Parisian catacombs - the secret of a forgotten cave. Parisian catacombs: photos and reviews from tourists

a network of artificial underground tunnels near Paris, in which the remains of about 6 million people are buried. A small part of them is open to the public and there is a museum there, but mostly they are closed from tourists and are regularly patrolled by the police, since there are quite a lot of people who want to go there.

Paris catacombs are far from its most famous attraction and not many tourists know that right underneath them lies a huge number of human remains. They say that from them you can get to any point in Paris, which is not surprising - the length of the catacombs reaches 300 km.

These catacombs are former quarries that, due to the expansion of Paris during the Renaissance, ended up within the city limits. Even then, a problem arose - part of the city actually hung over a hole, which could collapse at any moment. By decree of the king, a special service was founded, which was engaged in strengthening the catacombs. This service still exists today.

But where did so many remains come from in the quarries? One of the traditions of Christianity is the burial of the dead near the church. Therefore, many cemeteries were located almost in the city center. The plague epidemic and St. Bartholomew's Night provided the cemeteries of Paris with a huge number of remains, which were already overcrowded - the remains of 1,500 people could lie in one grave.

As a result, cemeteries turned into stinking wastelands, which were breeding grounds for disease. This forced a decree to be passed in 1763 banning burials within the city. And a little later, in 1780, the wall separating the cemetery from the residential area of ​​Paris collapsed and the basements of the houses were filled with remains and sewage. This was the last straw - it was decided to transfer all the remains from the cemeteries to the underground Parisian catacombs.

The catacombs contain the remains of many famous personalities: Charles Perot, Pascal, Lavoisier, Francois Rabelais, Nicolas Fouquet and others.

Not equipped for tourists most of- about 2.5 km of catacombs. You can only visit the museum and not go down into the Parisian catacombs themselves. The rest of the area is closed to visitors and is constantly patrolled by police - a fine of 60 euros is imposed for illegal entry. Professional private guide will be able to fully organize unforgettable excursions in Paris. A license from the Ministry of Tourism provides many benefits, including skip-the-line entry into national museums. With its help you will learn many intriguing secrets of the French capital.

Information for tourists:

Operating mode: The Paris Catacombs are open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00 (ticket office closes at 16:00).

Ticket price: 7 euros.

When I first arrived in Paris, I dreamed of going to the catacombs (Catacombes de Paris), but somehow it didn’t work out: we didn’t have time, then my friends and I had another museum or event planned. You won't get bored in Paris. There is always something to do here. Only after two months of my stay there, my friend and I went to the appointed place. Moreover, independent visits to the catacombs are prohibited: entry is only possible in an organized group.

The school where I studied (it was a private school for foreign students) organized excursions and various cultural and other outings for its students. Among them was an excursion to the Catacombs. We decided to go with her, since we knew the guide - a very nice woman with whom we went to other similar events. She spoke interestingly, and this means a lot to people in this profession.

It seemed to us that we would get there quickly, since in October there are already few tourists in Paris, which means goodbye to gigantic queues at museums, exhibitions, etc. How wrong we were! Since a total of no more than 200 people can be accommodated in the catacombs at one time, people are allowed in there in portions. Therefore, even in October there was a very long queue there! Probably the longest after the queues at Disneyland and Versailles, which I had to endure in Paris. We spent a good hour and a half in it before getting there. But it was worth it!

Beginning of inspection

The first thing you feel when entering is cold. The temperature inside is only +14 °C, and it feels even less. I was wearing an autumn raincoat and a thin sweater, and I was still cold. Please note that when visiting the catacombs you go down underground, and the passages there are so narrow, in the ossuary itself (this is a building or place for storing skeletal remains) it is also low, so if you suffer from claustrophobia, I do not advise you to visit them at all.

The second is darkness. Despite the lanterns hanging everywhere, there is twilight below, so it’s still hard to see and it’s inconvenient to take pictures. Only with flash I was able to take a few normal photos.

Arcueil Museum and Aqueduct

The visit begins not with the ossuary itself, but with the small Catacomb Museum, where photographs show the history of the quarries. Once upon a time, these were places where rock was mined for the needs of Paris. Previously, when the city was much smaller than it is now, they were located outside the city limits. Paris grew, and eventually the quarries fell within the city limits.

How did the skulls and remains of the long dead end up in the quarries? As a capital and a major city, Paris had many cemeteries within itself. Among them was a very large cemetery of the Innocent Martyrs. This was explained by the fact that the churches in which they were located took money for burying the dead on their territory. This was strongly encouraged by the clergy, as it brought good income.

