Bellu Cemetery

Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania.

The place is better known by its popular name “Bellu Cemetery” (rather than the official “Serban Voda Cemetery”). This is because this cemetery is situated on a land a plot of land donated by Baron Barbu Bellu in 1858.

Many artists and important politicians are buried with the walled cemetery. This means that great funeral monuments and beautiful sculptures with quite a lot of stories are scattered all over the alleys.

The central chapel (which keeps the same hours as the cemetery itself), was built in the 1880s. Its style is similar to one of the cathedrals at Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary). While it is no Sistine chapel, it is still boasting stunning interior paintings.

This is large and historic cemetery, and is still in use so be prepared to show some respect to mourners attending funerals along with friends and families visiting lost ones. Walking through the many alleys can easy take up to half a day!

There is a map inside the gate, that points out important graves! Especially relevant: most of the graves are grouped by profession – artists in one part, writers in another etc. Consequently, a good place to start is the Alley of Artists.

Photography wise, you need an acceptance (permit) which you can get at the entrance.