Catacombs of Paris

The Catacombs of Paris, an underground cemetery on the outskirts of the French capital, is not a sight for faint-hearted people. Catacombs appeared at a time when the city was built up, and it was necessary to mine stone. The size of the quarry increased, and there were voids under the city, which led to several terrible tragedies when entire residential buildings went underground.

For a long time, the catacombs were used by smugglers, and from 1785 to 1810, skeletons were brought here from the cemetery of the Innocents. This decision of the city authorities was caused by the fact that there was not enough space in the cemetery, people were buried on top of each other, which led to the development of infections.

Several million skeletons were lowered into the catacombs. Parts of the skeletons were folded separately, and now under the ground you can see walls made only of tibial bones or only of skulls. In the catacombs it is very easy to get lost, so the tourist route is marked with arrows, which must be strictly followed.