However, cemeteries grew both in depth and breadth. The various dark events of Paris only added to the huge number of corpses. For example, the bubonic plague epidemic or St. Bartholomew's Night, and then the French Revolution, were reliable sources of the remains of thousands of people. Thus, by the end of the 18th century, the cemetery of the Innocent Martyrs had already accumulated over 2 million dead. People were buried on top of old graves. A terrible stench spread from the cemetery, and it became a breeding ground for various infections. But the same church opposed its liquidation. After all, this meant the end of one of her reliable sources of income.

Finally, after the wall separating the cemetery itself from the residential areas collapsed, and an avalanche of human remains, sewage, etc. poured into people’s yards, a decision was made to transfer the bodies and skeletons to the quarries. Burials were banned altogether within Paris, and other cemeteries were also liquidated.

This is how the Catacombs and their ossuary appeared.

From this museum, the path leads to the Arceuil Aqueduct - a water pipeline that supplied water to the Luxembourg Palace and to the places where limestone was previously mined. Actually, there is nothing particularly interesting there. Bare walls. Only the arches of the aqueduct, striving upward, are impressive.

Port Mahon Gallery

Here we were shown sculptures in stone made by one of the quarry workers, Decur. While a soldier in the service of Cardinal Richelieu, he entered the service of a quarry, where he began to make these sculptures. What his purpose was in carrying them out is unknown. There is a sign attached nearby with all this information in French. By the way, Decur died here, from the collapse of the camelomen, trying to improve his creation.

The sculpture is a model of a fort in the city of Port Mahon, on the island of Menorca, which is part of the Balearic Islands. Decour spent some time in prison there when he was captured by the British. During the revolution, the sculptures were destroyed, but then, already in the middle of the 19th century, they were restored.

"Foot Bath" (Bain des pieds)

Where does this come from? strange name at a simple well that was once used by quarry workers? The point here is the extraordinary transparency of the water, because of which visitors simply did not notice the well itself and could accidentally wet their feet in it.

This was the case until 1983, when electricity was installed in the catacombs. To see the well today, you need to go even lower. But after it, the level of the gallery rises and leads to the entrance to the ossuary itself.

Ossuarium

“Stop! The kingdom of the dead begins here,” this inscription appears at the top, at the entrance to the ossuary. This quote comes from the poet Jacques Delisle. Further, in the ossuary itself, we saw many statements and excerpts from the works of French poets and writers about death and the frailty of life.

The entrance itself is easily recognizable by the black and white columns that precede it. Of course, various impolite visitors have already left inscriptions on them.

Most of the galleries are closed to visitors. Only a small part of them is available for inspection. But this is done only for the benefit of the visitors themselves. After all, some of them are at risk of flooding or collapse. And it’s very easy to get lost there without a guide.

Bones and skulls are laid out along the walls, forming a unique and eerie pattern. The skulls were laid out in a line under and above the bones. They also have plaques on them indicating which cemetery they were moved from. By the way, somewhere among these bones lie the remains of famous figures of France: Robespierre, Danton, Colbert, Rabelais, etc.

These galleries made an eerie, but at the same time majestic impression on me. You are imbued with a feeling of some strange calm and understand that everything in the world is just a vanity of vanities.

The galleries lead to the so-called Samaritan Fountain. It was made in 1810 to collect groundwater that was discovered by workers in the catacombs. It is named so because of the episode with Jesus Christ and the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. Another reason is the allegory with Lethe, a river in the kingdom of the dead from Greek mythology. According to legend, souls drank water from it to forget the circumstances of their lives.

Next comes another large hall, which is called the Sacellum crypt (from Latin “sanctuary”). There is a so-called altar, which was made as a copy of an ancient tomb found in France in 1807. There is also a big one there, white cross and stone stools.

Afterwards we found ourselves in another gloomy place (Although it would seem much darker?). In a small hall there is a bowl in an antique shape on a stone pillar. What do you think it was needed for? As we were told, it was used to burn resin and improve air ventilation inside quarries. The fact is that a terrible smell spread from the bones, and the workers had nothing to breathe. That's why it was installed first. Resin was also burned to pay tribute to the dead.

As we walked further through the galleries we saw what we thought was a tomb. But in fact it is something like a false tomb designed to support the vaults of the quarries. It was installed in honor of the cursed poet Nicolas Gilbert. His poems are engraved on it.

The only real tombstone in the ossuary contains the remains of a certain Françoise Zhelyan or Dame Legros. She had quite sad fate: she fell in love with an adventurer who was in prison and whom she had never even seen. She found his note near the prison. As a result, she devoted almost part of her life to getting him out of there.

