Kerepesi Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Budapest. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Hungary which has been almost completely preserved as an entity.
Overview
Founded in 1847, Kerepesi is located in outer Józsefváros, near Keleti pályaudvar, and can be reached via Budapest Metroline 2. It is the innermost cemetery of Budapest, although it still lies about 2 km from the downtown centre. Kerepesi is one of the biggest National Pantheons in Europe and the biggest outdoor statue park with its area of about 56 hectares. It is sometimes referred to as the Père Lachaise of Budapest. The cemetery's first burial took place some two years after its opening, in 1849. Since then numerous Hungarian notables have been interred there, several of them in ornate tombs or mausoleums. This was encouraged by the decision of the municipal authorities to declare Kerepesi a 'ground of honour' in 1885. The first notable burial was that of Mihály Vörösmarty in 1855. Until the 1940s, several tombs were removed to this cemetery from others in Budapest – for example, it is the fourth resting place of the poet Attila József. The cemetery was declared closed for burials in 1952. This was partly because it had become damaged during World War II, and partly for political reasons, as the Communist governmentsought to play down the graves of those who had 'exploited the working class'. At one point it was intended to build a housing estate over the cemetery. Part of the grounds were in fact handed over to a nearby rubber factory and were destroyed in 1953. In 1958, a Mausoleum for the Labour movement was created by Olcsai-Kiss Zoltán. During the Communist period this was the only part of the cemetery highlighted or even mentioned by the authorities. After the fall of communism, Kerepesi was still considered by some as a Communist cemetery. The cemetery, with its extended parks among the graves and monuments, is today open to the public, but interments have ceased. The Salgotarjani Street Jewish Cemetery is actually the eastern corner of the Kerepesi Cemetery, but it is separated from it by a stone wall. In summer 2007, some of the filming for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was completed at the cemetery.
Special sections
In 1874, a special parcel was established for those who were denied a church funeral. The cemetery is also famous for its Arcades, built between 1908–1911, recalling the style of Northern Italian cemeteries. The artists' sector – in which each tomb contains a notable Hungarian representative of the arts – was created in 1929.
Notable interments
Kerepesi contains three mausoleums of leading Hungarian statesmen:
