The oldest and most beautiful cemetery in Europe. Novosormovo Cemetery

Today, cemeteries are increasingly “growing” and occupy considerable areas in any country in the world. And if earlier relatives of the deceased came here to honor the memory of loved ones, then more and more often cemeteries are becoming a kind of cultural and historical place where tourists come and local residents come to relax, considering it their duty to visit the graves of famous writers, politicians, military leaders, and composers. What is the largest cemetery in Europe, which simply amazes with its enormous size?

1 Rostov-on-Don – Northern Cemetery

This is the largest cemetery in Europe, which is included in the famous Book of Records for its size. It is located in the northern part of the city and covers an area of ​​more than 350 hectares. More than 355,000 dead are buried there. The Northern Cemetery opened in 1972. At the main entrance, visitors are “greeted” by the Poklonny Stone, which is a memorial composition with a towering cross. On the territory of the cemetery there is a temple (of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary), there is a columbarium and a crematorium. In addition to the fact that this place is recognized as the largest in Europe, it is also the largest in our entire country.

2 St. Petersburg – Northern Cemetery

Another one of the largest cemeteries in Europe can be called the resting place of the deceased in the northern part of St. Petersburg. The cemetery covers an area of ​​300 hectares, which is somewhat smaller in size than the cemetery in Rostov-on-Don.

3 Nizhny Novgorod – Novosormovo cemetery

This Nizhny Novgorod burial place can also rightfully be considered the largest cemetery in Europe, since 220 hectares of land have already been allocated for it. Whereas local authorities once stated that this area is incredibly large and “off scale” beyond the norm, which is only 40 hectares.

4 Odessa – Western Cemetery

Slightly smaller in size than the Nizhny Novgorod Cemetery, a burial site in the western part of Odessa. The area of ​​this place is 200 hectares.

5 Vienna – Central Cemetery

The Vienna Cemetery, which has an area of ​​2.4 km2, is distinguished by its incredible size and unique beauty. More than 3,000,000 dead people are buried there. The cemetery, more like a beautiful park and a wonderful place for family recreation, was created in 1874. From its main entrance there is a wide alley, which allows you to visit the burial places of famous people of Austria (Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms) and improve your cultural level. Thousands of music fans of famous Austrian composers and musicians visit this place every year, eager to visit all the graves of deceased celebrities.

6 Paris – Père Lachaise

This place is considered a real museum of tombstones, because it is in Père Lachaise that Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Honore de Balzac, Sarah Bernhardt and other French celebrities who once delighted society with their talents are buried. Russian Decembrists were also buried in this cemetery.

The area of ​​this cemetery, opened by Napoleon in 1804, is approximately 48 hectares. In total, there are approximately 30,000 graves here. The largest cemetery in Paris and one of the largest in Europe, the cemetery is visited annually by millions of tourists who seek to honor the memory of great people and be amazed at the incredible beauty of this place.

They are a rather interesting burial place for the dead. The catacombs were made in the form of underground passages, which were created by a whole network and were used specifically for burial. In total, there are about sixty different catacombs in Rome, where 750,000 dead are buried. Moreover, even the remains of saints – the apostles Peter and Paul, executed in Rome – were once kept here. Tourists, of whom a huge number come here every year, are attracted to this place not only by the opportunity to see the remains of the greatest people, but also by the desire to contemplate the amazing paintings on the walls, the most beautiful frescoes and especially beautiful sarcophagi.

Graveyards for cars, trains, bikes and airplanes are often an eerie sight. And many of the largest vehicle cemeteries boast quite an interesting history.

Train cemetery in Bolivia

High in the Andes Mountains, in southwestern Bolivia, lies the Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest dry salt lake. In 1888, with the local mining industry booming, British engineers were brought to the area to build a railway network that would extend to the Pacific Ocean.

Despite constant sabotage from the local Aymara indigenous people, who viewed the railway as a threat to their way of life, the railway line was completed in 1892. But by the 1940s, the mining-driven economy collapsed as mineral deposits were exhausted.

When the railroad was no longer used, many of the locomotives were simply left on the salt flat. Even today, it looks unusual: lines of rusting steam locomotives, many of which were built in Great Britain, stand in the middle of the desert. Since this cemetery is not fenced, the metal components of most of the trains were stolen by local residents. There are plans to turn the cemetery into a museum.

Chatillon Forest Car Cemetery

Until recently, in the forests around the small Belgian town of Chatillon there were four car cemeteries, where more than 500 cars slowly rusted and grew moss. There is some disagreement about the origin of these cars.

The most commonly told story is that the cemeteries began at the end of World War II, when American soldiers could not afford to ship their vehicles home across the ocean. They simply left them in the forest, and over time the landfill was replenished by local residents.

Another possibility is that most of the cars that ended up in the landfill were produced in the 1950s and 60s, and many of them were collector's items. Thanks to this, a large number of cars were stolen for parts, or saved by collectors or souvenir hunters. The last of the car cemeteries near Chatillon was cleared in 2010 by the Greens.

Car dump at the diamond mines in Oranjemund

Oranjemunde in Namibia is a small town that is wholly owned by Namdeb, a joint state-owned enterprise between Namibia and the De Beers diamond corporation. In the area of ​​the town, which is located near the mouth of the Orange River, there are huge deposits of diamonds, and, in fact, the entire city was built to accommodate miners. This area is virtually impossible to enter, with armed guards patrolling the perimeter. Any unauthorized possession of diamonds carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

But Oranjemunde is also known as the location of one of the world's largest car dumps. Once the car entered the city, it never left it again. Apparently, this was done to prevent the illegal export of diamonds. Some of the rusting cars date back to 1920. The cemetery even collects dust from World War II tanks that were previously used to level sand dunes.

Nouadhibou Ship Graveyard

In 1980, local residents began to abandon outdated and unnecessary ships, scuttling them in the shallow waters of the bay. Soon, ships from all over the world began to come to Nouadhibou to stay here forever. Local authorities took bribes and turned a blind eye, and now a huge variety of ships - from fishing trawlers to naval cruisers - are rusting in the shallow waters. One of the largest ships in the Nouadhibou cemetery is the United Malika, which ran aground in 2003 with its holds full of fish. Since then it has not been refloated.

Despite measures to prevent further dumping, the number of abandoned ships continues to increase, although at a slower rate than before. The government announced a plan back in 2001 to use ships to form an artificial reef in deeper waters, but little has been done since then.

Beginning in the 1970s, old military submarines, many of them nuclear-powered, were simply abandoned in the bay on the isolated Kola Peninsula. Soviet shipyards were apparently too busy fulfilling orders to build new submarines to worry about dismantling the old ones.

Access to the area is prohibited without permission, so information about the cemetery remains fairly limited. It is known that some of these submarines were finally scrapped in the 1990s due to concerns about water pollution. But Google Earth images indicate that at least seven submarines are still buried in the bay.

At first the locomotives were dismantled soon after arrival, but by the autumn of 1965 owner Dai Woodham decided to concentrate on the lighter work of dismantling the carriages, which were simply arriving by the hundreds. The rusting locomotives were eventually rolled out into the open backyard, where they quickly became popular with tourists in Barrie. Steam locomotive enthusiasts soon realized that Woodham Brothers offered the chance to obtain rare locomotives for the surviving old railway lines that were beginning to reopen across the country. Many of the models that stood in Dye's yard could not be seen anywhere else.

In September 1968, the first steam locomotive was removed from the scrapyard for reconstruction. In the end, 213 locomotives were saved. Today, many of the scrapyard's steam locomotives can be found in full working order on surviving lines on the outskirts of Britain.

Motorcycle Graveyard in Upstate New York

He even purchased a building for his collection, but was unable to realize his idea. Photos of the graveyard first appeared in April 2010 on Flickr, and fans flocked to the bike graveyard in an attempt to find rare bikes and parts for them.

