Paris catacombs

Introduction

The paris catacombs is a widely known burial place in Paris, France and although they are mostly known as "the catacombs", the official name is "les Carrieres de Paris", which means the quarries of Paris. The catacombs hold about 6.7 million Parisians.

People who built itThe use of the quarries for the storage of bones was thought of by the the Lieutenant General of Police, M Thiroux de Crosne and the Inspector General of Quarries, Charles Axel Guillaumo in 1786.

Why was it made

People in Paris were getting diseases caused by contamination from improper burials. Another reason was that cemeteries got so overcrowd there needed to be a change. The catacombs were an alternative to cemeteries.

Special SignificanceSo far with my research on the internet I have found no cultural or religious significance of the catacombs it was really just a place to store dead people. But It is quite a popular tourist attraction in Paris.

Location

The Catacombs in Paris (or Catacombes de Paris, French translation) are a maze of tunnels underneath the city streets of Paris, France.

How is it used now

It is now used as a popular tourist attraction open Tuesdays till Sundays from 10-5pm. There are some other things that people do in their such as mini concerts and sometimes gangs used them as meeting places.

How it was used

The Paris catacombs were originally created to store dead bodies from cemeteries that didn't have enough room to bury anymore people.

Fun factsThe Catacombs where tours are taken are only a small portion of Paris’s underground tunnel system. There are over 300km of tunnels.

It’s underground, so it can get chilly. It’s usually around 14C.

There are people that are called cataphiles that sneak into the catacombs and explore illegally.

I think even though there are a few catacombs around the world it feels like there's something different and special about it. Maybe because it is in Paris. I am amazed that people were able to dig up dead bodies and arrange them in underground tunnels in only two years. It would have been a very difficult job to complete. I think it is very smart how they thought of doing this. It just makes it all the more fascinating that they run for miles underneath the city. Tours probably won't even take you the whole way through. I have also seen many, many pictures of the catacombs and in most of them the skulls and femurs are placed in different patterns which was interesting. There are also some different objects inside if you have noticed in some of my pictures. I have always wanted to go to Paris to see the Eiffel tower but now there is a second place on my list.

Thanks for watchingBy Alyssa