First Cemetery of Athens

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The impressive tombs of the cemetery. The small doric temple on the pedestal is the tomb of Heinrich Schliemann designed by Ziller.
The impressive tombs of the cemetery. The small doric temple on the pedestal is the tomb of Heinrich Schliemann designed by Ziller.

The First Cemetery of Athens (Greek: Πρώτο Νεκροταφείο Αθηνών) is the official cemetery of the City of Athens and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a luxurious cemetery for famous Greek people and foreigners. The cemetery is located behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Panathinaiko Stadium in central Athens. It can be found at the top end of Anapafseos Street (Eternal Rest Street). It is large green space including pines and cypresses. In the cemetery there are three churches. The main is the Church of Saint Theodore and there is also a smaller of Saint Lazarus. The third church is a Catholic church. There are also separate places for protestants and Jews. The most impressing tombs are these of Heinrich Schliemann, designed by Ernst Ziller, these of Ioannis Pesmazoglou, Georgios Averoff and many others. But one of the most beautiful tombs must surely be the one named I Kimomeni (the Sleeping Girl), by the sculptor Yianoulis Chalepas, from the island Tinos. The cemetery is under the Municipality of Athens and it is declared as an historical monument.

[edit] Notable resting people

and other politicians and actors