Falkingham AFB

Today Falkingham is owned by Nelson M. Green & Sons Ltd, which uses the old airfield to store vehicles used as a source of spare parts. At the former airfield, old Caterpillar bulldozers, tankers, cranes, tractors, as well as former military trucks and armored vehicles from the Second World War are gathering dust.

Chernobyl transport dump (Ukraine)

For example, firefighting helicopters, which were the first to fight the radiation, remain on the surface. Local residents have been repeatedly detained while attempting to steal metal from vehicles, despite the enormous risk. Ukrainian police even arrested several people for trying to remove one of the Mi-8 helicopters, which they intended to use as a cafe.

Arizona Cemetery

The aircraft burial ground is divided into four categories: from aircraft that are in excellent condition and can still take off, to those that have every chance of becoming museum exhibits. Arizona is ideal for such a cemetery because its dry climate helps prevent aircraft from rusting.

Continuing the topic - prepared earlier.

For those who like to visit historical graves while traveling, eTurboNews has compiled a list of the most interesting cemeteries in Europe, based on the opinions of TripAdviser users.

The American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, sits on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach, where some of the bloodiest fighting took place during the American Normandy landings in June 1944. About 9.5 thousand American soldiers and officers are buried there. The cemetery itself was featured in Steven Spielberg's film Saving Private Ryan.

Père-Lachaise in Paris is one of the most famous cemeteries in the world. It became the final resting place of many famous people. Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde and other prominent figures are buried here.

The Zentralfriedhof in Vienna is the second largest cemetery in Europe. Thousands of passionate classical music fans visit it every year to pay tribute to composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Strauss, Franz Schubert and Johann Brahms.

The Roman catacombs began to be built in the first century AD, following the burial traditions of the Etruscans. Over the centuries, the local graves have been looted, flooded and almost completely destroyed. Tourists visiting the catacombs in Rome write rave reviews about the tour conducted by a guide who has been working here for over 28 years.

London's Highgate Cemetery is filled with Gothic tombs and crypts. Like Père-Lachaise, many famous people are buried here, such as Karl Marx, George Elliott and Douglas Adams. The cemetery is also associated with the legend of the Highgate Vampire, which terrorized Londoners in the 1970s.

The Sudfriedhof cemetery in Leipzig is the largest in the city. It is located next to the monument to the Battle of the Nations. It is also one of the largest and most beautiful park cemeteries in Germany. Many rare trees and 10 thousand rhododendron bushes grow here. The outstanding tombstones also attract attention.

Another famous Parisian cemetery, Montparnasse, was built on the site of several farms in 1824 as a response to the ban on cemeteries in the center of Paris, which came out at the beginning of the 19th century. Parisian intellectuals and bohemians are buried here, such as Charles Baudelaire, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.

The Staglieno cemetery in Genoa is a true open-air museum, as the graves here are decorated with outstanding sculptures. Among those buried here are politician Giuseppe Mazzini and pop singer Fabrizio de Andre. This cemetery is featured on the cover of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart album.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague was founded in the Josefov area in the 15th century. This is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe. Since it could not go beyond the ghetto, there are 12 levels of burial - one grave above the other. Rebbe Lev, who, according to legend, created the Golem, is buried in this cemetery.

The Protestant cemetery in Rome is an oasis of peace and quiet. John Keats, among others, is buried here. The epitaph on his grave reads: “In this grave lies the mortal body of a young English poet, who, on his deathbed, wished that on his tombstone it should be written: “Here lies he whose name was written in water.” (translation by Travel. ru)

Grave of Karl Bryullov

Different peoples have their own faith, their own culture and their own burial rituals for the dead. It is for this reason that cemeteries in different countries of the world differ so much from each other. Next, we suggest taking a look at what cemeteries look like in different parts of our planet.

