Laeken Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Laeken, nl, Begraafplaats van Laken) in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium, is the city's oldest

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

still in function and the resting place of the

Belgian Royal Family Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's he ...

. It is known as the ''Belgian Père Lachaise'', after Paris' notorious cemetery, because it is the burial place of the rich and the famous and for the abundance of its funerary heritage.

Description

The installation of the

in 1831 and the burial of Queen Louise in 1850 contributed to the appeal of Laeken. The cemetery houses very fine examples of 19th-century

funerary art Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, and comm ...

and also features an original bronze cast of Auguste Rodin's ''Thinker'', purchased in 1927 by the antiquarian and art collector Josef Dillen to use as his own memorial. Next to the entrance, there is a small museum dedicated to the sculptor Ernest Salu and his successors. Rodin The Thinker Laeken cemetery

The adjacent

Church of Our Lady of Laeken nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk van Laken , native_name_lang = , image = Église Notre-Dame de Laeken (DSCF1248-DSCF1251).jpg , imagesize = 271 , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption ...

is the site of the , consecrated in 1872.

Notable interments

Personalities buried there include: * Alphonse Balat (1818–1895), architect * Charles Auguste de Bériot (1802–1870), violinist and composer * Jacques Coghen (1791–1858), Finance Minister and ancestor of King Philippe *

Michel de Ghelderode Michel de Ghelderode (born Adémar Adolphe Louis Martens, 3 April 1898 – 1 April 1962) was an avant-garde Belgian dramatist, from Flanders, who spoke and wrote in French. His works often deal with the extremes of human experience, from death an ...

(1898–1962), writer * Camille Jenatzy (1868–1913), race-car driver * Fernand Khnopff (1858–1921), painter *

Maria Malibran Maria Felicia Malibran (24 March 1808 – 23 September 1836) was a Spanish singer who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the best-known opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality ...

(1808–1836),

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

singer, with a work by sculptor

Guillaume Geefs Guillaume Geefs (10 September 1805 – 19 January 1883), also Willem Geefs, was a Belgian sculptor. Although known primarily for his monumental works and public portraits of statesmen and nationalist figures, he also explored mythological su ...

George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana, ''The American cyclopaedia: a popular dictionary of general knowledge'', volume 10 *

Joseph Poelaert Joseph Poelaert (21 March 1817 – 3 November 1879) was a Belgian architect. He was entrusted with important projects in Brussels, such as Saint Catherine's Church, the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, the Congress Column, the Royal Theatre of la ...

(1817–1879), architect *

Louis-Joseph Seutin Louis Joseph Seutin (18 October 1793 – 29 January 1862) was a Belgium, Belgian Physician, doctor, surgery, surgeon and professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Louis Joseph Ghislain Seutin born in Nivelles, he studied medicine and took ...

(1793–1862), surgeon * Léon Suys (1823–1887), architect *

Augustus Van Dievoet Augustus Van Dievoet (, Latin: Augustus Divutius, French: Auguste, 3 May 180331 October 1865) was a Belgian legal historian and Supreme Court advocate. His son, Jules Van Dievoet, also a Supreme Court advocate, married Marguerite Anspach (1852- ...

(1803–1865), jurisconsult * '' Parthon de Von family''

Graves

File:Cimetière de Laeken 06.JPG File:Cimetière de Laeken 08.JPG File:Cimetière de Laeken 04.JPG File:Cimetière de Laeken 05.JPG File:Sépulture de la famille Parthon de Von, concession perpétuelle, au cimetière de Laeken (Bruxelles, Belgique).jpg

References

Notes

{{reflist Cemeteries in Belgium Buildings and structures in Brussels Tourist attractions in Brussels Geography of Brussels Culture in Brussels

Description

Notable interments

Graves

See also

References

Notes