| Holy Innocents' Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 The Holy Innocents' Cemetery, c. 1550. The Church of the Holy Innocents, bordering the Rue Saint-Denis, is in the background. | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 12th century Closed: 1780 |
| Location | |
| Country | France |
| Coordinates | 48°51′36″N 2°20′56″E / 48.860°N 2.349°E |
| Type | Public (not extant) |
| Style | churchyard |
The Holy Innocents' Cemetery (French: Cimetière des Saints-Innocents or Cimetière des Innocents) is a defunct cemetery in Paris that was used from the Middle Ages until the late 18th century. It was the oldest and largest cemetery in Paris and had often been used for mass graves.[1] It was closed because of overuse in 1780, and in 1786 the remaining corpses were exhumed and transported to the unused subterranean quarries near Montparnasse known as the Catacombs. The place Joachim-du-Bellay in the Les Halles district now covers the site of the cemetery.
The cemetery took its name (referring to the Biblical Massacre of the Innocents) from the attached church of the Holy Innocents that was demolished at the same time as the cemetery was cleared.[2]
- ^ Philippe Landru (7 February 2008). "Cimetière des INNOCENTS (disparu)" (in French).
- ^ https://vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=90224 [dead link]