Jump to content

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 45°30′07″N 73°36′23″W / 45.50182°N 73.606521°W / 45.50182; -73.606521
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
tagged dead link, added two refs, supplied citation
Line 25: Line 25:
}}
}}


Founded in 1854, '''Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges''' is a {{convert|343|acre|ha|adj=on}} cemetery located in the borough of [[Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce]], [[Montreal, Quebec]], [[Canada]]. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of Côte-des-Neiges road and up the slopes of [[Mount Royal]]. Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery is the largest cemetery in [[Canada]] and the third-largest in [[North America]].<ref>http://www.cimetierenotredamedesneiges.ca</ref>
Founded in 1854, '''Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges''' is a {{convert|343|acre|ha|adj=on}} cemetery located in the borough of [[Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce]], [[Montreal, Quebec]], [[Canada]]. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of Côte-des-Neiges road and up the slopes of [[Mount Royal]]. Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery is the largest cemetery in [[Canada]] and the third-largest in [[North America]].<ref>[http://www.cimetierenotredamedesneiges.ca Le Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges]</ref>


==History and description==
==History and description==
Created on property purchased from Dr. [[Pierre Beaubien]], the new cemetery was a response to growing demand at a time when the old Saint-Antoine Cemetery (near the present [[Dominion Square]]) had become too small to serve Montreal’s rapidly increasing population.<ref>http://www.cimetierenddn.org/en/cemetery/history.aspx</ref>
Created on property purchased from Dr. [[Pierre Beaubien]], the new cemetery was a response to growing demand at a time when the old Saint-Antoine Cemetery (near the present [[Dominion Square]]) had become too small to serve Montreal’s rapidly increasing population.<ref>http://www.cimetierenddn.org/en/cemetery/history.aspx</ref> Founded in 1854 as a
On May 29, 1855, Mrs. Jane Gilroy, wife of Thomas McCready, then a Montreal municipal councilor, was the first person to be buried in the new cemetery.<ref>http://www.cimetierenddn.org/en/services/</ref>
garden cemetery in the French style, it was designed landscape architect Henri-Maurice Perreault, who studied rural cemeteries in Boston and New York.<ref name=pavel>[http://cityaspalimpsest.concordia.ca/conf08_palimpsest/papers/Pavel_Voitniski.pdf Voitinski, Pavel. "Notre-Dame-des Neiges Cemetery", Montreal as Palimpsest, April 18, 2008]</ref> On May 29, 1855, thirty-five year old Jane Gilroy McCready, wife of Thomas McCready, then a Montreal municipal councilor, was the first person to be buried in the new cemetery.<ref>[http://www.montrealgazette.com/Rich+past+lies+beneath+Montrealers+feet/10075663/story.html Murray, Danielle. "Rich past lies beneath Montrealers' feet", ''Montreal Gazette'', July 29, 2014]</ref>


Notre-Dame-des-Neiges is the largest cemetery in Canada with more than 55 kilometres of lanes and one million people interred.<ref name=ArcUser>''ArcUser Magazine'', "Navigating Canada's Largest Cemetery", Summer 2009, p. 27</ref>
Notre-Dame-des-Neiges is the largest cemetery in Canada with more than 55 kilometres of lanes and one million people interred.<ref name=ArcUser>''ArcUser Magazine'', "Navigating Canada's Largest Cemetery", Summer 2009, p. 27</ref>
The Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery site has over 65,000 monuments and 71 family vaults.<ref>http://www.cimetierenddn.org/en/services/traditional.aspx</ref>
The Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery site has over 65,000 monuments and 71 family vaults.<ref name=cnhs>[http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=15065 "Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery National Historic Site of Canada", Canada's Historic Places]</ref>


The cemetery was originally open only to [[Roman Catholic]]s;{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} it is now open to any Christian, though it continues to be a Catholic institution and serve a primarily [[Catholic]] community.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} Primarily the interment grounds for [[French Canadian]]s,{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} as they have almost exclusively been members of the [[Roman Catholic]] faith.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}The cemetery shares the mountain with the predominantly English-speaking and originally [[Protestant]] adjacent burial ground, the [[Mount Royal Cemetery]]. These two abutting cemeteries on the slopes of [[Mount Royal]] contain a total of 1.5 million burials.
The cemetery originally served Roman Catholics and rural French Canadians. It is now open to any Christian, though it continues to be a Catholic institution and serve a primarily Catholic community. Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Orthodox
Greek, Polish, Ukrainian and Huron are also represented, indicated in many instances by ethnic motifs on gravestones.<ref name=pavel/> The cemetery shares the mountain with the predominantly English-speaking and originally [[Protestant]] adjacent burial ground, the [[Mount Royal Cemetery]]. These two abutting cemeteries on the slopes of [[Mount Royal]] contain a total of 1.5 million burials.


