Are there any famous people buried in the Paris catacombs?

A clutch of noteworthy remains were transferred from Parisian cemeteries to join Robespierre in the Paris Catacombs, including those of architect Salomon de Brosse, who designed Paris's stately Luxembourg Palace; famous French fairytale and fable writers Charles Perrault and Jean de La Fontaine, and painter Simon Vouet ...



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In 1789, Paris, France, the world, the course of history was rocked by the French Revolution. From around this date, people were buried directly in the catacombs. This came to an end in 1860 when people ceased to be buried in the catacombs.

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1. The Catacombs of Paris. Among the most famous catacombs in the world, the Paris Catacombs are underground quarries, housing approximately six million human skeletons.

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The Catacombs are about 65 feet deep, roughly the height of a five-story building if you turned it upside down. It takes 131 steps to get to the bottom of the Catacombs, so wear your walking shoes.

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Despite the ritual with which they were transferred, the bones had simply been dumped into the tunnels in large heaps. Slowly but surely the quarrymen lined the walls with tibias and femurs punctuated with skulls which form the basis of most of the decorations that tourists see today.

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The Catacombs of Paris is an underground ossuary in Paris that houses the remains of nearly six million people. Back in 1786, the entire underground population of Paris' cemeteries was relocated to quarry tunnels outside the city limits. Visitors can now explore the caverns and tunnels where the bodies were relocated.

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Researchers say that, due to the enormous dimensions, the catacombs will never be fully explored. Many areas are blocked or difficult to access. Moreover, the investigation requires special equipment and a well-trained team.

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Some areas of the tunnels even became shrines for martyrs buried there. But after Christianity was legalized in 313 AD, funerals moved above ground, and by the 5th Century, the use of catacombs as grave sites dwindled, though they were still revered as sacred sites where pilgrims would come to worship.

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That year, a prolonged period of spring rain caused a wall around Les Innocents to collapse, spilling rotting corpses into a neighboring property. The city needed a better place to put its dead. So it went to the tunnels, moving bones from the cemeteries five stories underground into Paris' former quarries.

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In September 2004, French police discovered an underground movie theatre run by La Mexicaine De Perforation. The makeshift theatre contained a movie screen, a well stocked bar, and a kitchen. Telephones and electricity were brought in from an unknown location.

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To ensure preservation of the site, you must not eat or drink on the site circuit, and animals are not allowed. Any kind of alcohol is prohibited. And, of course, you must not touch the bones, which are the fragile remains of millions of Parisians.

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The unique and fragile ossuary presented at the Paris Catacombs must not be touched. Group leaders must make their groups aware of the essential rules for preserving the works and be considerate towards other visitors. It is fordbidden to smoke, eat or drink inside the Paris Catacombs.

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While tours of the catacombs are offered occasionally, sleeping there is generally impossible.

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