According to Czech website, Radio.cz, a team of 3 Czech cemetery restorers will be working with the US non-profit, Save Our Cemeteries to assess the damages of New Orlean’s cemeteries caused by Hurricane Katrina.
The article talks about initial impressions of St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, which was opened in 1823 and has a Creole history:
The entire cemetery is built above the ground because the ground is too wet [to bury bodies]. There are huge crypts and walls that are covered with tombs. Everything above ground. What is significant about this cemetery is that the cultures are mixed, all in one. The French, Spanish, African-American. It’s divided into three squares and one entire square is divided into free people of colour: this is where you’ll find a lot of notable names in jazz, politics, and the military that make this site unique.
That said, I can’t tell you exact names yet: this is the main reason we’re going. The site has never been mapped before, and now it’s in real disarray. The restorers will fully map the site, note down the names, and decipher damages that the cemetery suffered before and during the hurricane.”
Save Our Cemeteries is a non-profit devoted to promoting, preserving, and protecting New Orleans’ 31 historic cemeteries. You can view info about the known damages to different cemeteries on their Local Cemetery Conditions Following Hurricane Katrina page.
