (President of Yale and later Commissioner of Major League Baseball), Timothy Dwight (both father and son!), and Lyman Beecher (preacher and father-in-law of Harriet Beecher Stowe).
10) Princeton (Princeton, New Jersey): the Princeton Cemetery (not to be confused with Princeton Seminary!) contains the grave of Jonathan Edwards as well as President Grover Cleveland, Vice-President Aaron Burr (Edwards’ grandson), and theologian Charles Hodge.
11) Bunhill Fields (London, England): a veritable Who’s Who of famous English literary and theological people, such as William Blake, Susanna Wesley, John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe, Isaac Watts, George Fox, and John Owen.
12) Tomb of the Ming Emperors (Beijing, China): between Beijing and the Great Wall of China, you can stop here and walk through the burial place of the emperors of one of China’s greatest dynasties. Bonus: you’re allowed to go underground and see all the treasures that they’ve unearthed!
13) Wolvercote Cemetery (Oxford, England): most well known as the final resting place of J.R.R. Tolkien, it’s worth also exploring it to find James Legge (Oxford professor and the most significant Protestant missionary to China), and James Murray (the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary)!
14) Assistens (Copenhagen, Denmark): a large and pleasant park-like cemetery where Søren Kierkegaard and Hans Christian Andersen are buried. Be sure to ask the guard at the front gate how to find them, otherwise it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack!
15) Vyšehrad (Prague, Czech Republic): a medium-sized cemetery, the well-kept grounds are pleasant for exploring. Look for the tombs of the famous composers Dvořák and Smetana.
16) Pantheon (Paris, France): No, not the one in Rome! This Pantheon is a grand neo-classical building in the Latin Quarter that houses the tombs of famous French people like Rousseau, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Louis Braille.
17) Seville Cathedral (Seville, Spain): not only is this the second-largest Catholic cathedral in the world (after St. Peter’s in the Vatican), it contains the majestic tomb of Christopher Columbus, a giant bronze sarcophagus with four pallbearers.
18) St. Paul’s Cathedral (London, England): this is the second-largest cathedral in the world—larger than the Seville Cathedral though it is Anglican not Catholic. England’s most famous architect, Christopher Wren, is buried here in the crypt of his magnum opus.
19) American Cemetery (Luxembourg): in layout and feel, it is very similar to the Arlington National Cemetery, and has the fallen from WWII. But this one is notable because it contains the grave of General George S. Patton. I grew up in San Marino, California, and General Patton was a native son of our town.
20) Granary Burial Ground (Boston, Massachusetts): as part of the Freedom Trail, this small cemetery contains the graves of American revolutionaries such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere.
And honorable mention must be made to Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary (Whittier, California), located not too far from Biola University: this beautiful burial place with rolling hills is the largest cemetery in the world!
There are also other great single tombs to visit, such as William Shakespeare (at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, England), Mao Zedong (at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China), Dante and Theodoric (separate tombs in Ravenna, Italy), Francisco Pisarro (at the cathedral in Lima, Peru), Grace Kelly (at the cathedral in Monaco), Gandhi (in New Delhi, India), Napoleon (at the Hotel de Invalides in Paris), and right outside Milan you can visit Stradivarius (in Cremona, Italy), and Augustine and Boethius (yep, both are buried in the same church—San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro—in Pavia, Italy)!
Cemeteries are great! Have some fun and visit a nearby cemetery today!
J.R.R. Tolkien’s grave in Oxford, England