Already at the exit from the crypt there is the Hall of the Passion or the Rotunda of Bones. It is there that there is a barrel-shaped column made of lined skulls and bones, which can be found in numerous photographs of the Catacombs on the Internet.

End of visit

At the very end you find yourself in another hall, which was formed here as a result of collapses. From 1874 to 1875 there were three of them. Workers cleared two of them.

Thus, this hall appeared, which demonstrates different geological layers. They are specially painted different colors.

We climbed up the spiral staircase to the surface.

At the exit there is, as usual, a shop with souvenirs, which are made in the form of bones or skulls. Need a keychain with a skull or skeleton? Then this is the place for you. I didn’t buy anything there, since I had enough impressions from the catacombs. The price of such souvenirs starts from 5 EUR.

How to get there

You need to get to the Denfert-Rochereau metro station. It is located at the intersection of two metro lines: No. 4 and No. 6.

The landmark is a lion sculpture nearby. There you can easily find the entrance along the long line.

Opening hours

The catacombs are open almost all week: Tuesday-Sunday - from 10:00 to 20:30. But the ticket office closes at 19:30. The catacombs are closed on Mondays, May 1, August 15 and January 1.

Advice: In winter or autumn you can come until 17:00 from opening hour. The queue will take from an hour to an hour and a half. In summer, during tourist season, it is best to come to the catacombs in the morning, 2 hours before opening, so as not to stand in line for a long time.

Entry fee

There are several ticket options:

• catacombs + expositions - 12 EUR, 10 EUR - for beneficiaries (students, etc.);
• catacombs + archaeological Crypt - 16 EUR and 13 EUR, respectively.

The fine for being outside tourist areas is from 60 EUR!

Visiting rules

Large bags or backpacks are not allowed as some passages are very narrow. Only bags measuring no more than 40 x 30 cm are allowed. They must be carried in your hand or in front of you.

Since it is quite cool inside even in the summer, it is better to take a warm sweater or jacket with you.

Viewing the catacombs is contraindicated for pregnant women and small children.

You can take pictures inside safely, but only with flash: it’s very dark inside.

In Paris, in addition to luxurious castles and cozy streets, there is a gloomy and mysterious place, which hides a dark part of France's history underground. Lovers of unusual sensations are attracted to the city of Darkness - the Catacombs of Paris (Catacombes de Paris).

A little history

At the end of the 10th century, Parisians began underground mining of stone to build the city. Paris expanded, and with it huge voids grew in the quarries underground. In the 18th century, buildings with residents and carts on Rue d'Enfer fell into the ground. This prompted Louis XVI to put an end to uncontrolled underground mining and create a quarry inspectorate, which still exists today. The responsibilities of the inspection include: studying, restoring and filling voids that are dangerous for city buildings. The threat of the collapse of the city has now receded, but areas where the concrete used to fill the caves are being washed away require increased attention. groundwater Seine.

The Paris Catacombs are a network of tunnels and caves beneath the city. They appeared and grew over many centuries. In the catacombs, a museum part and an ossuary are available for inspection.
In the 18th century, the city was not only in danger of going underground: city cemeteries were encroaching on areas of the city, and the remains were poisoning the water and soil. A decision was made: to transfer all the remains to the resulting catacombs and prohibit burial within the city. Thus arose the city of the dead, whose population exceeds the city of the living: b

over 6 million buried from the Merovingian era to the time of the French Revolution. During the work of moving the burials, workers laid out entire mosaics from bones and skulls from various parts of the skeletons (after disinfecting them beforehand) - this is how corridors of skulls and shin bones appeared.

In addition to the historical value, the catacombs in different periods stories have performed and continue to perform a practical function:

• monks in the 13th century stored wine in caves,
• Napoleon III held meetings and parties here,
• for the opening of the World Exhibition in 1889, a cafe was opened in the catacombs,
• During the Second World War, headquarters were located here German army and the French Resistance,
• Parisians now grow humid climate catacombs champignons.

Underground Paris

Currently, French law allows you to explore about 2 km of underground caves, their total length is 300 km (most of them on the left bank of the Seine). No more than 200 people can be in the catacombs at the same time, only as part of excursions and only in permitted areas.

Visitors go down a spiral staircase to a depth of 20 meters. The height of the museum ceilings in different places is from 1.8 to 3 meters. The geography of the catacombs follows the streets of Paris; there are signs with the names of the streets of the “upper city”. Labyrinths of streets underground city– are complex and confusing, it’s easy to get lost here. In the catacombs one can see: monuments, miniature sculptures, historical exhibits, wall paintings, ossuary. The work of the quarry inspection is visible from the signs with the dates of the last strengthening work, and marks on the width of the cracks in some places.

