The interesting account of the Paris Catacombs

The Paris Catacombs happens to be an underground ossuary arranged in a modernized part of the vast set-up of underground caverns and tunnels of this city during the later part of the 18th century. It turned into a visitor attraction near the beginning of the 19th century and was then opened to the community on a regular basis from the year of 1867.

Catacombs in Paris - an account

While the later of the 17th century, the majority of the cemeteries that were a property of the churches of Paris were inundated to a point where close to residents started suffering from ailments, as a result of the infectivity from unacceptable burials and heaps of open graves. Ultimately, following nearly a century of unsuccessful decrees denouncing the cemeteries, during the later part of the 18th century the decision was made to generate three new massive housing cemeteries inside the abandoned Parisian quarries & to denounce all the present cemeteries inside the city boundaries.

Beneath the streets of Paris is another world - the Catacombs of Paris. Originally a vast series of mines and quarries, part of the Catacombs became an ossuary (a place where the bones of the dead are stored) in the 18th century after the cemeteries of the poor were filled to the point of overflowing. As the World War two they were used by both the French Resistance (as a way of moving around the city) and by the Nazis (as a military bunker.) Today, you can take a tour of the Paris Catacombs, visiting rooms stacked to the ceiling with skulls and bones - a creepy and fascinating experience!

The prime reason for their popularity among visitors

Among the key reasons for which people keep on visiting the breathtaking catacombs just as they keep on visiting Paris Eiffel Tower is attributable to the graffiti which has layered the walls of tunnels from the time of the 18th century, accounting the passionate history of the inhabited ossuary. During 1871 communards murdered a collection of monarchists in a chamber, while at some stage in the 2nd World War tunnels were made use of by Parisian affiliates of French Resistance.

Even as catacombs are a proven fashionable and lucrative traveler destination, the different tunnels, as well as chambers, have been hindering building in Paris for a long time. Quarries occasionally collapse, causing an opening in the ground on top and leading to damage of buildings. To thwart this, IGC happened to be set up during 1777 by the administration to be able to keep an eye on the existing quarries and disallow the digging of fresh ones.

The work of monitoring Paris catacombs carries on today. Extra vigilance has got to be taken while attempting a new construction because of the overabundance of subway and quarries, train as well as sewer tunnels currently there and the quietness of stones involved. Nevertheless, no fundamental problems have come up in modern times, and catacombs continue being a popular tourist destination in Paris like the Eiffel Tower.