When people imagine Paris, it’s often the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, or a romantic cafe that comes to mind. For me? The not-quite-so-romantic catacombs that lie right under the city that happen to be home to the remains of around six million people. Yep, it’s definitely on my list of places I’d like to visit!
Just what are the catacombs, you ask? They’re an underground system of burial locations that have been used for centuries as “graves” for the dead. Originally, when the area of what is now modern-day Paris belonged to the Romans, the cemeteries were above ground, much in the manner of what “traditional” cemeteries look like today. As time progressed and the city developed, changed hands, was built and rebuilt, land became filled in to make more room to build upon, so the graves became buried. A city as large as Paris still needed a place to bury its dead, though, so bodies continued to be added to the cemeteries that existed. Overcrowding in these cemeteries led to weakened ground structure and support, so there was a need to either do something about the overcrowded cemeteries affecting the city or relocate the human remains. The solution? The use of renovated subterranean mine passages.
In about two years, the human remains in Paris’ cemeteries all found new homes in the underground passages. The remains were arranged into designs, which is why visitors can identify patterns in the placements of the bones. The catacombs were designed to be viewed by people, even though it took many years of on-and-off-again laws and restrictions to truly allow the catacombs to open up to full public access.
As someone who loves exploring, the idea of wandering around such a large and creative catacomb is so intriguing! A little macabre, as well, though? Perhaps. With all the history surrounding the city of Paris itself and the undertaking of the catacombs, I definitely think it’s a place worth checking out at least once in my life!
Girl On A Mountain 