Huamauca, Northern Argentina

In the Wamauk cemetery, all the graves, as can be seen from the photographs, are guarded by gnomes. Their houses can be seen above each burial. During the day, all the gnomes were at work in the city of Khukhui, so, sorry, none of them were included in the frame. The cemetery watchman, as beautiful as a fucking god, played an improvised guitar for us, charging an impromptu 3 pesos for his performance.

Venice, Italy. Cemetery of San Michele

For a long time, there was a monastery in the fortress on the island, then a prison, but by order of Napoleon I, the island was transformed in 1807 into an exclusive burial place for Venetians. The cemetery has three sections: Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. Among our people here are Diaghilev, Brodsky, and the Stravinsky couple.

Varanasi, India

Everything is simple here: no cemeteries. The body burned on the fire for several hours, the ashes went down into the Ganges, and that was it. In these places there is a complete ban on photography.

Granada, Nicaragua. Cemetery of Granada

Bandar Lampung, Indonesia

Noratus village, Armenia

Sepanca village, Romania

One of the most famous cemeteries in the world. It’s even called the Merry Cemetery (Chimitirul-Vesel). Once upon a time, local resident Ion Petrash began decorating crosses with ornaments and depicting pictures from the lives of the dead, accompanying the drawings with ironic comments in the first person. Among the capital pearls on the crosses are:
“My mother-in-law lies here. If she had lived a year longer, then I would be lying here”;
“The deceased was a bitter drunkard and a bully. He constantly annoyed his neighbors until he was run over by a car to the delight of the entire village”;
“The thing I loved most in my life was sitting at a bar next to someone’s wife.”

At the cemetery there is a workshop of the successors of Petrash’s work, and theoretically it is possible to place an order for a multi-colored tombstone there; prices start from €200. However, each case is considered individually by the master.

Bukittinggi, Indonesia

Iraq. Wadi al-Salam cemetery

It is considered the largest cemetery in the world. The name of this Shiite cemetery means “Valley of Peace” in Arabic. Located in Iraq near the city of An-Najaf. During the occupation of Iraq by American troops, rebels were hiding in the “Valley of Peace.”

Bagdati, Georgia

My favorite cemetery. Tombstones are like posters for performances where the main characters played their last role.

Kandy, Sri Lanka

Now this is the most famous Sri Lankan cemetery with the secret burial place of Tupac Shakur.

Saint-Paul de Vence, France

The most famous burial is the grave of Marc Chagall.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Recoleta Cemetery, considered the most beautiful cemetery in the world. When Maradona dies, he will probably rest in Recoleta, because only Argentinean gods are buried here (although I came across a couple of Armenian burials: but the Armenians probably first became Argentines and then gods). In the meantime, the main attraction at this festival of tombstones and sculptures is the tomb of Evita Peron. I don’t have photographs of this crypt, because at that moment some girl with a lollipop was photographed in front of it.

Sri Lanka. Cemetery near Hikkaduwa

Lviv, Ukraine

Lychakiv cemetery. There are about 500 sculptures and tombstones of completely different architectural styles and designs and more than 2,000 crypts.

At the Lychakiv cemetery there is also a large area reserved for the Polish military cemetery of 1918–1920. One of the most majestic war memorials in Eastern Europe. After World War II, the Polish memorial was destroyed and looted. And during the same Soviet era, excavators and tanks simply razed it to the ground and there was nothing left that would remind of the former glory of the Polish boys who died for the liberation of Lvov. And only after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, with the money of the Polish government and the Polish diaspora, restoration work began to restore the memorial.

Barcelona, ​​Spain. Eastern Cemetery

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Havana, Cuba. Christopher Columbus Cemetery

Boracay Island, Philippines

Village Mogila, Macedonia

Well, it goes without saying that the most important attraction of the Mogila is the cemetery! Mr. Dusan Lopaticki with a mustache like an Austrian-Bavarian burgher smiled at me from the tombstone. And finally, a few “non-human” cemeteries.