"La Pietà Mausoleum" contains a life-sized marble reproduction of [[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Michelangelo's Pietà]] sculpture (original located in [[St. Peter's Basilica]] at the [[Vatican City|Vatican]]). Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery was designated a [[National Historic Sites of Canada|National Historic Site of Canada]] in 1999 and plaqued in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/lhn-nhs/det_E.asp?oqSID=1885&oqeName=Notre%2DDame%2Ddes%2DNeiges+Cemetery&oqfName=Cimeti%E8re+Notre%2DDame%2Ddes%2DNeiges|work=Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada|publisher=Parks Canada|accessdate=August 17, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{CRHP|15065|Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery|August 17, 2011}}</ref>
"La Pietà Mausoleum" contains a life-sized marble reproduction of [[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Michelangelo's Pietà]] sculpture (original located in [[St. Peter's Basilica]] at the [[Vatican City|Vatican]]). Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery was designated a [[National Historic Sites of Canada|National Historic Site of Canada]] in 1998 and plaqued in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/lhn-nhs/det_E.asp?oqSID=1885&oqeName=Notre%2DDame%2Ddes%2DNeiges+Cemetery&oqfName=Cimeti%E8re+Notre%2DDame%2Ddes%2DNeiges|work=Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada|publisher=Parks Canada|accessdate=August 17, 2011}}{{dead link|date=March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{CRHP|15065|Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery|August 17, 2011}}</ref>


No [[burial]]s or [[cremation]]s took place between May 16, 2007, and September 11, 2007, because of a labour strike. The interments of more than 300 bodies were affected.<ref>CBC, [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/10/cemetery-lockout.html story about labour dispute]</ref> In addition, its uncut, unkempt grass became a symbol of the labour dispute.
No [[burial]]s or [[cremation]]s took place between May 16, 2007, and September 11, 2007, because of a labour strike. The interments of more than 300 bodies were affected.<ref>CBC, [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/10/cemetery-lockout.html story about labour dispute]</ref> In addition, its uncut, unkempt grass became a symbol of the labour dispute.
Line 43: Line 44:


==War Graves==
==War Graves==
The only opening in the fence between the Notre Dame des Neiges and [[Mount Royal Cemetery|Mount Royal]] cemeteries is where two adjoining military sections are. Shortly after [[World War I]], to emphasize the comradeship and uniformity of sacrifice of Protestant and Catholic soldiers, the [[Imperial War Graves Commission]] insisted on an open passage between the two plots and the [[Cross of Sacrifice]] was erected.<ref>http://www.mountroyalcem.com/index.php/en/about-us/history.html</ref> There are 445 Commonwealth service war grave burials commemorated here, 252 from World War I and 215 from World War II. Those whose graves could not be individually marked are named on bronze plaques attached to the Cross of Sacrifice. The Quebec Memorial on the [[National Field of Honour]] at [[Pointe-Claire]] lists 24 servicemen buried here, whose graves could no longer be marked or maintained, as alternative commemorations.<ref name=cwgc>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/47761/MONTREAL%20(NOTRE%20DAME%DES%NEIGES)%20CEMETERY] CWGC Cemetery Report.</ref>
The only opening in the fence between the Notre Dame des Neiges and [[Mount Royal Cemetery|Mount Royal]] cemeteries is where two adjoining military sections are. Shortly after [[World War I]], to emphasize the comradeship and uniformity of sacrifice of Protestant and Catholic soldiers, the [[Imperial War Graves Commission]] insisted on an open passage between the two plots and the [[Cross of Sacrifice]] was erected.<ref>http://www.mountroyalcem.com/index.php/en/about-us/history.html</ref> There are 445 identified Commonwealth service war grave burials commemorated here, 252 from World War I and 215 from World War II.<ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/47761/Montreal%20(Notre%20Dame%20des%20Neiges)%20Cemetery "Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery", Commonwealth War Graves Commission]</ref> Those whose graves could not be individually marked are named on bronze plaques attached to the Cross of Sacrifice. The Quebec Memorial on the [[National Field of Honour]] at [[Pointe-Claire]] lists 24 servicemen buried here, whose graves could no longer be marked or maintained, as alternative commemorations.


==New mausoleums==
==New mausoleums==
Line 61: Line 62:
==Notable interments==
==Notable interments==
The cemetery is the final resting place for a number of former mayors of the city of Montreal plus other prominent persons including:
The cemetery is the final resting place for a number of former mayors of the city of Montreal plus other prominent persons including:
*[[Jacques Auger]] (1901–1977), actor, comedian
*[[Raoul Barré]] (1874–1932), cartoonist
*[[Raoul Barré]] (1874–1932), cartoonist
*[[Jean-Louis Beaudry]] (1809–1886), entrepreneur, politician
*[[Jean-Louis Beaudry]] (1809–1886), entrepreneur, politician

