Every city has many layers.
Under its grand monuments, museums and Churches, real life goes on.
Under its roofs and buildings, the passions, stories and secrets of its inhabitants, move,
undetected.
In the city we are visiting today, you can peel another layer and look under the surface.
You will discover a parallel city, a labyrinth of galleries, chambers, pits and underground
lakes, unique in Europe.
In today’s Geographics we are going to explore the Catacombs of Paris, one of the most unique
attractions in one of the most unique Cities in the world.
Join me today in a maze of darkness beneath the City of Lights.
We will find out how the catacombs developed, what are its dark secrets and the habits of
its peculiar inhabitants.
A History of the Catacombs First of all, a distinction.
Today I will use the word ‘catacombs’ to refer to the entirety of the vast network
of galleries that sprawls underneath Paris: a reign of darkness underneath the City of
Lights.
But if we really want to be picky, the tourist attraction known as ‘Catacombs’ consist
of only 2km of tunnels opened to the public, which were used as a burial place in the 18th
and 19th Centuries.
That is just a tiny fraction of the whole network, which extends to a total of 200 miles.
Today, it is largely closed to the general public most of the year.
But a good Parisian is always a bit of a revolutionary, and so organised group of explorers defy the
law by roaming the dark corridors.
The development of this parallel city below the surface started very early.
Experts evaluate that quarry tunnels have existed on the outskirts of Paris since Roman
times.
The limestone in these quarries have built much of Paris since ancient times.
Little by little, builders started mining underneath Paris, a clever idea to save the
time and costs to transport limestone from elsewhere.
In medieval times the building frenzy extended to religious buildings.
Paris’ cathedral Notre Dame was built with stone carved from these mines.
Now, I am no civil engineer, but I can guess that digging big holes under street level
is going to create some kind of problem, sooner or later.
Surprisingly, it took several centuries before the first major collapse occurred in December
1774.
One of the tunnels connecting the mines crumbled, opening a gaping hole that swallowed houses
and people in Avenue Denfert-Rochereau.
More disasters occurred over the next few years and finally the King took action.
Louis XVI commissioned an architect named Charles Axel Guillaumot to explore, map, and
stabilize the quarries.
The individual mines were unconnected to each other at this stage.
It was Guillaumot’s inspectors who dug more tunnels, connected the isolated networks and
created today’s layout.
Work went on until 1780, when what must be one of the most morbid events ever, took place.
Since 1763 a royal edict had banned all burials in the capital, for sanitary reasons.
The Church opposed the order and nothing was done.
Back to 1780, an unusually long period of spring rain caused a wall around Les Innocents
to collapse.
Les Innocents was Paris’ largest cemetery.
This resulted in a literary avalanche of rotting corpses and pestilent sludge crumbling into
the neighbouring properties.
Church officials agreed to do something about it and the King ordered Guillaumot to find
a solution.
Et Voilá!
The architect relocated thousands of bodies and bones into the quarry tunnels, which effectively
became the catacombs.
The distinctive feature of these catacombs is the Denfert-Rochereau Ossuary, the tourist
site you can visit.
Initially the bones of the dead were first stored very simply.
Only later the funeral workers began arranging the bones in decorative structures such as
hearts or circles.
Even the walls and pillars were lined with skulls, tibias, fibulas – it feels like
walking inside the stomach of a huge, sated monster.
Above the entrance an inscription was placed: ‘Arréte!
C’est ici l’empire de la mort.’
‘Stop!
This is the empire of death.’
One of the most famous structures is the ‘Barrel’.
It’s a barrel-shaped pillar, assembled with thousands of bones, which was erected to support
the ceiling of the room called the ‘Crypt of the Passion’ … incredibly it does the
job!
Now, science tells me that up to 1% of you is a violent psychopath So, if 1% of you are
considering renovating their houses with this type of building material, I don’t want
to know, most of all, please do not mention this video nor my name when you are eventually
caught and profiled.
Because you will be caught.
For the remaining 99%, here is some trivia: The catacombs ended up providing eternal rest
to six to seven million dead Parisians.
