Paris,
France is a place of romance, culture, history and art. People from all over
the world travel to Paris to experience the fine cuisine, amazing architecture
and exciting night life. This is all above ground. Underground is a whole other
world of Paris. It is a world surrounded by death and art. Under the busy
streets of Paris, are the Catacombs.
In the
1700’s Paris was already a major city. Thousands of people lived and worked in
Paris. Due the popularity of living there,
a major problem developed that
the City had to address. Where were they going to bury the dead?
The City
had placed an ordinance during that time that there could no longer be any
burials within the city limits. The bodies already buried in the City cemeteries
were contaminating the city water supply. With the ordinance put in place, the cemeteries
on the outskirts of the city were quickly filling up. Something had to be done.
It was
finally decided in 1786 that the Quarries beneath the city where they had been
collecting Limestone would be the new location to take the remains of the
departed. In order to clean up the water supply the city began moving the
remains from the City cemeteries to this new location. This process alone lasted
until 1788 because they would only move the remains in the cover of night under
the supervision of clergy men.
For thirty
years people continued to take the bones of their loved ones down the
underground tunnels to the Catacombs under the city. It is reported that there
are over six million people resting in the Catacombs. In true French artistry,
it was simply not enough to create a mass grave for their loved ones. Here is
an example of the care they took in displaying their families’ remains:
During
World War II the French resistance took advantage of their knowledge of the
tunnels in the Catacombs and used them to get from one end of the City to the
other without being detected by the Germans who had taken over the City. The
Germans however did find a section of the Catacombs and used it as a bunker for
a time.
Since
the 1800’s people have held a fascination with the Catacombs, going through the
many entrances around Paris and exploring the dark underground tunnels. Over the many years that people have been
exploring down there, graffiti artists have left their mark along the walls,
giving us a running art exhibit through the ages. To this day there are still
people who go down there to contribute to the art.
Although
large portions are closed off to the public for safety reasons, sections of the
Catacombs are currently open for tours.
It can take as long as an hour and half to walk through the Tourist
section of the Catacombs.
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