Apart from all the other famous landmarks, sights, carnivals, festivals and venues, New Orleans is also famous for its cemeteries. Just recently CNN Travel published their list of 10 of the world’s most beautiful cemeteries, and not surprisingly New Orleans’ St. Louis No. 1 cemetery ranked first. Famous cemeteries? Not surprisingly? But as odd as it may sound at first, NOLA’s cemeteries are indeed a sight to behold and are full of interesting tombs, symbols and stories (haunted ones too). There are more than 30 cemeteries in New Orleans, established at different times and situated in different neighborhoods of the city. Below we will present you with two of the most famous ones but make sure to check New Orleans Cemeteries’ website if you’re planning on going round to see more of them.
St. Louis No. 1
St. Louis No. 1 is the oldest cemetery in NOLA. It opened in 1789 and is situated in the French Quarter of the city. It is not by chance that this cemetery was ranked as the most beautiful one by CNN. One of the reasons for this is that NOLA’s cemeteries are full of tombs instead of regular graves. How come? Well, initially French settlers buried their deceased ones underground but soon found out that this was going to create problems. Since New Orleans is situated below sea level, each time there was a flood coffins and bodies would rise from the ground. Therefore people decided to start burying the dead in above-ground tombs and crypts. This also permitted them to reuse the vaults and to build larger tombs for whole families. And that’s what actually made the cemetery, over time, noteworthy for its remarkable architectural and sculptural forms. There are around 20 types of tombs which can be identified: from barrel-vaulted to oven vaults, parapet tombs, sarcophagi and even pyramids. There are also additional symbols, such as crosses, angels, urns and others. And finally there’s a lot of famous people buried there, such as Marie Laveau (1794-1881), a voodoo priestess, or Ernest “Dutch” Morial (1929-1989), NOLA’s first black mayor.
Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, situated in Garden District was established in 1833. Though it’s not as old as St. Louis No. 1, it tells the story of unique chapter of New Orleans history. Garden District used to be known as the city of Lafayette and was the place where newcomers, Americans and immigrants, which were not part of the Creole population of the French Quarter, would settle. Therefore the tombs in the cemetery carry the names of families from the Northern states, as well as from Ireland, Germany, and Holland. There are also many people buried here who lost their lives during the yellow fever epidemic (1853) as well as during the Civil war. Lafayette No. 1 is also notable as it was dedicated to the composer, pianist and organist Theodore Von La Hache who founded the New Orleans Philharmonic Society in 1852. More recently, the famous movie ‘Interview with a Vampire’ (1994), featuring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and others was filmed here.
If you’re planning a trip to NOLA and have not yet finished planning your stay, you should definitely include a visit to at least a few of the cemeteries in the city. They are calm and peaceful places, rich in stories and facts from New Orleans’ colorful history.