Built between 1887 and 1889, the crematorium at Père-Lachaise remained for a long time the only one of its kind in Paris. To overcome public reluctance towards cremation, what kind of complex did its promoters build around it?
The answer
Designed by the architect Jean-Camille Formigé, the crematorium came into service in 1889. Poorly accepted in nineteenth-century France, cremation gained legitimacy by being paired with a dignified columbarium, conceived as a true place of remembrance rather than a mere technical facility.
This question belongs to the “Funerary Art” series of the Père-Lachaise quiz: ten questions, a story behind every right answer.