I went to the catacombs today and it was one of the coolest, most interesting things I've seen here. You go down an endless little spiral staircase and come out in a maze of stone hallways, see where it used to be a quarry and read a series of signs describing the history of the place. But then all of a sudden you turn a corner into another set of narrow stone hallways and come face-to-face with a seemingly infinite number of skulls and other bones set into the walls in meticulous patterns. (Too many adjectives? Too long? Sorry.) The contrast between the skulls and joint bones create unmistakable designs, and the people who organized them obviously did so with great care. Mostly the patterns are geometric, but sometimes you come across a series laid out in the shape of a heart or cross. Only a small part of the catacombs are accessible to the public, but even just seeing that part I couldn't help but wonder how many bodies are there. The skulls offer a vague estimate I suppose, but I couldn't even begin to guess how many skulls I saw there. It's creepy, but in a really interesting way.
A brief history lesson just to put things in context a little: the catacombs of Paris were not originally set up to house bodies/skeletons, but they were first just a series of quarries beneath the city. In the mid to late 1700's two serious circumstances cropped up in the city, and the establishment of the catacombs was a way to fix both. First, the quarries had grown so much that large portions of the city rested on virtually nothing, and buildings started falling in. Second, the cemetery grounds had reached their saturation point and heavy rains brought up rotting (but not decomposing, because the ground couldn't take any more) bodies. There was no other place to bury people in the city, so a place for the old bodies had to be found. What they decided to do was undertake a project to reinforce the quarry walls and store the bodies in a respectful way. Since the majority of the skeletons were anonymous and there was no way to preserve them all during transportation, they took apart all the skeletons and set them in patterns in the quarry walls.
Over the next hundred years several cemeteries in Paris were retaken and all the bodies exhumed; they went to the catacombs with the others. Now there are only 3 or 4 major cemeteries in the city (Pere Lachaise, Montparnasse, Montmartre..and I forget) because nearly all of the small church ones have been transferred to the catacombs.
Possibly the most exciting thing about them - and something I did not know before! - is that almost all the Revolutionary leaders' bodies are there! They are anonymous, of course, but it is certain that's where they are! Robespierre, Danton, St Just (my namesake), Desmoulins...all of the guys. Also the Princesse de Lamballe and some other early victims of the Terror were transferred there. I surreptitiously checked out a bunch of skulls as if hoping to find "ROBESPIERRE" or "ANGEL OF DEATH" printed on one, but no such luck.
My lucky mother got a more extensive tour of the catacombs many years ago and I believe got to see some parts not open to the public. She might be able to add something interesting. (hint!)
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Ah, yes, the catacombs… I did not go in the ossuary at all. And it was certainly not a more extensive tour, though perhaps at least as interesting.
I went to Paris with my high school French class, with teachers and chaperones. One of them knew someone who ran a little restaurant in an old building. It was a restaurant where you went downstairs to go in, below street level. Only four of us students went, as I recall, and the teacher who knew the restaurateur. I think they did not want a lot of people, and he just chose us for some reason. He did not tell us where we were going, only that it was going to be an adventure.
Once we were in the restaurant, we were led through the kitchen, and then through what appeared to be a pantry door, but it actually led to a small dark stone hallway that looked more like a cave entrance. Someone lit some lanterns and put them in the passage before we went through. We had to duck down (and I am shorter than Angie!) in parts of the corridor; in some places it was probably not much more than 4’ high. It did not look at all like the ossuary where the walls were bricked in and finished.
The stone was light in color and carved out by hand, still raw, neither even nor consistent from one step to the next. In some places the passage widened as if it were a narrow room. When it did, there were niches carved from the walls, big enough for one or two squatting people. That was quite obvious because there were skeletons in some of them, some still with shackles, and bars across the fronts. The height of these niches never exceeded 3 feet, and some were smaller than others. The men who took us in watched us to see the reactions, but the teacher had chosen well; the 4 of us were not horrified, just showed interest in the whole thing. As far as we could see, the only way in or out of those holes in the walls was by the barred area, but it looked like once the bars were put in place, they were not removed again. Not only could the imprisoned not stand, they barely had room in which to turn. It had been decades since I saw that, and I have never forgotten. (I do wish, though, that I remembered where that restaurant was!)
We did not go a long way in this part of the tunnel. I doubt we went more than a block beyond the block where the restaurant was located. But I have to say, it was an adventure.
Angie - It sounds like your experience has been wonderful. Cassondra will be there Sept 3rd. I'm sure you have enjoyed it, but are also looking forward to going home. It will be fun to see Erica and Henry. I took Edward to visit Wake Forest and Davidson yesterday. He liked them both. I think he liked Wake alittle more. Hope you have a safe trip home and that you enjoy the time you have left in Paris. Love, Aunt Lori
Angie, I have really enjoyed your blog, I have read every one of your posts. As I've never been to Paris (or even Europe!!) your descriptive posts, pictures and historical info has made it seem like I've been there!! I', glad you had such a wonderful time and I look forward to hearing more details and seeing more pictures on the cruise!!! Love, Uncle Bill
Bonjour Angie!…ici Lynn au bureau de ton papa….Merci infiniment pour ton blog et pour ces tres belle photos de ton sejour en Europe. Je vais sur ton blog chaque jour au bureau pour des bonnes nouvelles de toi. Mais la pauvre Angie!! Tu seras de retour at New York dans quelques semaines ou nous avons eu un temps tres doux en Mai (j'adore Paris pendant le printemps – c'est vraiment speciale – eh?) Ici, le ciel est gris aujourd'hui avec de la pluie (il faut en profiter du soleil a Paris parce que tu auras du meme temps en 2 jours a Paris). Si tu vas dans un café avec ton clan d'amis ce weekend, buvez un verre de biere francaise pour moi! Passe un bon weekend au soleil de Paris et bon courage dans ton travail final a l'ecole. Je souhaite toujours que tu sois heureuse en gardant ces memoires de ton sejour a Paris et en Europe. Merci encore pour ton blog "Angelica in Paris". Amities. Lynn (priere m'excuser pour avoir omis les accents - - je ne pouvais pas les trouvees sur mon ordinateur!
Bonjour Angie;
Je viens de lire ta description des catacombes à Paris.C'est un excellent reportage!Tu vois,je suis né à paris et ne suis jamais descendu dans les catacombes bien que ,lorsque j'étais étudiant ,je passais devant l'entrée à denfert Rochreau.Tu m'as aussi appris que les ossements des révolutionnaires de 1793 et de laeurs victimes étaient déposés dans ces anciennes carrières...Sais tu que les catacombes ont aussi servi de Quartier général aux français lors de l'insurrection d'Aout 1944 contre l'occupant nazi?Merci encore.Je continue de lire tes autres reportages!
Richard.
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