Who is buried in the catacombs of Paris?

Among the many anonymous people who rest in the catacombs, there are some celebrities from French history such as Nicolas Fouquet (Louis XIV's superintendent of finance), Colbert, Rabelais, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Racine, Blaise Pascal, Maral, Lully, Danton, Robespierre, Lavoisier but also the 1343 people guillotined ...



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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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During the Napoleon Empire, it was decided that the bones would be arranged in a necropolis emulating the roman ones, which explains the surprising aesthetic, effectively creating a city of the dead underneath the city of the living.

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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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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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Among the many anonymous people who rest in the catacombs, there are some celebrities from French history such as Nicolas Fouquet (Louis XIV's superintendent of finance), Colbert, Rabelais, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Racine, Blaise Pascal, Maral, Lully, Danton, Robespierre, Lavoisier but also the 1343 people guillotined ...

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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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The catacombs of Rome, which date back to the and were among the first ever built, were constructed as underground tombs, first by Jewish communities and then by Christian communities. There are only six known Jewish catacombs and around 40 or more Christian catacombs.

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It's been illegal to visit the catacombs since 1955, aside from a mile of tunnels that comprise the official Musée Carnavalet. A sign over the entrance reads “Arrête, c'est ici l'empire de la mort!” (“Stop!

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The Paris catacombs are beautiful, creepy, and the perfect unusual attraction to break up your visits to the many museums in the city. Just make sure you buy your Paris catacombs tickets before you get there to save yourself time. Once you're in the catacombs, take your time and soak up the sights.

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However, the strong smell of the Paris catacombs is apparently what all the initial signs were warning sensitive visitors about. At best, it could be likened to the dusty, incense-infused scent of old stone churches, but with an underlying malaise that can only be attributed to the contents of multiple cemeteries.

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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 biggest, most popular, and most crowded site, the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, has a vast network of galleries that house the crypts of 16 popes, as well as early Christian statues and paintings. Photo Caption: Relief sculpture inside the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian in Rome.

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All Christian catacombs in Rome are property of the Catholic Church, and no one is allowed to explore them without special permission from the Vatican.

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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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Cemeteries began to be emptied in 1786, beginning with Les Innocents. It took the city 12 years to move all the bones—from bodies numbering between 6 and 7 million—into the catacombs.

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The beginning of the Catacombs were caused from the Bubonic Plague where there were too many bodies to bury. Over the course of Paris's history, there was so much death from disease and war that the cemeteries started to burst from the seams. The solution became burial tunnels which came to be the famous Catacombs.

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