Catacombs of Paris

Yesterday we went to visit the Catacombs of Paris. The catacombs house the remains of approximately six million Parisians and date back to the late 18th century. The reason for the catacombs is this: at the time, a Parisian cemetery that had been used for 10 centuries was overflowing and was the cause of health-related issues for many in the district. The council ordered the evacuation of the cemetery, and the bones were placed in unused limestone quarries. The quarries were used for all the bones in the cemeteries in Paris until 1860.

It's the longest time we've stood in line for anything on this trip (about 2 hours), and it only took us about an hour deep underground with millions of bones to head back up to the sunlight.

A brave group on this journey (minus Kevin who is taking the picture). What a great way to start a day.



Twenty meters (why, oh why doesn't America use the metric system?!)below street level, this saying is placed right before you enter the gallery of bones. In effect it says: "Stop! This is the empire of death." Yeah, I couldn't wait to keep going. (not) Also notice the black line. I'm sure it's been redone, but it originally was put up so people wouldn't get lost.


And then we were greeted with this. Sorry about the picture quality-no flash allowed and it's quite dark.



So let me show you some of what we saw through Google's help because my pictures didn't turn out well (not that I'm too upset-I don't care to flip through these often).



Barrel of bones - erected to hide a supporting pillar. In this particular crypt, a macabre concert was held April 2, 1897 (happy birthday, Kody) between midnight and two - featuring funeral marches and other such music. It was invite only, very exclusive, and the two workers who arranged it were fired as soon as they were discovered.



This lamp is the oldest artifact in the catacombs and used to be constantly burning with fire to help air circulation - or something to that effect. It's hard to concentrate on an audio guide down there. Shafts were later created, so the fire was no longer required.


And they went on and on...and keep in mind, this is a small part of the six million people down there. There were tunnels every which way you look.


(Back to my photos) Not a great picture, but it's proof we were actually down there



The only tombstone in the whole place



A heart made of skulls


And an extra creepy skull


Subsidence cavities in the ceiling- the most common tyoe of damage in limestone quarries of Paris. Apparently these would eventually protrude to the streets above and be a weakness, but these have been reinforced so we can see them. The lines show the alternating geographical layers.





Yeah, now we can say "been there, done that." But I was happy to climb these 82 steps and head back to the sunlight!


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Location:Rue des Irlandais,Paris,France