Quick: name one of the world’s most interesting cemeteries. You may think of Recoleta in Buenos Aires, Hollywood Forever in Los Angeles, St. Louis in New Orleans. But you may not have heard about one especially fascinating and beautiful burial ground: Cave Hill Cemetery.
Located in Louisville, Kentucky, Cave Hill Cemetery is a 296-acre venue listed on the National Register of Historic Places. An entire episode of PBS’s The World’s Greatest Cemeteries was dedicated to it. And the cemetery is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting attractions for visitors to Louisville, thanks to the remarkable, gallery-quality artistry of its monuments, the beautiful, park-like setting and the array of legendary famous people who buried here.
You can watch an Instagram Reel I made of this lovely cemetery on my YouTube channel, and scroll below to see photos of some of my favorite gravesites.
I have a long personal history with Cave Hill Cemetery (which I write about in my book, Prepare for Departure). I’ve been visiting since I was about four years old, when my father was buried there. In the following decades, I continued to visit the cemetery with my family every time we were in Louisville, which was my mother’s hometown and for many years the residence of my Uncle Ed and Aunt Agnes. Later, my uncle and aunt would be buried there, too, next to my father. But my familial ties to Cave Hill aren’t why I recommend it to visitors (my family’s gravestone isn’t that interesting, to be honest). I recommend a visit to Cave Hill simply because it’s one of the most beautiful and interesting cemeteries I’ve ever seen.
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Even at a young age, I was more attracted to other graves than the one that belonged to my own family. After spending a few minutes staring at my father’s marker, I’d quickly grow antsy and ask my mother if we could move on. There was a much more interesting gravestone a few yards from my father’s rather dull marker.
“Can we go see Colonel Sanders now?” I’d beg my mother.
And then we’d get back in the car, drive along the cemetery’s sinewy paved roadway and arrive at a much more impressive structure: The multi-pillared monument to Colonel Harland Sanders and his wife, Claudia. A life-size bust of the Colonel graces the monument, gazing eternally at chicken-loving fans who come to pay their respects.
What’s especially curious about those early visits, however, was that neither Colonel Sanders nor his wife were even dead yet. But the monumental tribute to their lives was already up and receiving visitors like us. I guess the Sanders family wanted to make sure that their final resting place was finalized and was just right — like their chicken.
Colonel Sanders died in 1980, and his gravesite continues to be one of the most visited at Cave Hill. But he’s far from the only famous person buried here. Mohammad Ali’s site simple, classy site also attracts a lot of visitors, and there are several more obscure celebrities worth a mention — including Mildred J. Hill and Patty Hill, two sisters who wrote the “Happy Birthday” song.
But you’re missing out if you only focus on the celebrities at Cave Hill. This is a place where you should drive and stroll and explore every corner, as there is a wide variety of sculptures, mausoleums and gravestones throughout the verdant grounds, representing various design and artistic styles.
There’s a sphinx. There are sculptures of birds in flight. Dogs. Children. Couples eternally gazing into each other’s eyes. Touring Cave Hill is a bit like wandering an open-air art gallery, and it’s interesting to ponder how some of the families chose the theme of their final resting places.
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The Cave Hill Cemetery administration is so well organized that they even have a free app from their website, which provides detailed information and all you need for a self-guided cemetery tour. They also have a free downloadable guide to cemetery symbols, which can help you to decipher the meanings of some of the grave designs. Butterflies, for example, represent a short life. A broken column indicates the loss of the head of a family.
You don’t have to be a cemetery enthusiast to be wowed by Cave Hill. If you’re a fan of art, architecture, sculpture or history, you’ll likely find something to love here. It’s just one of the reasons why I love Louisville.
I’m a travel writer and travel blogger, and I love sharing travel tips to make your next vacation or business trip better. My new memoir was just published: Prepare for Departure: Notes on a Single Mother, a Misfit Son, Inevitable Mortality and the Enduring Allure of Frequent Flyer Miles. Please click to check it out!
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