You begin be descending a large staircase, you go into a small room and then you enter into a semi-lit, tiny tunnel underground. If you are as tall as me (6’5”), you are bent in half, trying not to smack your head on the roof.

Once you turn a corner, partially wet from the dripping water from the ceiling, you are greeted by a sign reading : “Arrête, C’est ici l’empire de la mort” (Stop, this here is the empire of the dead).

This story is how one begins to explore the catacombs. Read the history below and see the pictures to find out what happens after this door!

History

The catacombs, a huge burial ground holding the remains of about 6,000,000 people, fill caverns and tunnels that remained from stone mines that were renovated to fit this new purpose.  While the catacombs opened in the late 18th century, it did not become  a tourist attraction until the early 19th century. It has been opened to the public since 1874.

Why make the catacombs?

When the Romans had control of France, they built on Rive Gauche (The Left Bank). When the Frankish invasions led to settlement on the Right Bank as well, people began to bury the dead in the city center instead of away from the inhabited areas as is usual custom. The cemetery was located directly next to Les Halles ( a large market place). Due to the proximity of the market, the cemetery could not expand so many of the older bones were taken out of the graves and packed into the roofs and walls of the galleries built inside the cemetery, thus keeping the dead in the cemetery but not in their graves.

As Paris expanded, the city began to reach the old mining grounds that were located outside of the city limits. The need for a new grave site became clear once a basement wall in properties adjoining the cemetery collapsed due to the weight from a mass grave located directly behind it (imagine going down into your basement and finding corpses/bones!). After two years of emptying the majority of the Paris cemeteries, the catacombs were filled. Later on, as people became curious about the catacombs, Louis-Etienne Héricart de Thury arranged the bones into piles with patterns in order to make the catacombs more appealing to visitors. Now it is a popular site in Paris for those interested in the Macabre.

The other side of the door….

So, you have made it this far and you decide to continue. You turn the next corner and you see a huge pile of bones. and after that another huge pile.

 

You continue walking through a maze of bones and skulls, none of which are close to being matched to anything that resembles a body. For me, it was interesting to think about the lives of the people buried in the catacombs. Hierarchy and social status were so important for these people, yet now, one cannot tell the difference between the lowest of peasants and the highest of artisans or nobles. Obviously there is no king because the king would be buried separately away from the “little” people.

If anyone is planning on going to Paris, I really suggest going to the catacombs. It is a very interesting place to visit and not a lot of tourists go! The catacombs take second place to Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees, etc. Obviously, if you can’t handle slightly eerie or macabre settings, this is not for you but if that interests you in the slightest, you should check it out!

 

Location: Place Denfert Rochereau Paris, France