Paris, France. Dog cemetery

It began in 1899, with the creation of the French Anonymous Society for the Construction of a Cemetery for Dogs and Cats. Here they began to bury various animals with honor and respect, erecting real monuments and caring for them: in addition to the above, walking between the rows of graves, you can see photographs of birds, monkeys and even lions. The biggest star is the dog actor Rin Tin Tin (1918–1932). It is believed that it was this dog that saved the Warner Bros. film company. from bankruptcy.

Border section of Western Sahara and Mauritania

Cemetery of TVs thrown away from the Moroccan side. The territory of Western Sahara theoretically belongs to Morocco.

Mauritania. Cemetery of lost ships

The port of Nouadhibou is the last refuge of more than 300 old ships abandoned by their owners. Over the years, corrupt officials have taken bribes from ship owners to allow them to abandon them on these shores. Unfortunately, it was not possible to film anything more clearly due to prohibitions on filming by the people who worked there.

Lake Uyuni, Bolivia

The cemetery for old steam locomotives is located near the salt lake. It represents the remains of several rusted trains.

13 Unique and Fascinating Cemeteries in Europe

While cemeteries are always associated with death, grief, and sadness, they can also be fascinating places to visit, inviting living with their quaint serenity, striking architecture, or manicured parkland.

From bizarre ancient necropolises to architecturally stunning contemplative sites and true open-air museums, these eeriely beautiful and completely unique cemeteries in Europe are worth the trip alone.

Skogskyrkogården Woodland Cemetery, Stockholm, Sweden

Designed by Swedish architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Leverenz, Skogskirkogården - the Cemetery in Stockholm - is considered a masterpiece of Scandinavian classicism and an outstanding example of how nature and architecture can exist in perfect harmony.

More than just a burial site, this UNESCO-protected park is shrouded in peace and tranquility, a place for walking, contemplation and bird watching. Guided tours are available during the summer months.

Hidden away in a small Romanian village, the Cheerful Cemetery (Cimitirul Vesel) is certainly one of a kind. The bright blue wooden crosses of the cemetery are personalized with cheerful paintings and darkly humorous epitaphs about the life of the deceased.

The site is located in the village of Sapanta, Maramures (approximately 600 km from Bucharest) and is considered a folk art monument of inestimable importance.

Founded in the 15th century, the Old Jewish Cemetery in Josefov is one of Prague's most unique and exciting attractions. About 12,000 dilapidated tombstones from different periods are crowded into this compact plot of land, but more than 100,000 Jews are said to be buried here. This gives the cemetery, which is Europe's oldest surviving Jewish cemetery, a mysterious, mournful feeling.

The site is run by the Jewish Museum and also includes a tour of the museum and visits to various synagogues.

Hidden in the Caucasus Mountains of North Ossetia, Dargavs – also known as the “City of the Dead” – is shrouded in myth and mystery. The City of the Dead is an ancient necropolis that impresses with its grandeur. The medieval necropolis is located in the valley of the Midagrabindon River, not far from the Ossetian settlement of Dargavs. It is known that the tradition of burying ancestors in above-ground tombs is associated with the ancient beliefs of the Ossetians.

With its shaded, winding paths through tombs, crypts and mausoleums, Highgate Cemetery is undoubtedly one of London's most beautiful and elegant cemeteries. Opened in 1839, the Victorian Cemetery is both a nature reserve and a Grade I listed building, renowned for its fine funerary architecture and the famous people buried here. Among them are Karl Marx, Douglas Adams, George Eliot, scientist Michael Faraday and the family of Charles Dickens.

Highgate Cemetery is divided into two parts. While visitors are free to wander (for a small fee) through the Eastern Cemetery, the western section, where the most remarkable architectural features are located, can only be visited via guided tours.

Newgrange (New Grange, Shee an Wroe), Ireland

Dating back to 3200 BC, Newgrange is no ordinary burial ground. Older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids, this interesting Neolithic burial ground in the ancient east of Ireland coincides with the Winter Solstice and consists of a huge kidney-shaped mound surrounded by borders engraved with Megalithic art. Inside, a 19-meter passage leads to a chamber with three niches and a stepped roof.

