Catacombs de Paris, 1860, by Nadar
The Catacombs of Paris are underground ossuaries in Paris, France which hold the remains of over six million people in a small part of the ancient Mines of Paris tunnel network. Located south of the former city gate "Barrière d’Enfer" (Gate of Hell) beneath Rue de la Tombe-Issoire, the ossuary was founded when city officials were faced with two simultaneous problems: a series of cave-ins starting in 1774 and overflowing cemeteries, particularly Saint Innocents. Nightly processions of bones from 1786 to 1788 transferred remains from cemeteries to the reinforced tunnels, and more remains were added in later years. The underground cemetery became a tourist attraction on a small scale from the early 19th century, and has been open to the public on a regular basis since 1874 with surface access from a building at Place Denfert-Rochereau
Size: 2700px × 3754px
Location: paris, france
Photo credit: © Archive Farms. Inc / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: /, 19th, archival, archive, black, bones, boneyard, burial, cemetary, century, graves, historic, historical, museum, ossuary, phtl, skeltons, undergound, white