Among them, several victims of the French Revolution, and some notables who fell under
the Guillotine, like Maximilien de Robespierre and Antoine Danton.
Another celebrity whose bones can be found here is 17th century writer Charles Perrault,
author of Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella.
The extended network of the catacombs played a role also during the Paris Commune.
During the last months of the Franco-Prussian war, a socialist insurgency established an
autonomous government in the City of Lights.
The insurgents had to face the violent repression of the rival French III republic, established
after Napoleon III’s abdication.
An English Conservative journalist in Paris described how 6,000 of the defeated insurgents
were seeking refuge underground, “wandering in an agony of despair in the
labyrinth of the catacombs” It seems like every time Paris went through
a period of unrest, the catacombs came in handy.
During the Second World War, for example, the underground city was bustling with activity.
First the German Luftwaffe established their bunker, then the collaborationist government,
finally the head of the Resistance built here his underground headquarters.
These three hideouts are easily connected to each other, that is why rumour has it that
members of the three factions would often bump into one another in the dark galleries
… and simply ignore each other for some reason!
But the truth is that the bunker were never in use at the same time.
This is one of the many urban legends about the catacombs, we have plenty more later.
Entering the quarries became illegal in 1955, not so much as a form to control illicit activities,
but to prevent accidents and people getting lost in the 200 miles of tunnels.
But, when strife comes, the Parisians would always know how to make good use of the galleries.
In 1968 student protest erupted into riots, pitting Parisian students against riot squads.
The catacombs proved handy, and the students in revolt used these galleries to evade the
police and quickly reassemble in other parts of the city.
In later decades, mostly the 1970s and 1980s a new movement blossomed: the catáphiles,
the catacomb enthusiasts.
The traditional Parisian rebelliousness got a fresh ‘kick’ from punk culture.
Taking advantage of the many entrances still open, groups of young cataphiles discovered
they could descend into the quarries from the basements of their schools.
In secret places they only knew how to reach the cataphiles partied, staged performances,
created art, took drugs.
Now, that is what I call an underground movement.
At first the World on the surface barely took notice.
But by the end of the '80s the City and private property owners had shut most of the entrances,
and an elite police unit began patrolling the tunnels …
Urban Legends The cataphiles may have dwindled in numbers,
but are still very active.
Their main activities are the exploration and preservation of the ancient galleries,
but they sometimes like to party hard.
And they certainly know how to tease the public.
One of them, photographer Patrick Alk said in an interview
“You guys have no idea what’s down there.”
It is natural that the Catacombs exert a powerful influence on popular culture: this has given
rise to many urban legends, including tales of secret meetings, Satanic rites, Neo-Nazi
gatherings and ghosts.
If you happen to visit one of the underground burial sites after midnight … well don’t.
There is a hefty fine.
But if you do, legend says that you can hear the walls begin to speak.
The disembodied voices of the dead will try to persuade you to venture deeper and deeper
into the Catacombs until you can’t find your way out.
This what may have happened to a man named Philibert Aspairt during the French revolution.
He was a doorman at the Val-de-Grâce hospital.
On an errand to fetch a certain liqueur from a cellar, Philibert somehow entered the catacombs
instead.
Walking around the pitch black, with just a single candle, Philibert must have become
lost and confused.
Maybe he was intoxicated, maybe it was the voices who dragged him deeper into the bowels
of the City … His body was found only 11 years later by a group of early cataphiles.
They identified him by the hospital key ring in his belt.
Aspairt was buried on that very spot and a tombstone commemorates his story.
Cataphiles today say that each November 3rd, Philibert’s ghost haunts the labyrinth of
the catacombs.
There are also persistent rumours of occult groups sneaking underground to perform Satanic
rituals.
In our research however, we found little actual clues of Devil’s minions at work.
There are two unnerving sets of graffiti scrawled in red under Boulevard Arago.
They read ‘Arriére Satan’
Or ‘Stand back Satan’.
And then there is a story told by Gilles Thomas, France’s most prolific catacomb expert and
author.
