First Cemetery of Athens, Athens

The First Cemetery of Athens is the City of Athens’ official cemetery, opened in 1837 as its first burial ground. It soon gained prestige among Greek and foreign families. Set at the upper end of Anapafseos Street, the cemetery forms a broad planted space with pines and cypresses, behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Panathinaiko Stadium.

Its religious buildings include the Church of Saint Theodores, a smaller chapel for Saint Lazarus, and the Catholic Church of Saint Charles. Among the notable tombs is Heinrich Schliemann’s, designed by architect Ernst Ziller. Another memorial holds I Koimomeni, “The Sleeping Girl,” a celebrated sculpture of a dead young girl by Yannoulis Chalepas, a sculptor from Tinos. The grounds also contain burial areas for Protestants and Jews, although this separation is not compulsory.