Sommaire / Summary
The castle cemetery dominates the Vieux Menton. The cemetery sits atop a belvedere. It replaced the ruins of the old Grimaldi castle. A remarkable place. Flaubert and Maupassant, among others, celebrated this cemetery.
The Vieux Menton castle cemetery
The cemetery is divided into several floors.
On the lower level, the sober tombs are those of the Anglo-Saxons, Protestants.
Not far away is the German part of the cemetery.
Further on, the Italians, further still the Russians, etc.
Famous graves in the cemetery
There are many remarkable tombs with outstanding sculptures. We can't list them all here.
Note the tomb of William Webb Ellis, the inventor of rugby.
Note also the Lentz tomb. Ernest Lentz, suffering from tuberculosis, had come to Menton for treatment. In vain, he died on November 27, 1910. His young wife refused to leave him and committed suicide the same day. They were 24 and 22 years old.
And above all, the Tombeau Lewandowska, of Polish princess Janina Jelowickich Lawandowska. The statue depicts the flight of a young woman, leaving her tomb, turning her back to the sea and rising towards the sky.
Many of the tombs date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, belonging to prominent local families.
As you make your way along, you'll also come across enamelled plates. They are brick-colored. They bear handwritten maxims, in French or other languages.
These plaques support the meditation necessary for this place, and accompany the suffering of those who have lost a loved one.
The plaques are the work of artist Jacqueline Verdini.
The Russian cemetery
Within the Vieux Château cemetery, a section is dedicated to the Russian Orthodox cemetery. As in Nice, many Russians stayed in Menton in winter.
As early as 1880, a Russian square was laid out, around the Russian chapel of Notre-Dame-des-Affligés.
Practical information
Cimetière du Château du Vieux Menton
unu, Mnt du Souvenir, 06500 Menton
Open daily, 7 am to 7 pm
Autres informations de nos partenaires
Jean-Marc Foulquier