Revision as of 23:53, 23 March 2016

Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges
Front entrance, Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges
Map
Details
Established1854
Location
Montreal, Quebec
CountryCanada
Typeoriginally Roman Catholic, open to Christian burials
Size343 acres (139 ha)
No. of graves65,000+
No. of interments1 million
WebsiteOfficial website
Designated1999

Founded in 1854, Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges is a 343-acre (139 ha) cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of Côte-des-Neiges road and up the slopes of Mount Royal. Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Canada and the third-largest in North America.[1]

History and description

Created on property purchased from Dr. Pierre Beaubien, the new cemetery was a response to growing demand at a time when the old Saint-Antoine Cemetery (near the present Dominion Square) had become too small to serve Montreal’s rapidly increasing population.[2] Founded in 1854 as a garden cemetery in the French style, it was designed landscape architect Henri-Maurice Perreault, who studied rural cemeteries in Boston and New York.[3] On May 29, 1855, thirty-five year old Jane Gilroy McCready, wife of Thomas McCready, then a Montreal municipal councilor, was the first person to be buried in the new cemetery.[4]

Notre-Dame-des-Neiges is the largest cemetery in Canada with more than 55 kilometres of lanes and one million people interred.[5] The Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery site has over 65,000 monuments and 71 family vaults.[6]

The cemetery originally served Roman Catholics and rural French Canadians. It is now open to any Christian, though it continues to be a Catholic institution and serve a primarily Catholic community. Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Orthodox Greek, Polish, Ukrainian and Huron are also represented, indicated in many instances by ethnic motifs on gravestones.[3] The cemetery shares the mountain with the predominantly English-speaking and originally Protestant adjacent burial ground, the Mount Royal Cemetery. These two abutting cemeteries on the slopes of Mount Royal contain a total of 1.5 million burials.

"La Pietà Mausoleum" contains a life-sized marble reproduction of Michelangelo's Pietà sculpture (original located in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican). Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1998 and plaqued in 2004.[7][8]

No burials or cremations took place between May 16, 2007, and September 11, 2007, because of a labour strike. The interments of more than 300 bodies were affected.[9] In addition, its uncut, unkempt grass became a symbol of the labour dispute.

Due to its vast size, locating a specific grave can be difficult. As a result, the cemetery now offers a computerized mapping service that allows visitors to quickly and accurately locate graves. It can be accessed at the cemetery using a touch screen display or via the Internet.[5]

War Graves

The only opening in the fence between the Notre Dame des Neiges and Mount Royal cemeteries is where two adjoining military sections are. Shortly after World War I, to emphasize the comradeship and uniformity of sacrifice of Protestant and Catholic soldiers, the Imperial War Graves Commission insisted on an open passage between the two plots and the Cross of Sacrifice was erected.[10] There are 445 identified Commonwealth service war grave burials commemorated here, 252 from World War I and 215 from World War II.[11] Those whose graves could not be individually marked are named on bronze plaques attached to the Cross of Sacrifice. The Quebec Memorial on the National Field of Honour at Pointe-Claire lists 24 servicemen buried here, whose graves could no longer be marked or maintained, as alternative commemorations.

New mausoleums

Every mausoleum in Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery contains multiple crypts, clearly identified, as well as columbaria with glass or marble niches for one or more urns. The first mausoleum, Notre Dame, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was built in 1978. The others were added gradually in the years that followed: John-Paul II (1980), Saint-Francis (1982), Marguerite-Bourgeoys (1983), The Pietà (1985), Saints Peter and Paul (1989), Sainte Clare of Assisi (1994), the two-storey Saint Marguerite d’Youville (1996) and most recently, Esther-Blondin (2007).[12]

Opened in November 2007, the Esther Blondin Mausoleum, named after the founder of the Sisters of Saint Anne, houses 6,000 burial crypts and niches.

Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery

Notable interments

The cemetery is the final resting place for a number of former mayors of the city of Montreal plus other prominent persons including:

See also

References

  1. ^ Le Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges
  2. ^ http://www.cimetierenddn.org/en/cemetery/history.aspx
  3. ^ a b Voitinski, Pavel. "Notre-Dame-des Neiges Cemetery", Montreal as Palimpsest, April 18, 2008
  4. ^ Murray, Danielle. "Rich past lies beneath Montrealers' feet", Montreal Gazette, July 29, 2014
  5. ^ a b ArcUser Magazine, "Navigating Canada's Largest Cemetery", Summer 2009, p. 27
  6. ^ "Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery National Historic Site of Canada", Canada's Historic Places
  7. ^ "Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery". Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada. Parks Canada. Retrieved August 17, 2011.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  9. ^ CBC, story about labour dispute
  10. ^ http://www.mountroyalcem.com/index.php/en/about-us/history.html
  11. ^ "Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery", Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  12. ^ http://www.cimetierenddn.org/en/mausoleums/first.aspx

45°30′07″N 73°36′23″W / 45.50182°N 73.606521°W / 45.50182; -73.606521

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Notre_Dame_des_Neiges_Cemetery&oldid=711631056"