Prazeres Cemetery: An Eery Lisbon Oasis

I typically do not seek out cemeteries when traveling. Although, I am not opposed to walking through one, especially an older or historic cemetery. While visiting Lisbon, I accidentally found myself at the Prazeres Cemetery, and it was one of my most memorable parts of my trip.

How to Get to Prazeres Cemetery

My plan for my last day in Lisbon was to ride the historic Tram 28 and take in the sights. However, when the tram reached the end of the track I was kicked off and not allowed to continue on the same tram without paying again. As the conductor took off for his break, I was stranded and decided to look around. The tram stopped directly in front of the entrance to the Prazeres Cemetery.

Stepping Through the Cemetery Gate

Walking through the gate to the cemetery, it was like time stopped. There was a veil of silence that surrounded the tombs. Huge mausoleums lined the streets, giving Prazeres the look of a very solemn city. It was a peaceful getaway from the city center, and there were even individuals enjoying the quiet with a book in hand along the paths.

I spent hours walking down tomb lined streets, soaking in the quiet that the rest of Lisbon seems to lack. The artistry of the tombs and mausoleums were really quite spectacular, some dating back to the 1800s, others as recent as 2016. There was even a tomb recently covered in a large number of fresh flower bouquets: I suspect that someone had been buried there earlier in the week.

Near the entrance is an old church, easily missed from its dull exterior in comparison to the burial sites. However, after ducking into the church due to some rain, I was glad I entered. Inside, I was greeted by a beautiful, small chapel. The church has been preserved as a historic building, and rooms such as a 19th-century mortuary have been left undisturbed.

Walking around the burial grounds, it was immediately obvious which families and individuals were wealthy and which were not. Enormous mausoleums, the size of small houses, housed the wealthy along with family members and valuables. Other crypts fell into disrepair with rotting front doors and valuables broken and dusty.

Almost every tomb had a glass front door or windows, in which visitors and family members can see the stacked caskets, pictures, and alters inside. Most of them were eery but beautiful. However, I did come across a tomb that was falling apart, with the glass window broken. Inside, the coffin was actually open with the body bag viewable to anyone who passed by. It broke my heart that this man, who died almost 100 years ago, had no one left to care for him.

History of Prazeres Cemetery

Cemetério dos Prazeres, or “The Cemetery of Pleasures”, was built on the outskirts of Lisbon, Portugal in 1833 during a cholera epidemic. Space was desperately needed at the time due to the large numbers of epidemic victims and grew to be the largest cemetery in Portugal. The cemetery is home to many famous Portuguese actors, writers, and politicians, some of whose crypts are the size of small houses and ornately decorated.

The cemetery is huge, with maps available and tours offered to find historic resting places of the influential. I did not take a tour during my visit, preferring to admire the art and the history of the place, and enjoying the quiet away from the city center.

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