In the 18th Century a man called César hustled Parisians into paying good money to go underground
to meet the Prince of Darkness himself.
Deep into the catacombs he chanted mystical incantations, to which his accomplices made
some dogs bark and then lit some firecrackers.
Sounds pretty poor for a trick!
Apparently this guy was eventually arrested and died in an underground cell at the Bastille.
Thomas tells another disturbing story.
In 1896, early explorers of the tunnels came across a pile of hundreds of small skulls.
These had nothing to do with the official ossuary.
These skulls belonged to small creatures.
Why were they there?
Could they be the remains of years of sacrificial rites and occult ceremonies?
Two naturalists investigated.
They quickly established that all skulls belong to cats.
They then found out that the pile of remains was just below the chute of a well.
When they climbed upstairs, they found a surprise: the entrance to the well was in the courtyard
of a chic restaurant … renowned for its rabbit dishes!
So, again, Satan did not have a part here, only a dishonest cook.
Another group of cataphiles reported a strange finding in the early 90s.
While walking through the ossuary they happened upon a video camera on the ground.
To their surprise, the camera had footage on it.
As the group watched the footage, they heard disturbing noises.
It became clear that the man holding the video camera was lost, and had no idea how to escape.
The cataphiles reported that it appeared as though the man was going mad inside the dark
maze.
The video ends abruptly, with the camera dropping on the ground.
To this day, no one knows who this man was, or if he came out alive.
[Fade to black.
Fade back to Simon] My take on this?
Bovine manure.
These guys said they found the camera in the ossuary?
Which means that the mysterious cameraman got lost in a well-known, well-mapped, well-lit,
well-guarded, tourist spot?
As it happens, the fine purveyors of merde de bouef are a chatty and numerous bunch when
it comes to the catacombs.
In 1990, TF1, French public tv, run a reportage showing an underground rally of a Neo-Nazi
group, busy with singing fascist war songs and clashing with a similarly violent far-left
group.
The reporters also showed footage of a Black Mass taking place, robes and candles and all.
Newspaper ‘La libération’ exposed it all as a hoax.
The whole report had been staged with the help of actors and extras.
There had been a neo-Nazi scare when a group of underground taggers signed themselves as
‘La Gestapo des ondes’ – Gestapo of the waves.
But they had no Nazi affiliation and were just that – taggers.
But TF1 had capitalised on the story and created some nice fake news.
OK so far it’s all rumours and tall tales.
But weird stuff does happen … ‘downstairs’.
In 2004, Parisian police were assigned to do a training exercise in a previously uncharted
part of the Catacombs of Paris.
Entering the catacombs through a drain, officers first came across a sign that read “Building
site, no access,” and a bit further in, a camera that actively recorded images of
those who passed.
As the officers approached the camera, barking dogs could be heard.
The ghosts of Cesar and his accomplices, staging a Satanic apparition?
Well no, apparently a security system: it was a recording of dogs barking, triggered
by motion sensors next to the camera.
The police went deeper and discovered a 500-square-meter cavern with a fully equipped cinema.
A cinema!
With giant screen, projector, chairs and a handful of film noir classics and more recent
thrillers.
In the next room, police discovered a fully-stocked bar and restaurant, complete with tables and
chairs.
All of this serviced by electric and phone lines professionally installed.
Like in the good old detective stories, the police were baffled.
Three days later, police returned with experts from the French Board of Electricity to try
and figure out where the power was coming from.
The cables had been cut and a note lying on the floor read
“Do not try and find us” The mystery is still unsolved.
The underground pleasure palace of a super criminal?
Or simply the business venture of some tax dodger?
Speaking of underground hideouts for picturesque criminals … if you are familiar with the
novel the Phantom of The Opera and its adaptations, you will remember the disfigured protagonist
Erik, rowing on an underground lake.
Well, the lake exists, in the catacombs of course!
Located underneath the Opéra Garnier theatre it measures 60 yards long and 12 feet deep.
As the foundation for the theatre was laid in the 1860s, engineers struggling to drain
water from the sodden earth ended up simply pumping it into this reservoir.