A sign above the entrance to the Ossuary warns visitors. However, it turns few people back. The walls of the city of the dead on both sides of the road are made of bones and skulls. In each sector there is a stone tombstone with signs indicating the dates of reburials and the names of the cemeteries. The altar installed in the ossuary served as a supply of fresh air.

For the safety of visitors, the catacombs are patrolled special squad police, who monitor compliance with the boundaries of permitted inspection zones; violators are fined.

Before visiting the catacombs you should keep in mind:

• the temperature underground does not rise above +14°C - a sweater will come in handy,
• the distance of the underground galleries is quite long - you will need comfortable shoes,
• impressionable people and children should refrain from examining
• Flash photography inside is prohibited,
• there are no toilets in the catacombs,
• bags are inspected upon exit by museum staff.

Paris, like a magic box, offers every traveler a choice of attractions. Masterpieces of architecture, museums and parks are visible, and mysticism and sinister secrets- hidden underground.

Catacombs of Paris (France) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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The Parisian catacombs are quite difficult to name business card cities, but anyone who wants to find themselves in an unusual, mysterious and slightly frightening place will definitely like them.

The Catacombs are a network of underground and winding tunnels created during the process of quarrying limestone to build the cathedrals and palaces of Paris. Speaking in the language of numbers, the local catacombs are:

• tunnels and caves with a length, according to various estimates, from 190 to 300 kilometers
• underground “territories”, the area of ​​which exceeds 11 thousand square meters
• burial place of almost 6 million people
• an attraction visited by about 160 thousand people annually
• 2.5 kilometers of passages open to tourists

The journey to the famous catacombs begins from a small pavilion, near the exit to the Denfert-Rochereau metro station. A landmark can be the sculpture of a lion created by the creator of the Statue of Liberty, Frederic Bartholdi. Exact address: 1, avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy. Opening hours: Tue-Sun 10:00–17:00, cost of visiting - 11-13 EUR, admission free for children under 14 years of age. Entrance only as part of a guided tour; independent visits are prohibited.

A brief excursion into history

It is not known for certain in what century the underground work began, but by the 17th century, part of the city’s residential areas were under tunnels. The city grew, resulting in the threat of collapse. And in the second half of the 18th century, King Louis XVI issued a decree on the General Inspectorate of Quarries. Inspectorate workers created reinforcement structures to prevent the destruction of the underground network.

Speaking about the catacombs, we cannot fail to mention the Ossuary - one of the main components of the tunnel network.

The history of the place began in the 11th century with the Cemetery of the Innocents. The victims of St. Bartholomew's Night and those who died from the bubonic plague were buried here. In total, about 2 million people found their refuge here! The necropolis, naturally, turned into a hotbed of deadly infections, as a result of which, in 1763, burial within the city walls was prohibited.

The remains were removed, disinfected and stored in the already abandoned Tomb-Isoire quarry at a depth of more than 17 meters. Bones and skulls were stacked on top of each other, resulting in a wall growing out of the remains. In 1786, the Ossuary was founded in the catacombs of Paris, 780 meters of galleries arranged in a circle where the remains of the dead are kept.

The place received an unspoken name - the City of Darkness.

During the occupation of Paris by German troops, partisans hid underground, and in the 1980s, crazy parties were held.

What can you see

Inside the dungeon, in addition to many bones and skulls, there are various monuments and exhibits, on the walls there are drawings (including “modern” authors), as well as clear traces of the work of stonecutters.

A “black line” runs along the walls of the underground gallery, which served as a guideline for the workers. It was created long before electricity was installed here. Having walked through the “labyrinth”, you find yourself in the “atelier” - a wide part of the catacombs, preserved almost in its original form. The underground necropolis centuries ago was decorated with bas-reliefs and sculptures, but not many of them have survived to this day. The route ends in the inspector's gallery.

Prices on the page are as of November 2018.

They have long been the object of close attention both from local residents and from numerous travelers. What attracts such a huge number of visitors here every year? As a rule, this is a desire to get acquainted with the history of a great city. Although it’s no secret that sometimes extreme sports enthusiasts or adventure seekers go to the Parisian catacombs. These places are actually shrouded in mystery and mystery, and many more questions will need years and years of research to answer.

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

Section 1. General Description

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

The mysterious underground galleries are more than three hundred kilometers long. 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 open type. Gradually, as the city grew, the number of such manufactories increased. The main part of the tunnels appeared during the time of the French king Philip Augustus, who reigned from 1180-1223, when limestone was used to build protective ramparts.

