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Menton France
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On close observance, one could discern four levels to the cemetery as it used to be an old fortress. The French Riviera was a popular destination for recreation and escape, and Menton was one of its most popular cities, so you could have walked into the famous and infamous in one day.
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The cemetery was first built around 1808. Menton was a place that only the very rich in XIXth Century Europe could afford to live in other than the locals. Another reason for Menton’s popularity was its climate. People suffering from various diseases, but especially from tuberculosis, came here in the hope of recovering. The strong presence of Russian nobility is clearly felt in the magnificent Russian Orthodox Church, which sits near the summit of the cemetery’s hill. A few famous names to start with: Prince Trubetskoy of Russia who was the last scion of one of the grandest Tsarist families, Aubrey Beardsley who died young at 25 and was an English book and magazine illustrator, and William Ellis, the inventor of the sport of rugby.
The cemetery rests in the remains of an old castle that dominated Menton, which was often a battleground between Genoa, Monaco, the Duchy of Savoy, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The castle dates from about 1251. It was abandoned and fell into ruin sometime during the first half of the XVIIth Century when Prince Honore II of Monaco built a new palace. In 1804, Napoleon ordered that no one could be buried in churches, which was a bit inconvenient as the Basilica of Saint Michael was used for the purpose, so by 1807 the city purchased the grounds of the old castle and adapted them for use as a local cemetery. Between 1855 and 1875, the castle’s ruins were torn down.
The place is littered with flowers, statues, urns and columns and busts in various sizes and styles. Each place is unique testifying to the feeling for the resident. All of Menton’s international communities have their own area; you can find Prussians and Hungarians, but the most distinguishable are the German and Russian ones. Go and compare it with the Montmartre cemetery in Paris.
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