In 2004, Parisian police were transferred
to complete a training exercise in an uncharted part of the Catacombs of Paris
beneath the Palais de Chaillot. Entering the catacombs through a drain,
officers first came across a sign that read “Building site, no access,” and move
ahead a camera that actively recorded images of those who passed. The police
descended deeper into the tunnels and discovered a 500-square-meter cavern with
a fully equipped giant cinema screen, projection equipment, chairs and a
handful of films, from film noir classics to recent thrillers. Someone had
turned this abandoned underground cavern into a secret amphitheater. Moreover,
in the next “room,” police discovered a fully-stocked bar and restaurant, with
tables and chairs. This discovery left police perplexed, not to mention the
professional installation of electricity and three phone lines.
Thus, police returned with specialists
from the French Board of Electricity to try and find out where the power was
coming from. The cables had been cut and a note lying on the floor read, “Do
not try and find us.” The Catacombs of Paris are underground ossuaries in
Paris, France, which hold the remains of more than six million people in a
small part of the ancient Mines of Paris tunnel network. The bones of around
six million people lie beneath the streets of Paris in 280km of dank
passageways. The officials were pushed to move bones into the catacombs because
the cemeteries above ran out of room for the dead.
The limestone quarries tunnels
have existed on the outskirts of Paris since Roman times built Paris and
eventually, abetted the city expand to the point where the quarries were
directly underneath the busy metropolis. About 200 miles of labyrinthine
tunnels are believed to exist. Despite the vast length of the tunneled,
underground world, only a small section of it is open to the public. This minute
portion, identified as Denfert-Rochereau Ossuary, or more commonly, “The
Catacombs,” has become one of the top tourist attractions in Paris on a small
scale from the early 19th century, and has been open to the public on a regular
basis since 1874 with surface access from a building at Place Denfert-Rochereau
in the extreme southern part of the city of Paris. This is easily called Paris’
most macabre sight is its underground tunnels lined with skulls and bones. In
1785 it was decided to rectify the hygiene problems of Paris’ overflowing
cemeteries by exhuming the bones and storing them in disused quarry tunnels and
the Catacombes were created in 1810.
The popular place houses the
skeletal remains of some six to seven million former Parisians, however not all
areas of the Catacombs are open to the public. Back in the late 18th century,
cemeteries were becoming over-populated, such as Les Innocents were so stuffed
with the dead that it led to improper burials, open graves, and unearthed
corpses. Neighbors began getting sick with infectious diseases due to the
unhealthy conditions of the cemetery. Les Innocents was not the only cemetery
that was condemned. Several other graveyards were becoming overpopulated,
causing glitches for the inhabitants of Paris. As tons of empty quarries,
police and priests similar discreetly moved the bones over the period of a few
decades to the renovated section of the tunnel. The Catacombs became a favorite
attraction for royal families and in 1867; the area was opened to the general
public.
The Catacombs are among the 14
City of Paris Museums managed by Paris Musées since January 1, 2013. The
catacombs are called "The World's Largest Grave" due to the number of
remains buried. Although the ossuary comprises only a small section of the underground
"carrières de Paris" Parisians presently often refer to the entire
tunnel network as "the catacombs". Due to their old age, the quarries
not part of the official Catacombs have been deemed unsafe by Parisian officials.
Yet, the size and length of the tunnels make it problematic to keep secret
societies, thieves, artists and the inquisitive public from entering the unsafe
network. In the 1980s, a movement was steadfast to the exploration of the
tunnels.
After the discovery of the secret
cinema, Patrick Alk, a photographer close to the group responsible said the
discovery “was a shame, but not the end of the world.” There are dozens of
other meeting places just like the one the police discovered in the mysterious
labyrinth. He concluded, saying, “You guys have no idea what’s down there.” Due
to vandalism and the theft of numerous skulls, the catacombs were closed in Oct
2009 till December of the same year. With the reopening of the site comes an
additional security and bag check upon exiting. During WWII these tunnels were
used as a headquarters by the Resistance; however now a days, thrill-seeking
cataphiles are often caught (and fined) roaming the tunnels at night.
