The Père Lachaise cemetery takes its name from one of its former owners: François d'Aix de La Chaise (1624-1709), known as Père La Chaise, confessor to King Louis XIV of France. The cemetery was opened in 1804. Located outside Paris, it was incorporated into the city in 1860.

Originally, the cemetery did not attract many Parisians. The Prefect of Paris organised the transfer of the remains of Heloise and Abelard, as well as Molière and La Fontaine, in order to improve the cemetery's image.

Today, the cemetery covers 44 hectares, with 70,000 tombs and one million corpses. Every year, it welcomes more than three and a half million visitors.

During the Commune, fierce fighting took place in the cemetery, and the last 147 combatants were shot in front of what was to become the Federated Wall. Numerous mass graves were used to dispose of the bodies of the Communards.

Today, 50 Communards' graves have been identified. Each has its own story to tell.