Catacombs of Paris: France

The Catacombs of Paris is a famous burial place in Paris, France. It is a network of subterranean chambers and galleries that is located in what were Roman-era limestone quarries. The quarries were converted into a mass tomb near the end of the 18th century. It is most widely known as “the catacombs”, but the official title is “les carrieres de Paris” or “the quarries of Paris.”

History

Burial use in the depleted quarries was established in 1786 by the order of Monsieur Thiroux de Crosne, Lt. General of Police, and by Monsieur Guillaumot, Inspector General of Quarries. At the time, the Les Halles district in the middle of the city was suffering from disease resulting from contamination caused by improper burials and mass graves in churchyard cemeteries, especially the large Cimetiere des Innocents. It was decided to discreetly remove the bones and place them in the abandoned quarries.

Remains from the cemetery of Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs were among the first to be moved. Bodies of the dead from the riots in the Place de Greve, the Hotel de Brienne, and Rue Meslee were put in the catacombs on August 28 and 29, 1788.

The chamber walls are covered in graffiti from the 18th century onwards. In the 19th century, there is evidence that some families even lived in the catacombs. Victor Hugo used his knowledge about the tunnel system in his novel Les Miserables. In 1871 communards killed a group of monarchists in one chamber. During World War II, Parisian members of the French Resistance used the tunnel system. Also during this period, German soldiers established an underground bunker in the catacombs below the 14eme arrondissement for their own use. (This bunker is not in the tourist route and can only be seen during “Unofficial Visits” see below.)

The underground tunnels and chambers have long posed problems to the safety of constructions in Paris. Quarries sometimes collapse, occasionally resulting in a hole above the ground and causing damage to buildings. To prevent this, the IGC, Inspection generale des Carrieres (General Inspection of the Quarries) was established in 1777 by the government in order to monitor the current quarries and prohibit the digging of new quarries. Small observation tunnels were dug in order to be able to give access to IGC inspectors to quarries to be monitored and the tunnels and quarries were consolidated.

The monitoring and consolidation work has continued to this day. Because of the number of quarries, subway tunnels, train tunnels and sewer tunnels that have been dug underneath Paris and the softness of the stones involved, extra caution is taken when new construction is attempted or new tunnels are dug. (This did not prevent problems during the digging of Paris Metro Line 14.)

The Catacombs today

Unofficial visits

Unofficial visits to the underground quarries of Paris are illegal and possibly dangerous. Still, the burial chambers that are open to the public are only a small part of the full number of Paris’s underground tunnels. The total length of quarries is greater than 300km (about 186 miles).

In theory, entrance to catacombs is restricted. However, enterprising souls can enter the tunnels through certain places in the sewers or the subway system, as well as through manholes in some streets. Some have reputedly used explosives. Some unofficial visitors have the keys to certain official entrances.

On rare occasions drug dealers, addicts, eccentrics and those who want to hold clandestine meetings or unusual parties will illegally enter catacombs. Most of those who illegally visit the catacombs today are adventurers or urban explorers. The most enthusiastic refer to themselves as “cataphiles” and some spend up to several days underground. Others have hidden casks of wine or supplies in secret places.

Legally speaking, sneaking into catacombs has been illegal in Paris since November 2, 1955. There is a €100 fine and a risk of running into special tunnel police. Some of the most dangerous places, especially in the center of the city, have been thoroughly closed-off.

While most unofficial visits to the former quarries are safe, there are still hazards in such activities. The map of the tunnel is complex; while some of them have plaques indicating the name of the streets above, most do not, and the complexity of their layout can be perplexing. It is thus necessary to have a good map of the tunnels, and to be in the company of people who have made such trips before. Some of the tunnels are partially flooded. There are transmission wires, pipes, etc. that can hinder progress and that visitors should care not to cause damage. Some passages are narrow. Visitors should take care not to create hazards for others, for instance by leaving open manholes that they used for entering.

In September 2004, a hidden chamber with a movie theater run by the Mexican Perforation group (a French artistic movement that seeks to convey their ideas in underground places) was discovered by the French police.

The Catacombs in fiction

In the computer game Deus Ex, set in 2052, the player has to traverse part of the catacombs to reach another area of the city. The catacombs in the games world are home to a clandestine group of French revolutionaries named Silhouette, who make their home in the German World War II bunkers. A news terminal found in a building that serves as the catacombs entrance gives a brief history of the catacombs.
In Umberto Eco’s novel Foucault’s Pendulum, the Catacombs of Paris were the resting place of a parchment concerning The Templars.
In Medal of Honor: Underground, one of the missions involves traversing the catacombs in order to escape German authorities after a mission to steal weapons goes bad.
In Vagrant Story, the main protagonist Ashley Riot had to traverse through catacombs in order to access the city of Lea Monde.
In Barbara Hambly’s novel Those Who Hunt the Night, two characters investigating the murders of vampires in London descend into the catacombs in 1907. There they find Brother Anthony, a 600 year old priest turned vampire, living among the bones of the dead. Anthony believes that if he helps the dead find and assemble their bones when the Trumpet sounds Judgement Day he will win redemption for his sins.