Communards' Wall Monument

Address: Père Lachaise Cemetery, 16 rue du Repos, 75020 Paris, France

The Communards’ Wall (Mur des Fédérés) is a memorial site in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris marking the place where many defenders of the Paris Commune were executed in late May 1871. It has become one of the most visible physical reminders of the Commune and its suppression.

The site comprises a simple brick and stone wall with surrounding ground and commemorative plaques placed by visitors, political groups and historical associations. It functions as a place of remembrance and pilgrimage, and visitors often combine it with a walk through the cemetery’s larger historic sections.

On 28 May 1871, troops of the French government executed a group of Commune prisoners against this wall during the final suppression of the Paris Commune; the victims were buried nearby in a common grave and subsequently commemorated by families and political groups. The wall and adjacent monuments have been maintained as a memorial since the 19th century.

The wall is located within Père Lachaise Cemetery in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, accessible from the Père Lachaise metro stop and integrated into the cemetery’s network of paths and historic tombs.

• 1871 executions: Around 147 communards are recorded as having been executed at the wall on 28 May 1871, and the site has been a place of annual commemoration since the late 19th century.

What to See#

• Mur des Fédérés (the wall): The execution wall itself, a low brick and stone wall inside Père Lachaise Cemetery where defenders of the Paris Commune were shot and partially buried in May 1871.
• Commemorative plaques and memorials: Commemorative plaques, crosses and small memorials placed by political and labor groups along the wall and adjacent ground that mark names and remember the Commune’s victims.

Père Lachaise Cemetery is served by the Père Lachaise Métro station (lines 2 and 3). The Communards’ Wall is in the eastern part of the cemetery; follow cemetery maps or signs to the 11th/20th division area.

• When visiting Père Lachaise, follow the signs to the Mur des Fédérés near the 11th and 20th divisions; it's quieter than other memorial spots.
• Bring a small bouquet or a pen - visitors traditionally leave notes and small offerings at the wall.
• Read contemporary accounts of the Commune (May 1871) before visiting; the wall's emotional weight resonates more with historical context.