This underground pond is not home to a vengeful musician, but to several well-fed fish.
The lake is not universally known, but Opera employees are well-aware of it and feed its
fauna with a nice diet of mussels.
The lake is also used by firefighters, who use it to practice underwater rescues in a
dark environment.
Cata-people From what we explored so far, you may have
guessed that the cataphile community is very active and varied, despite the constant threat
of being fined upwards of 60 Euros, or even being arrested.
The special police force created to keep tabs on them has been nicknamed ‘the cata-flics,
flic being a slang term for police officer.
The cataflics are mainly concerned with issues of health and safety.
Even an experienced cataphile is still at risk of ending buried under a landslide, falling
into a pit or just getting lost.
In 2011, three young explorers lost their way and roamed through the galleries for two
whole days before an officer found them.
However, most cataphiles are undeterred and dedicate themselves to a variety of pursuits.
The ‘basic’ cataphiles is generally somebody who is looking to escape from the bustle of
Paris, to retreat in a parallel city where the temperature is cool in summer and mild
in winter; where wi-fi and 4G cannot reach you; where you can explore at will in solitude.
Some of them even organize camping trips, for days or even weeks.
According to the police, it is not uncommon for lovers to have their romantic encounters
in the catacombs … And then you have the groups of party animals,
who organise secret raves – with DJ and all – dancing in the underbelly of the City
of Lights.
The cata-police once disrupted a party of more than 300 ravers!
The most famous amongst these parties is the annual celebration of “Kataloween”.
In essence, it is your standard wild Halloween party, but surely the location does create
an unusual atmosphere.
Hedonists, anarchists and the odd tourist alike descend into the underworld for a different
kind of trick or treat.
Not all get-togethers are so wild, though.
Most of the activities organised are of a cultural nature: theatre groups organise secret
shows and concerts, for example, followed by suppers by candlelight, art exhibitions
and even exploratory expeditions which include swimming across the frequent subterranean
ponds.
Most of cataphiles are in fact dedicated to mapping, preserving or improving the state
of the catacombs.
And they do not approve of exploiting this heritage for raucous parties.
What happens when the party's over?
Who is going to pick up the litter?
Enter the cata-cleans!
Individuals with a conscience – and loads of patience – who roam the catacombs cleaning
after the mess of their ruder counterparts.
In their week-end long expedition, they can collect up to a metric tonne of trash!
But the most surprising underground activity we found out about involves mushrooms.
Not the type you would get at a rave, no, the actual mushrooms you can eat.
It turns out that since the 19th Century Parisians and non-Parisian alike have been growing perfectly
fine mushrooms in the catacombs.
It all started with a gentleman called de Chambéry: while exploring the galleries,
he came across young mushrooms happily growing underground.
And so, he got the idea to use the abandoned tunnels to cultivate his own.
More imitators followed and very soon this practice was accepted and regulated by the
French National Society of Horticulture.
People came from all over France to the catacombs and grew their own champignons.
This practice soon became a successful and profitable enterprise.
I don’t know if I would be very happy to eat something that grows in total, damp, darkness,
but apparently these are perfect conditions for the growth of mushrooms, so why not?
Maybe as a side dish to a nice, plump, juicy, roast cat.
Going Underground So, I hope you enjoyed today’s video and
that I have succeeded in making you at least a bit curious about visiting this fascinating
location.
As I mentioned, the part open to the public is limited to the main ossuary, you will find
a link to the official site in the description below.
There are even some guided tours which offer access to restricted areas, the link is also
below.
And if you want to go full cataphile … well in that case I am afraid I can’t help you,
but there are some forums out there where you can find some information about exclusive
rendez-vous of mole people, or even directions to the secret entrances.
One thing I learnt from these forums is that you must never, never go alone, especially
if it’s your first time.
If you really can’t resist the lure of the uncharted galleries, make sure you notify
a friend or family member and you tell them the spot of the entrance and the general direction
of your trip.
Bring plenty of water, food, waterproof clothing, a torch with spare batteries.
And most importantly: a bottle of Côtes du Rhône Villages, it’s the best with mushrooms.