Unhealthy Interests (Part 5): Crypts, Tombs and Mausoleums

There is something about a crypt, tomb or mausoleum that holds my attention as if in a strong iron grip.

(The Crypt at Freising Cathedral, Bavaria [1])

They are often dark, dank, creepily eerie places. Exactly what I adore!

(Crypt in Wola Gułowska, Lublin Province, Poland)

They stir the soul and fire the imagination.

(The cemetery in New Orleans where ‘Interview with the Vampire’ was filmed)

They summon dark visions of a world just outside our vision.

(Skeleton arch support inside a church, Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, France [3])

The connect us to the ghosts of the past.

(Dijon Crypt beneath the church of Saint-Benigne de Dijon, France [4])

In the Western World, mausoleums can be ostentatious monuments to by-gone egos.

(Woolworth Mausoleum,  Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx)

Speaking of which, we cannot forget the first and best display of post-mortem ostentation…

(The tomb of King Mausolus at ancient city of Halicarnassus  [5])

Temples to the dead. The best example is probably the Capuchin catacombs in Rome.

(Yeah, those are real skulls and bones. I’m not kidding. [6])

An inscription in the crypt reads…

“Quello che voi siete noi eramo; quello che noi siamo voi sarete”

(Close-up of part of a wall of bones in the Capuchin Crypt, Rome, Italy)

“What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be.”

And yet, a mausoleum can display dignity and beauty even in death.

(James Munroe’s neo-gothic tomb, Richmond, Virginia [6])

Many years ago, I lived in Hamilton, Ontario.

If you are ever in the area, please go to the Hamilton Cemetery across the street from Dundurn Castle.

If, like me, you share a passion for such places, you won’t regret it.

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The first five photos (including photographer’s comments and copyright information) can be found along with other similar photos at LoveThesePics.com.

[1] The Crypt at Freising Cathedral, also called Saint Mary and Corbinian Cathedral, is a romanesque basilica in Freising, Bavaria Germany.

[2] Crypt in Wola Gułowska, Lublin Province, Poland.

[3] Photo details: Tales from the Crypt by Pierre J.

[4] The Church of Saint-Benigne de Dijon retains in its crypt one of the oldest Christian sanctuaries still to be seen in France. The rebuilding began on 14 February 1001. It was destroyed by the Revolution and much of the rubble was used to fill in the lowest story, which was the crypt. In 1843 this crypt was rediscovered and reinstated.

[5] The structure was so famous that Mausolus’s name is now associated with all stately tombs throughout the world through the word mausoleum. The building, rich with statuary and carvings in relief, was so beautiful and unique it became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

[6] The Capuchin Catacombs in Rome hold several crypts spread across a series of small chapels beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.

[7] The James Monroe Tomb, is the burial-place for U.S. President James Monroe in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, United States. The site is “significant for the execution of its flamboyant and delicate tracery in cast iron, the tomb is a cage over the simple granite sarcophagus of the former President, who died and was buried in New York City in 1831, but was removed to Virginia in 1858.” It has been given the local nickname of “The Birdcage“. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971. (Wikipedia)