Montmartre Cemetery was opened in 1825 and is one of the most remarkable cemeteries in Paris both because of its position on the side of the hill known as the Butte Montmartre and the exceptional characteristics of its artistic, architectural and plant heritage.
Its social role, its heritage, ecology and landscape, together with its position in the centre of the dense city of Paris make it a highly sought-after cemetery. But it has run out of space. The number of tombs and graves has grown enormously over time, and the site is in danger of losing its individual character and becoming completely overcrowded undermining the quality of its landscape and the value of its heritage.
In view of this, it needs more substantial protection and for a management plan to be implemented so that it can continue to fulfil its functions while retaining its qualities. As a true open-air museum, a set of regulations (Site Protection Law, 1930) and a shared site management tool can be used to protect it, just as with the Père-Lachaise Cemetery.
In 2012, the DEVE, which manages the cemetery, approved the preparation of a classification file for the cemetery and commissioned Apur to make a study with the following objectives:
- specify the environmental and heritage assets of the cemetery;
- highlight the strong points of the site and the issues linked to its development;
- supply the facts needed in order to put together a file concerning its protection and a future management plan.
Starting with the history of the cemetery, the study includes surveys, an analysis of its component parts and the way it is exploited, recommendations for its enhancement, how to integrate it better with the city and make it more welcoming to the public, together with a greater recognition of its history and its role.
The study makes the following recommendations in particular:
- initiate a process of de-densification of burial plots in order to improve the pathways and enhance and revive its landscape and its architectural heritage through a policy of making new use of its funerary monuments;
- set up a project to renovate the land and architectural and artistic works and redesign the green spaces thus clarifying the layout, enhancing the atmosphere of the site and improving the permeability of the land and its biodiversity;
- give greater consideration to the role of the cemetery as an oasis of nature and a place of tranquillity where inhabitants of the area can walk, and make it more welcoming to the public, in particular by creating a new entrance making it possible to walk through the cemetery.
Contents:
- Introduction
- Summary and factual information for a management plan
- An urban cemetery on an exceptional site
- Diagnosis of the cemetery: environment, landscape and heritage
- City-cemetery relationship, its exploitation and management
- Landscape features of the Montmartre Cemetery
- Annexes
