communal cemetery of Pantin

The Cimetière Parisien de Pantin stretches across the landscape behind a long, plain brick wall. It holds over two hundred thousand graves, making it one of the largest cemeteries in Europe. When it opened in eighteen eighty-six, the city needed more space for those who could not afford permanent plots in the crowded graveyards of central Paris. Most people buried here rest in these temporary, five-year concessions, their markers eventually removed to make space for the next arrival.