Although human cremated remains were discovered at the site during excavations, it is believed that the original purpose was much more complex, involving not only the burial of the dead, but also special rituals and ceremonies.

The site is open to the public all year round, but access to the chamber during the solstice, when the rising sun illuminates the room, revealing the carvings inside, is only for a lucky few.

The cemetery, located in London, is also the burial place of 15,000 people, most of whom are prostitutes and other social outcasts.

Situated at Redcross in Southwark, the disused medieval burial ground is now a memorial garden and place of pilgrimage of deep spiritual significance, hosting monthly services as well as a variety of artistic events.

The sad history of Cross Bones Cemetery is indelibly linked to the history of London's first red light district and the Winchester Geese (women licensed by the church to work in local brothels), offering visitors a unique cultural experience.

With so many famous people buried inside, it's no surprise that Père Lachaise is the most visited cemetery in the world. More than a sculpture garden than a burial site, this Parisian landmark showcases a variety of styles of funerary art, featuring everything from ancient mausoleums and ornate Gothic tombs to Art Deco monuments and even Egyptian pyramids.

The Pere Lachaise Cemetery is also the largest park in Paris, and a walk along its shady cobbled streets is like walking through history, as every tomb, crypt, and piece of stone has its own story. Moliere, Modigliani, Balzac, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, and rock star Jim Morrison are buried here.

Norman American Cemetery and Memorial, France

You'd be hard-pressed to find a more tranquil European cemetery than the elegant Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. This 70-hectare memorial park features green manicured lawns overlooking Omaha Beach and perfectly aligned white marble crosses and Stars of David. It houses the remains of the 9,387 American soldiers who died in the D-Day landings, as well as an imposing colonnaded memorial built around a 25-foot (7-meter) statue called "The Spirit of America's Youth Rising from the Waves."

Designed by Italian architect Andrea Dragoni, the expansion of the historic necropolis of Gubbio in Umbria is a fine example of modern cemetery architecture. Inspired by the linear layout of the surrounding city, the project embodies a vision of an abstract urban settlement with its own avarice of interior streets, clearly defined cubic blocks clad in travertine, and large courtyards framing views of the sky - so-called "squares of silence" that double as art galleries and places for reflection.

Designed by architect Bernardo Bader, the striking, award-winning Vorarlberg Islamic Cemetery pays homage to the “first garden” and spans 5 finger-shaped cemeteries, prayer rooms, as well as various areas dedicated to Muslim burial rituals.

The red painted concrete complex combines local design with materials reminiscent of Islamic religious architecture. One of the most visually arresting features is the qibla wall facing Mecca, which is covered with a superb oak latticework. No less interesting are the gradient colored prayer rugs handmade in Sarajevo.

Of all the ancient ruins in Myra, these rock tombs are perhaps the most spectacular. Dating back to the 4th century BC, the necropolis, divided into two burials, gives insight into the ancient culture of the Lycians, their customs and beliefs. Carved into rock faces, these magnificent tombs are artistically designed to resemble houses or temples, and most are decorated with reliefs depicting mythological scenes or passages from the life of the deceased.

A magnificent island cemetery in the Venetian lagoon, San Michele is surrounded by orange brick ramparts and divided into categories. The place itself looks like a collection of tranquil, beautiful gardens with cypress trees, fresh flowers and a variety of graves decorated with photographs.

The largest and best landscaped area is dedicated to Catholics, but there are also sections dedicated to Protestants, Greek Orthodox, foreigners, and even gondoliers. Consequently, the variety of monuments is astonishing, from beautifully decorated sculptures to modern minimalist tombstones and magnificent mausoleums.

The island is also home to an ornate chapel and San Michele in Isola, a fine 15th-century white marble church dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. Cimitero San Michele can be reached by vaporetto (shuttle boat) from the Fondamenta Nuove platform in Venice.

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