Paris catacombs: photos and reviews of tourists

The Paris catacombs have long been the object of close attention from both local residents and the side of numerous travelers. What attracts so many visitors here annually? As a rule, this desire to get acquainted with the history of the great city. Although it is not a secret for anyone that sometimes extremists or adventurers go to the Paris catacombs. These places are actually shrouded in mystery and mystery, and many years of research will be needed to answer many questions.

This article is aimed at telling about such an interesting and rather unknown object of the French capital, as an underground city of the dead. The reader will learn the details, which, as a rule, even the most experienced guides do not tell tourists.

Section 1. General description

The catacombs, stretching under the capital of France, are a system of tunnels that appeared under the city in the distant past.

Mysterious underground galleries have a length of more than three hundred kilometers. Historians believe that the ancient quarries arose as a result of the extraction of materials necessary for the construction of palaces and cathedrals in the city during the Middle Ages. Later, the dungeon became a grave for many people and turned into a huge cemetery. The number of Parisians buried here exceeds the current population of the French capital.

Even during antiquity, the Romans mined limestone in these places, but the mines were of an open type. Gradually, as the city grew, so did the number of such manufactories. The main part of the tunnels appeared at the time of the French King Philippe Augustus, who ruled in 1180-1223, when limestone was used for the construction of protective shafts.

Section 2. Paris catacombs. History of occurrence

The total area of underground tunnels, formed during the development of limestone, is about 11 thousand square meters. M.

The first extraction of limestone underground began under Louis XI, who for this purpose gave the land of the castle of Vavert. In the Renaissance the districts of Paris grew rapidly, and by the XVII century. Underground Parisian catacombs, photos of which can now be found in almost all the guides dedicated to the French capital, were in the city, which led to the risk of ground failures in the streets.

In 1777, King Louis XVI established an inspection for quarrying, which is still in effect today. For 200 years, employees of this institution are working to strengthen and prevent landslides in the dungeon. Many mines were flooded with concrete, but the fortifications were gradually eroded by the ground waters of the Seine, and the risk of collapse continued.

Section 3. A Brief Historical Reference

The history of the Paris catacombs is directly connected with the life of the townspeople. How? We offer to familiarize with several facts:

• In the underground galleries of Chaillot, during the World Exhibition in Paris (in 1878), the "Catacombs" cafe was opened. Many confidently state that it is simply impossible not to visit this place
• In the dungeons of the capital grow mushrooms, which are a favorite product in the national cuisine of France.
• The famous writer Victor Hugo created the greatest novel-epic "Les Miserables", whose plot is closely connected with the underground world of Paris.
• During the Second World War, the quarries were used by the leaders of the French Resistance. In the summer of 1944, there was organized a headquarters, which was located only 500 meters from the secret fascist bunker.
• In the era of the Cold War and the threat of a nuclear attack, some of the dungeon tunnels were refurbished under bomb shelters.
• "Paris Catacombs" - a film, one of the few that was filmed not on the set, but directly in the dungeons themselves.

Section 4. What is an Ossuary?

In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church did not prohibit burials near churches, most of which were located in cities. More than two million people have been buried in the Innocent Cemetery, which is the largest in Paris. There are the remains of not only ordinary parishioners, but also people who died during the plague epidemic and who died in the massacre at the St. Varfolomeevsky night. Also in the cemetery are buried hundreds of unidentified bodies.

Not everyone knows that often the graves reached a depth of 10 meters, and the mound of land increased to 3 meters.

It is not surprising that the city cemetery later became a source of spread of the contagion, and in 1763 the parliament banned mass graves in the city. In 1780, after the collapse of the wall separating the churchyard from the city zone, the cemetery was completely closed, and no one was buried in Paris.

For a long time, the remains after disinfection were exported to the underground quarries of Tomb-Isuar. Workers were laying bones at a depth of more than 17 meters, resulting in a wall, and almost 780 meters of galleries appeared with the remains of the deceased, which were located in a circle. So in the Parisian catacombs in 1786, the Ossuary was founded. Here, about six million people have found peace, including many well-known personalities, but even more - no one knows.

Section 5. Paris catacombs today

According to tourists, getting to the Ossuary, do not even notice that it was at a depth of 20 meters. Here you can see wall paintings of the XVIII century, various monuments and historical artifacts, an altar located in the shaft for air supply.

Guests and locals say that, paying close attention to the ceiling, you can see the black line - "Ariadne's thread", which helped not to get lost in the galleries in the past, when there was no electricity. Now in the dungeon there are still places that have not changed since: monuments and bas-reliefs, installed on the burials of past centuries; Well for limestone mining; Supporting columns for the arch.

In general, it should be noted that the Paris catacombs (2014 - another confirmation of this) are becoming more and more popular attraction of the French capital.

Section 6. How to get inside

The entrance to the Parisian catacombs is next to the metro station "Dferfer-Rochereau" (Denfert-Rochereau). A landmark is a sculpture of a lion. Catacombs are open daily (except Monday) from 10.00 to 17.00. The cost of the tour is 8-10 euros (children under 14 years - free of charge).

By the way, seasoned travelers are advised to pay attention to the fact that individual visits are prohibited.

Currently, visitors have galleries with a length of 2.5 kilometers. Also there are closed areas that are dangerous to visit. In November 1955 in Paris was specially issued a law prohibiting stay in these places. And since 1980, individual police brigades monitor compliance with these rules.

Section 7. Threats to Illegal Visits

Despite all the prohibitions, there are fans of thrill, which, at the risk of their lives, illegally enter the dungeon through the hatches of sewers, subway stations, etc.

Underground galleries with narrow and low labyrinths have complex passages, where it is easy to get lost. Thus, in 1793 the watchman of the church of Val de Gras tried to find ancient wine cellars in the quarries, but he lost his way. His remains were found only after many years, identifying the poor fellow for the keys and the remaining clothes.

Modern "heroes" are also many, but the local police are doing everything possible to prevent such mountain-travelers inside.

In this country, in fact, there are many interesting things: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, amazing ancient cities, the ocean, the endless fields of vineyards, the Parisian catacombs ... France, however, should be remembered only by positive moments and joyful minutes. Everyone who has already managed to visit inside the said facility is ready to dissuade you from doing a rash act.