Hobbies are different: someone collects stamps or coins, and someone loves to walk in cemeteries. Such people are called taphophiles. But cemeteries are also different. We present to you 7 of the most unusual cemeteries in the world.
Dog graveyard
The dog cemetery is one of the oldest pet cemeteries in the world. It is located in the suburbs of Paris. The cemetery was opened in 1899 when a law was introduced forbidding the dumping of animal carcasses in the Seine.
The cemetery gate was made in the then popular Art Nouveau style. Now the cemetery has grown greatly - there are more than 40 thousand graves here.
Not only dogs are buried in the dog cemetery, but also other animals: cats, horses, monkeys and even lions. Here rescue dogs, circus performers, as well as pets of celebrities and royals have found their last shelter.
Lonely women cemetery
London's Cross Bones cemetery is also called the graveyard of single women, because prostitutes who worked in local brothels were buried here. The cemetery is located in the heart of the city, close to London Bridge and the Globe Theater.
The first burials appeared here in the Middle Ages, and in the 18th century a cemetery for the poor grew on this place. Then this area was considered one of the most dangerous in London.
The cemetery itself was built up at the end of the 19th century. There are only a few burial monuments and a cast-iron fence decorated with ribbons and flowers. Now it is a kind of place of pilgrimage.
Neptune Memorial Reef
The Neptune Memorial Reef is the world's first underwater cemetery, opened in 2007 near Miami. It is the world's largest artificial reef with an area of over 65 thousand square kilometers.
The idea for this amazing cemetery came from diver Gary Levin. From the material obtained by mixing ash with cement, you can create underwater sculptures that are attached to the bottom.
As in any cemetery, there are paths, benches and grave monuments - only at a depth of 14 meters. Now this unique cemetery resembles the lost Atlantis. Only certified divers can visit it.
Fun cemetery in Romania
The fun cemetery in the village of Sepintsa in Romania refutes the conventional wisdom that cemeteries are dull and sad places. The gravestones here are painted in bright colors and decorated with drawings depicting the life of the deceased. A playful epitaph has also been added to the monument.
The idea for the "fun" graves came from the local woodcarver Stan Jon Patras in 1935. He made more than 800 colorful crosses and monuments - and he himself found his last refuge in his cemetery.
Bridge to paradise
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This cemetery has an amazing calendar-like layout. It consists of 7 different levels, between which there is a staircase of 52 steps. And there are exactly 365 graves here - according to the number of days a year.
Each grave is decorated differently, no two are alike. The gravestones are made in the form of temples, palaces, cars, or even sofas with cushions.
Hanging coffins
Burials in the form of hanging coffins are found only in Asia. The coffins are located on rocky ledges, creating what looks like a staircase to the sky. However, there is also a practical benefit of such burials - hard-to-reach graves are more difficult to desecrate.
The oldest hanging coffins are found in the Wuyishan Mountains in China. Some of them are over 3,700 years old. And on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, coffins are made in the form of boats and placed in caves and grottoes. The Hanging Cemetery on Luzon Island in the Philippines is also popular.
Ossuary in Sedlec
The Catholic Church of All Saints in the Sedlece region of the Czech town of Kutná Hora is unique for its interior made entirely of human bones.
The ossuary was built in 1400 as a burial vault - bones were brought here from a nearby cemetery. Since then, all interior decoration of the church has been made of bones. For example, a huge chandelier contains all the bones of the human body. In total, more than 40 thousand skeletons were used.
It should be noted that there are other ossuary. The most famous are the Capuchin crypt in Rome, the ossuary in the Portuguese Évora and the famous catacombs of Paris.
