The Cimetière parisien de Pantin (sometimes known as cimetière parisien de Pantin-Bobigny) is one of the three Parisien cemeteries ''extra muros'', located in the commune of

Pantin Pantin () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. In 2019 its population was estimated to be 59,846. Pantin is located on the edge of ...

which is in

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobi ...

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

History

The cemetery was opened on November 15, 1886. Pantin is one of the three Parisien Cemeteries ''extra muros'', the others being

Cimetière parisien de Thiais The cimetière parisien de Thiais is one of three Parisian cemeteries '' extra muros'', and is located in the commune of Thiais, in the Val-de-Marne department, in the Île-de-France region. History The cemetery was opened in October 1929 and i ...

(opened in 1929) and Cimetière parisien de Bagneux (also opened in 1886). Since its opening, one million people have been buried in the cemetery, with nearly 5,000 interments taking place annually.

Notes

Pantin is the largest cemetery of Paris, both in number of graves and land area. It is also the largest cemetery in France. Pantin is a garden style burial ground with more than 8,000 trees and streets (a network of 32 kilometers of roads) that allow access by (motor) vehicles. It has nearly 200,000 graves, grouped in 180 divisions. The cemetery of Pantin is a vast

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

. The oldest graves are in the first seventeen divisions. Many of the burials are from the Jewish community (France has the largest

Jewish community Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

) and more recently from the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

community. Marthe Erbelding was buried here (her grave was cleared in 1960). Erbelding was an 11-year-old girl who was

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

d and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

ed by a friend of her parents in 1907. The details of this gruesome crime were widely reported on. As a

result A result (also called upshot) is the outcome or consequence of a sequence of actions or events. Possible results include gain, injury, value, and victory. Some types of results include the outcome of an action, the final value of a calculation ...

the abolition of

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

was delayed for another 60 years. Ilan Halimi, the young French

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

, who was kidnapped and tortured to death in 2006, was temporarily buried in Pantin before being reburied in '' Har HaMenuchot'' cemetery in Israel on February 9, 2007.''Trials and Tribulations'', by Brett Kline, (c) JTA, The Jewish Herald, July 24, 2009, pp. 20–23 It is one of the least known of the many Parisian cemeteries. The cemetery is a socio-economic reflection of the past decades, with graves for both rich and poor. It has been mentioned in songs such as

Vincent Delerm Vincent Delerm (born 31 August 1976) is a French singer-songwriter, pianist and composer. He is the son of the writer Philippe Delerm and illustrator Martine Delerm. His first album was released in 2002, the second, ''Kensington Square'', in ...

's ''Les Trottoirs à l’envers'',

Pierre Perret Pierre Perret (born 9 July 1934 in Castelsarrasin, Tarn-et-Garonne) is a French singer and composer. He lives in Nangis, France. Biography Perret spent much of his childhood in a café which his parents owned, where he learned to use jargon ...

's ''Ils s’aimaient'' and Mano Solo's ''Le Monde Entier''. In July 1973, one hundred Jewish tombstones were desecrated at the cemetery. In addition, some 60 Stars of David were either defaced or smeared.

Notable interments

War graves

The cemetery contains a small British Commonwealth war graves plot, in Division 6, holding 93 servicemen of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, some casualties who died in military hospitals after evacuation from the Western Front, the later ones those stationed in the area after the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

. The plot is amidst French military war graves.City of Paris, Pantin Cemetery
on the

CWGC The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

website

Individual burials

''Because even the cemetery does not seem to have an exhaustive list of burials and the amount of burials is vast, only a selection'': * Frédéric Othon Théodore Aristidès (1931–2013), artist *

Jeanne Aubert Jeanne Aubert (born Jeanne Perrinot; 21 February 1900 – 6 March 1988) was a French singer and actress. Biography Aubert was born in Paris, France, to a single mother, Augustine Marguerite Perrinot, who pushed her daughter into a career in sho ...

(1906–1988), actress *

Jacques Audiberti Jacques Séraphin Marie Audiberti (March 25, 1899 – July 10, 1965) was a French playwright, poet and novelist and exponent of the Theatre of the Absurd. Audiberti was born in Antibes, France, the son of Louis Audiberti, a master mason, and ...

(1899–1965), writer * Doris Bensimon (1924–2009), Austrian-born French sociologist and academic *

Émile Bernard Émile Henri Bernard (; 28 April 1868 – 16 April 1941) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer, who had artistic friendships with Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Eugène Boch, and at a later time, Paul Cézanne. Most of his no ...

(1868–1941), painter * Boris Bouieff (1925–1979), writer (anonymous, plain, earthen grave in division 54) * Thomas Breakwell (1872–1901),

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

convert *

Eugène Criqui Eugène Criqui (15 August 1893 – 7 July 1977) was a French boxer who held the List of world featherweight boxing champions, World Featherweight title in 1923. After his death, he was added to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Eugèn ...

(1893–1977), boxer * Damia (1892–1978), singer *

René Daumal René Daumal (; 16 March 1908 – 21 May 1944) was a French spiritual para-surrealist writer, critic and poet, best known for his posthumously published novel '' Mount Analogue'' (1952) as well as for being an early, outspoken practitioner of ...

(1908–1944), writer *

Gabrielle Fontan Gabrielle Fontan (16 April 1873 – 8 September 1959) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than 120 films between 1927 and 1959. Selected filmography * '' Misdeal'' (1928) * '' The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard'' (1929) * '' The La ...

(1873–1959), actress * Fratellini family members, circus family *

Fréhel Fréhel (; born Marguerite Boulc'h (); 13 July 1891 – 3 February 1951) was a French singer and actress. Biography Born in Paris to a poor and dysfunctional Breton family, Marguerite Boulc'h was a child left to a life on the streets in the s ...

(1891–1951), singer * Wiera Gran (1916–2007), singer *

Constantin Guys Constantin Guys (born Ernest-Adolphe Guys de Saint-Hélène, December 3, 1802 – December 13, 1892) was a French Crimean War correspondent, Watercolor painting, water color painter and illustrator for British and French newspapers. Biography Guy ...

(1802–1892) Dutch-born painter *

Alphonse Halimi Alphonse Halimi (February 18, 1932 – November 12, 2006) was a French boxer. He took the Undisputed World Bantamweight Championship on April 1, 1957, in Paris, and the European Bantamweight Championship five years later. Early life He was bor ...

(1932–2006), boxer * André Hardellet (1911–1974), poet and writer * Helno (1963–1993), singer with

Les Négresses Vertes Les Négresses Vertes ("The Green Negresses"), formed in 1987, is a French music group that combines world music and some aspects of alternative rock. Tracks often feature steel-string acoustic guitar, acoustic guitar and accordion, with some c ...

* Véra Korène (1901–1996), Russian-born actress * Ludwik de Laveaux (painter) (1868–1894), Polish painter *

Ginette Leclerc Ginette Leclerc (born Geneviève Lucie Menut; February 9, 1912 – January 2, 1992) was a French film actress. She appeared in nearly 90 films between 1932 and 1978. Her last TV appearance was in 1981. She was born in Ile-de-France, France and ...

(1912–1991), actress *

Emmanuel Lévinas Emmanuel Levinas (born Emanuelis Levinas ; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the rel ...

(1906–1995), philosopher *

Jean-Pierre Melville Jean-Pierre Grumbach (20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973), known professionally as Jean-Pierre Melville (), was a French filmmaker. Considered a spiritual godfather of the French New Wave, he was one of the first fully-independent French filmmake ...

(1917–1973), film director/producer, Resistance fighter *

Reinette L'Oranaise Sultana Daoud (also known as Reinette l'Oranaise; 1918 in Tiaret, Algeria – 17 November 1998, in Paris) was an Algerian Jewish singer, who helped preserve Arab-Andalus music, as well as introducing the genre to European audiences. Early life She ...

