Has anyone seen the Parisian Catacombes?

Question

Are those real skulls in there?

Answer 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Paris_catacombes.jpg

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, due to contamination caused by improper burials and mass graves in churchyard cemeteries, especially the large Cimetière 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 catacomb walls are covered in graffiti dating from the 18th century onwards. Victor Hugo used his knowledge about the tunnel system in his novel Les Misérables. 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 Lycee Montaigne, a high school in the 6ème arrondissement.

The underground tunnels and chambers have long posed safety problems for construction in Paris. Quarries sometimes cave in, occasionally resulting in a hole in the ground above and causing damage to buildings. To prevent this, the IGC, Inspection générale des Carrières (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. The IGC did, however, dig observation tunnels in order to provide themselves with better access to the quarries so that they might better monitor, repair, and map the consolidated quarries.

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, as well as the softness of the stone 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 Métro Line 14.)


The catacombs today: unauthorized visits

A partially flooded section of rue de la Voie Verte
Catacombs of ParisEntrance to the catacombs is restricted. The portion of the catacombs open to the public is only a small part of an extensive network of underground tunnels, which spans more than 300km (about 186 miles) in length. The tunnel system is complex, and though some tunnels have plaques indicating the name of the street above, it is still quite easy to get lost: some passages are extremely low or narrow and others are partially flooded. There are also aging telephone wires, pipes, etc. that can hinder progress, and cave-ins, although rare, do occasionally occur. A good guide is therefore indispensable, and even many good guides still refer to a map from time to time. Because of these potential dangers, accessing the catacombs unescorted by officials has been illegal since November 2, 1955; today, there is a €60 fine if one gets caught by the cataflics — the special police who patrol the catacombs.

However, secret entrances do exist throughout Paris and it is possible to enter the catacombs via the sewers, metro, and certain manholes. Some unofficial visitors also hold keys to certain official entrances. On rare occasions people do make use of these access points and illegally enter the catacombs — for example, to meet clandestinely, to hold unusual parties, or simply as urban explorers. (Specifically, those who have an affinity for exploring the catacombs are known as cataphiles.)

For those who frequent the tunnels — either by official or unofficial means — cataphile etiquette includes leaving no garbage behind and never leaving entrances such as manholes open, as this could pose a potential danger to the public and thus might inspire officials to seal the entrance. Most cataphiles also look down upon tagging (that is, leaving behind graffiti in the form of a stylized signature).

In September 2004, an underground movie theater run by the Mexican Perforation — a French artistic movement that seeks to convey their ideas using underground places — was discovered by the French police.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

yes i did visit the site.
You can feel they have been there and that some are still buried . Not the best thing to visit for a first stay in Paris

Answer 4

I'd say, NO