Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Spain Madrid Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery

Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery

Five million people are laid to rest here, more than the population of Madrid itself.

Madrid, Spain

Added By
Vamsi Krishna
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery.   Edescas/cc by-sa 30
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery.   Idealink Photography / Alamy
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery.   Vamsi Krishna / Atlas Obscura User
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery.   Vamsi Krishna / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
Detail of an ostentatious grave   Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
  Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
detail of the entrance   Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery.   Vamsi Krishna / Atlas Obscura User
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery.   Vamsi Krishna / Atlas Obscura User
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery.   Vamsi Krishna / Atlas Obscura User
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery.   Vamsi Krishna / Atlas Obscura User
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery.   Vamsi Krishna / Atlas Obscura User
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery.   Benjamín Núñez González/cc by-sa 4.0
Modernist church by Francisco García Nava   Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
Main entrance   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
Modernist church   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

This enormous necropolis in Madrid is the largest cemetery in Spain, and one of the largest in the world. It's the final resting place of around five million people—more people than are currently living in the city of Madrid.

Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery (Cementerio de Nuestra Señora de La Almudena) is truly a city of the dead. Throngs of visitors, especially on All Saints' Day, on November 1, navigate the burial ground through streets with names and changing sections that vary like different neighborhoods.

There’s a separate walled area for the tombs of the rich and famous, which are almost like mini houses, some with doors and windows. In another section, the graves of poorer residents aren’t burial plots at all but rather rows and rows of stacked crypts that look like apartment buildings housing cremated remains within niches several stories high.

In the center is the historic section of the cemetery, with beautiful marble tombstones and statues dating back to the 19th century. The cemetery was built in 1884 and grew rapidly as the cholera epidemic spread.

Although not as grand as the cemeteries in Paris, Almudena still has some ornate and interesting gravestones. The most important sights are the the elaborate, Moorish style entrance and chapel, as well as the views of the city and cemetery grounds from the top of the long wall with pigeonholes. Of course, the place is also home to several stray cats who live among the graves.

Related Tags

Cemeteries Graveyards Cities Tombs Burial Places

Know Before You Go

Metro Line 2 will get you to the Elipa station, from where you should walk to the entrance which is about half a kilometre away.

Community Contributors

Added By

Vamsi Krishna

Edited By

Meg, Luis Morato, Xavixavir

  • Meg
  • Luis Morato
  • Xavixavir

Published

July 24, 2018

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery
Av. de Daroca, 90
Madrid
Spain
40.425945, -3.645083
Get Directions

Nearby Places

El Dragón de la Elipa

Madrid, Spain

miles away

Monument to Doctor Fleming

Madrid, Spain

miles away

Dolmen de Dalí

Madrid, Spain

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Madrid

Madrid

Spain

Places 123
Stories 2

Nearby Places

El Dragón de la Elipa

Madrid, Spain

miles away

Monument to Doctor Fleming

Madrid, Spain

miles away

Dolmen de Dalí

Madrid, Spain

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Madrid

Madrid

Spain

Places 123
Stories 2

Related Places

  • Cambridge, England

    Ascension Parish Burial Ground

    The graveyard with the highest IQ in Britain.

  • Hang Jebat’s final resting place.

    Malacca, Malaysia

    Hang Jebat Mausoleum

    A mausoleum dedicated to a warrior felled by misplaced loyalty and tragic circumstances.

  • The Rayne cemetery.

    Rayne, Louisiana

    Wrong Way Cemetery

    The above-ground crypts at this Catholic cemetery face north-south instead of the usual east-west.

  • The Fountain of the Innocents is one of the few surviving pieces of the lost cemetery.

    Paris, France

    Fountain of Innocents

    A 16th-century fountain marks the site of a lost medieval cemetery once filled with mass graves.

  • Fetter Lane Moravian Burial Ground.

    London, England

    Fetter Lane Moravian Burial Ground

    Some of the earliest leaders of the Moravian congregation are buried here.

  • Ahlat, Turkey

    Ahlat Seljuk Cemetery

    Hundreds of medieval Islamic gravestones decorate the mountainous landscape in the largest cemetery in Turkey.

  • The Stecci Cemetery

    Novakovići, Montenegro

    Medieval Slavic Cemetery

    A scattered cemetery of medieval tombstones, each carved with indivdual patterns and scenes, overlooking a bright blue lake.

  • A wooden grave marker at Silver Islet Cemetery.

    Silver Islet, Ontario

    Silver Islet Cemetery

    Carved wooden graves mark the plots at this cemetery in an old mining town.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.