(1918–1998), singer *

San Yu San Yu (, ; 3 March 1918 – 28 January 1996) was a Burmese army general and statesman who served as the fifth president of Myanmar from 9 November 1981 to 27 July 1988. Biography San Yu, an ethnic Burmese, was born in Thegon during the ...

(1901–1966), Chinese-French painter *

Savielly Tartakower Savielly Tartakower (also known as ''Xavier'' or ''Ksawery'' ''Tartakower'', less often ''Tartacover'' or ''Tartakover''; 21 February 1887 – 4 February 1956) was a Polish chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster (chess), Internatio ...

(1887–1956), Polish-French chess Grandmaster, chess journalist and author *

Jules Védrines Jules Charles Toussaint Védrines (29 December 1881 – 21 April 1919) was an early French aviator, notable for being the first pilot to fly at more than 100 mph and for winning the Gordon Bennett Trophy (aeroplanes), Gordon Bennett Trophy rac ...

(1881–1919), aviator * Louis Vivin (1861–1936) primitivist painter *

Ilarie Voronca Ilarie Voronca (pen name of Eduard Isidor Marcus; 31 December 1903, Brăila – 8 April 1946, Paris) was a Romanian avant-garde poet and essayist. Life and career Voronca was of History of the Jews in Romania, Jewish ethnicity. In his early yea ...

(1903–1946), poet * Louise Weber (1866–1929),

Cancan The can-can (also spelled cancan as in the original French /kɑ̃kɑ̃/) is a high-energy, physically demanding dance that became a popular music-hall dance in the 1840s, continuing in popularity in French cabaret to this day. Originally dance ...

dancer, later reinterred at

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre () is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis in Paris, after the Père Lachaise Cemet ...

Jean d'Yd Jean Paul Félix Didier Perret, who used the stage name Jean d'Yd, was a French actor and comedian who was born in Paris on 17 May 1880. He died in Vernon, Eure, France on 14 May 1964. Selected filmography *1923: ''La Dame de Monsoreau (film ...

(1880–1964), actor

Notable ornaments

* The grave of private Germain Verlé, with a sculpture by Georges Meynial (division 15) * The massive tomb in division 9, dedicated to ''mes maîtres Déon et Dea''

Monuments

Spread around the cemetery there are memorials for certain events such as for the victims of the Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux crash of 1956 (in division 126).

Location

The main entrance to the Cimetière parisien de Pantin is on 164 Avenue Jean Jaurès (it is actually on Avenue du Cimetière Parisien), in Pantin (one of the banlieu of Paris). There is also a gate named Porte de Petits Points on Avenue du Général Leclerc (near the junction with Chemin des Vignes). There are two other gates, Porte de Pailleux and Porte d'Illustration, but these are only open on

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

and

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church, whether they are know ...

. The cemetery is located next to Fort d'Aubervilliers.

Public transport

The cemetery is a short walk from the Aubervilliers – Pantin – Quatre Chemins or Fort d'Aubervilliers métro stations, which can be reached by taking line 7. The nearest railway station is

which is served by line E. The cemetery is also served by bus lines 151 and 152. There is a

Vélib' is a large-scale public bicycle sharing system in Paris, France. The system encompasses more than 16,000 bikes and 1,400 stations. The name ''Vélib is a portmanteau of the French words ''vélo'' (''"bicycle"'') and ''liberté'' ("freedom"). ...

station at Avenue Jean Jaurès (35001).

References

External links

*
Cimetière de Pantin on the Cimetières de France et d'ailleurs website
*
Cimetière parisien de Pantin on the Mairie de Paris website (with plan)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cimetiere de Pantin Cemeteries in Paris Buildings and structures in Seine-Saint-Denis 1886 establishments in France Tourist attractions in Seine-Saint-Denis Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in France Cemeteries established in the 1880s