Section 2. Parisian catacombs. History of origin

The total area of ​​underground tunnels formed during limestone mining is approximately 11 thousand square meters. m.

The first underground mining of limestone began under Louis XI, who gave the lands of the castle of Vauvert for this purpose. During the Renaissance they grew rapidly, and by the 17th century. The underground Parisian catacombs, photos of which can now be found in almost all guidebooks dedicated to the French capital, ended up within the city limits, which led to risk on the streets.

In 1777, the king created an inspectorate to inspect quarries, which is still in effect today. For 200 years, workers at this institution have been working to strengthen and prevent collapses in the underground. Many mines have been filled with concrete, but the fortifications are gradually being eroded by the groundwater of the Seine, and the danger of collapses remains.

Section 3. Brief historical background

The history of the Parisian catacombs is directly related to the life of the townspeople. How? We suggest you familiarize yourself with several facts:

• During the World Exhibition in Paris (in 1878), the Catacombs cafe was opened in the underground galleries of Chaillot. Many confidently claim that it is simply impossible not to visit this place.
• In the dungeons of the capital, champignons are grown, which are a favorite product in national cuisine France.
• The famous writer Victor Hugo created the greatest epic novel, Les Miserables, the plot of which is closely related to underground world Paris.
• During World War II, the quarries were used by leaders of the French Resistance. In the summer of 1944, a headquarters was established there, which was located just 500 meters from the secret Nazi bunker.
• In the era cold war and the threat of a nuclear attack, some underground tunnels were converted into bomb shelters.
• “Parisian Catacombs” is one of the few films that was filmed not on the set, but directly in the dungeons themselves.

Section 4. What is an Ossuary?

In the Middle Age Catholic Church Burials near churches, most of which were located in cities, were not prohibited. More than two million people are buried in the Cemetery of the Innocents, the largest in Paris. The remains of not only ordinary parishioners are buried there, but also people who died during the plague epidemic and died in the massacre. Hundreds of unidentified bodies are also buried in the cemetery.

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

Not surprisingly, the city cemetery subsequently became a source of infection, and in 1763 Parliament banned mass burials within the city. In 1780, after the collapse of the wall separating the churchyard from the city area, the cemetery was completely closed, and no one else was buried within Paris.

For a long time, the remains, after disinfection, were taken to the underground quarries of Tomb-Isoire. Workers laid bones at a depth of more than 17 meters, resulting in a wall and almost 780 meters of galleries with the remains of the dead, which were located in a circle. So in the Parisian catacombs in 1786 the Ossuary was founded. About six million people found peace here, including many famous personalities, but even more unknown to anyone.

Section 5. Paris catacombs today

According to tourists, when you get into the Ossuary, you don’t even notice that you are at a depth of 20 meters. Here you can see wall paintings from the 18th century, various monuments and historical exhibits, and an altar located in an air supply shaft.

Guests and local residents claim that by paying close attention to the ceiling, you can notice a 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 then: monuments and bas-reliefs installed on burial sites of past centuries; well for limestone extraction; support pillars for the vault.

In general, it should be noted that the Parisian catacombs (2014 - another one confirmation) are becoming an increasingly popular attraction in the French capital.

Section 6. How to get inside

The entrance to the Parisian catacombs is located next to the Denfert-Rochereau metro station. Landmark - The catacombs are open daily (except Mondays) from 10.00 to 17.00. The cost of the excursion is 8-10 euros (children under 14 years old are free).

By the way, experienced travelers advise paying attention to the fact that individual visits are prohibited.

Currently, 2.5 kilometers of galleries are available to visitors. There are also closed areas that are dangerous to visit. In November 1955, a law was specifically issued in Paris prohibiting stay in these places. And since 1980, compliance with these rules has been monitored separate brigades police.

Section 7. The dangers of illegal visits

Despite all the prohibitions, there are thrill-seekers who, risking their lives, illegally enter the underground through sewer hatches, metro stations, etc.

Underground galleries with narrow and low labyrinths have complex passages where it is easy to get lost. So, in 1793, the watchman of the Val-de-Grâce church tried to find ancient wine cellars in the quarries, but got lost. His remains were found only many years later, the poor fellow was identified by the keys and remaining clothes.

There are also many modern “heroes”, but the local police are doing everything possible to prevent such would-be travelers from entering.

This country actually has a lot of interesting things: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, amazing ancient cities, the ocean, endless fields of vineyards, the Parisian catacombs... France, however, should be remembered exclusively for positive moments and joyful moments. Anyone who has already managed to visit the mentioned object is ready to dissuade you from committing a rash act.