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.
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