The cemetery was the burial site for the 1306 people beheaed by the guillotine between 14 July and 18 July 1794 a time known as The Reign of Terror. In total there were 1109 men and 197 women killed and buried here. Out of those 702 were commoners and 23 nuns. Sixteen Carmelite nuns were executed in one day - all singing hymns until the last one was silenced.
The cemetery is still in use today but has strict restrictions to those who have a blood ancestor buried there.
 |
| The church |
 |
| The entrance to which the carts with the bodies (and heads) would enter at night. |
 |
| Remains of the door frame to the building where notes and records were kept and outside this door the bodies were disrobed and the items sold to make money for the cause |
We enjoyed lunch with two of the other participants of the walk and then went to the Pont Neuf to do a boat tour. It was nice to have a sit down in the sunshine and let lunch digest!
We then wandered to the Jardin de Luxembourg to see its grounds and fountains. The weather was very warm so a little sit down was also required!
 |
| Medici fountain |
No comments:
Post a Comment