L’Empire de la Mort

One of the places I have wanted to visit for quite a while is the Catacombes of Paris, it has always intrigued me. Determined to visit I found Kim not as enthusiastic as I so with her permission I was off for a tour during our usual afternoon walking time.

The catacombs have limited access and a timed entry so I made sure to give myself extra time in case things went off the rails. Luckily the journey from our apartment was smooth and with some extra time on my hands, I decided to stroll thru Cimetière du Montparnasse, the second largest cemetery in Paris. I have visited the more famous Cimetière du Père-Lachaise several times and welcomed the opportunity to stop by Montparnasse. There are famous people currently residing here including Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir,  Jacques Chirac, Urbain Le Verrier, Susan Sontag, and Alfred Dreyfus. Quite a variety from arts, sciences, and politics.

The Catacombes of Paris have quite an interesting history, they started off as quarries far from the city supplying the limestone for Paris buildings. As the quarries were depleted they were abandoned and forgotten. When the city grew to cover these previously mined places building collapses caused by cave-ins became frequent and inspection Générale des Carrières (Inspection of Mines) service was created to investigate and solve this issue.

Around the same time, the number of bodies buried in Paris was becoming a concern, there were so many bodies the cemeteries were collapsing into the buildings next to them, and health and food contamination were a constant issue. It was decided to move bodies from the cemeteries to the quarries. The tunnels were consecrated and the bodies were moved in solemn nightly services. At first, the bodies were set in a more haphazard fashion, later it was decided to organize them in a more pleasing fashion making this mausoleum a more pleasant place to visit. As it became more well-known the demand grew and the city started opening them to daily visits. The number of visitors is limited to 200 at a time. It is not an easy place to go you are required to navigate two spiral staircases (131 steps down, 112 steps up), the ceiling is short and the passages are long, sometimes dark, and always damp. Over 6 million bodies are down there, for me it was a great visit and I recommend it for the brave.

Inside Cimetière du Montparnasse

Grave of Jean-Paul Sartre & Simone de Beauvoir.

Grave of Jacques Chirac

Grave of Susan Sontag

Grave of Jean Seberg

Inside Cimetière du Montparnasse

Inside Cimetière du Montparnasse

Grave of Urbain Le Verrier who. predicted the existence and position of Neptune using only mathematics.

Grave of Alfred Dreyfus

Start of the 131 steps down.

Passage to the Catacombs

Passage to the Catacombs

Entrance to the Catacombs

Entrance to the Catacombs

This group greets you as you enter.

Not all was organized

Better stacking

An interesting pattern.

Some of the bodies had markers for where they came from.

Halls of bones

Pillar of bones

Just before you ascend out of the catacombs there is a tunnel looking up and I thought “A view to heaven.” Turns out the other end is in a gift shop… So it that part of the meaning of life? At the other end is a gift shop.