There is a small cemetery close to Place de la Nation, the Picpus Cemetery. Few people seem to know about it and it’s not easy to find. (See plan at the bottom of this post.) Its origins are from the Revolution and it’s placed on land which used to be a convent, but had been confiscated during the Revolution and converted into a “House of Health and Detention”.
The guillotine was during the revolutionary years moved from Place de la Concorde first to Place de la Bastille and then to close to Place de la Nation. In a previous post about Place de la Nation I told you about the guillotine which was set up in a corner of what during the Revolution was called “Place de la Trône Renversé” (The Overthrown Throne) – previously “Place de la Trône”. On this photo you can see where it used to stand.
During what was called the “Terror” in 1794 (and until Robespierre was guillotined himself) some 1300 people were guillotined here. They were then brought to a part of the garden of this nearby “House of Health and Detention” and buried in two common pits. The piece of ground was a few years later acquired by a Princess whose relatives were among the buried. On the pictures below you can – in addition to the place of the pits - see the gate through which the victims were carried and also the remaining door opening of what used to be a chapel of the original convent and which was the place where the inventory of the (confiscated) clothes of the victims was then made.
In the very beginning of the 19th century more ground was bought by some of the concerned families and the place became a cemetery for some noble families and a new convent and chapel were created with the task to offer peace and comfort to the buried. The cemetery itself is very small, but there is a big garden with - at the moment – a lot of roses. 
In the modest chapel there is a small sculpture of a 16th century “Vierge de la Paix” (Virgin of Peace) or “Notre Dame de la Paix”, which is said to once have miraculously cured Louis XIV and was the object of great devotion and a symbol of peace. 
However, “only” 108 of the 1300 guillotined were nobles. Among the victims were also e.g. 16 nuns who were brought to the scaffold together and became beatified in 1906.
The General Lafayette (who was not guillotined and died much later – in 1834) has been buried here (see top picture) together with his wife whose mother and sister were among the victims. Since the very beginning, an American flag has been displayed over his grave (even during the German occupation) and normally there is a ceremony in the presence of the US ambassador every 4th of July.
The guillotine was during the revolutionary years moved from Place de la Concorde first to Place de la Bastille and then to close to Place de la Nation. In a previous post about Place de la Nation I told you about the guillotine which was set up in a corner of what during the Revolution was called “Place de la Trône Renversé” (The Overthrown Throne) – previously “Place de la Trône”. On this photo you can see where it used to stand.During what was called the “Terror” in 1794 (and until Robespierre was guillotined himself) some 1300 people were guillotined here. They were then brought to a part of the garden of this nearby “House of Health and Detention” and buried in two common pits. The piece of ground was a few years later acquired by a Princess whose relatives were among the buried. On the pictures below you can – in addition to the place of the pits - see the gate through which the victims were carried and also the remaining door opening of what used to be a chapel of the original convent and which was the place where the inventory of the (confiscated) clothes of the victims was then made.
In the very beginning of the 19th century more ground was bought by some of the concerned families and the place became a cemetery for some noble families and a new convent and chapel were created with the task to offer peace and comfort to the buried. The cemetery itself is very small, but there is a big garden with - at the moment – a lot of roses. In the modest chapel there is a small sculpture of a 16th century “Vierge de la Paix” (Virgin of Peace) or “Notre Dame de la Paix”, which is said to once have miraculously cured Louis XIV and was the object of great devotion and a symbol of peace. However, “only” 108 of the 1300 guillotined were nobles. Among the victims were also e.g. 16 nuns who were brought to the scaffold together and became beatified in 1906.The General Lafayette (who was not guillotined and died much later – in 1834) has been buried here (see top picture) together with his wife whose mother and sister were among the victims. Since the very beginning, an American flag has been displayed over his grave (even during the German occupation) and normally there is a ceremony in the presence of the US ambassador every 4th of July.
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