Cemeteries of New Orleans

The main street of St Louis III cemetery

New Orleans

In the year 1682 a french explorer René-Robert Cavelier arrived at the region, where New Orleans is situated, and announced this land to be the property of the French king. The region was difficult and filled with swamps. In spite of this, a city was founded, which was destroyded by the floods of Mississippi now and then.

In 1762 France handed over this territory to the Spanish king Charles III. The Spaniards ruled the city for only a third av a century. During this time the city became an important port. In the beginning of the 19th century there were 10.000 citizens in New Orleans, 5000 caucasian, 2000 africans and 3000 slaves. In the beginning of the 19th century France took over this region once again.

The grave of a well known architect family in New Orleans

Important dinner

In 1803, on April 12th, during a dinner in Paris, a French official hinted, that the city and its surroundings could be for sale for a suitable price. President Jefferson grabbed the bait and bought the vast region for 15 million dollars. Already in 1810 New Orleans was the fifth biggiest town in USA.

Terrain and climate

A large part of the city is situated beneath the water level of the Mississippi river. The ground water is high and floods have during centuries caused large devastation for the settlement. The upkeep of cemeteries turned out to be especially difficult in this kint of terrain. During the floods coffins often came to the surface of the ground. Already in the eighteenth century therefore the dead were buried on the ground.

Houses with their statues are decorative and offer the viewer an art experience.

Cemeteries of New Orleans

Since the dead are buried above the ground, the cemeteries of New Orleans deviate greatly from other cemeteries of the world. The cemeteries are called "The Cities of the Dead" and they are filled with small decorative houses, inside of which the coffins are placed.

In the hot climate the coffin and the diseased practically vanish to dust in a year, after which the house can be reused when needed. In this way, even a small cemetery house can serve as a family grave for decades.

Big mortality

One reason for the many cemeteries in the city is that the mortality was big due to the climate. As a port town, New Orleans was susceptible to epidemies such as Yellow fewer coming from abroad.

Some epidemies were so difficult, that new cemeteries had to be founded for the victims. The Lafayette I cemetery was founded in 1833 for the victims of Yellow fever.

Crime

Most of the cemeteries in New Orleans are situatied in regions with a criminal reputation. Therefore it is not advisable to visit them at night - perhaps You rather not do that anyway - and during the day it is advisable to move in company. All these small houses and small streets offer many hiding places for less honest persons.

If one want to visit a cemetery in a group, one can contact "Tours by Inex" (Phone 504-486-1123), which organise these tours daily, in groups of 10 - 20 participants. The tours start from Hotel de la Poste, 316 Charles Street. The non commercial organisation "Save our Cemeteries" arrange a fascinating 90 minutes tour to the St Louis I Cemetery on Sunday mornings. The protection of the New Orleans police force is included in the price!

The ground is valuable

A small 2 times 2 meters grave along the main street may cost tens of thousands of dollars. As many other things in the USA also the grave business is hard and may - according to us Nordic Europeans - feel a bit heartless.

"Easy Rider"

The cemeteries of New Orleans form such a deviating and somewhat exotic surrounding, that they have also been used for movie shooting. The St Louis I Cemetery can be seen in eg "Easy Rider". This cemetery was founden in 1788 and is situated in the neighborhood of the French Quarters. This cemetery is perhaps the most dangerous, and should not be visited alone.

The images above have been taken at the St Louis III Cemetery. This cemetery was founded in 1833 in the vicinity of a leprosy hospital. It is still in use and many of the graves, more than a century old, are still used as family graves. The organisation "Save our Cemeteries" take care of many old grave houses worned out by time and climate.

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