Spanish explorers enter the restricted area of the Paris Catacombs

@ElentirENG ES 12·27·2022 · 23:36 0

The most famous of the cemeteries in the city of Paris, begun in the 18th century, spans an extensive network of galleries 20 meters below ground.

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The Paris Catacombs are one of the most famous cemeteries in Europe. Today, a small section of about 800 meters is open to visitors, which shows a small part of the largest ossuary in the world. However, the network of tunnels is much more extensive: there are about 300 kilometers of galleries, some still full of bones. Access to the galleries located beyond the official visit is prohibited, and there is a small unit of the Paris Police that is dedicated to periodically patrolling the galleries and fining "cataphiles", as described fans of exploring this underground place know themselves.

The reasons that this area is prohibited access are several. First of all, it's easy to get lost in the catacombs if you don't have a detailed map. On the other hand, some of the galleries are dangerous, due to the mud and the possibility of landslides. In addition, if you run out of light in there, it will be difficult for you to get out. On the other hand, some of the visitors dedicate themselves to vandalizing the catacombs and stealing bones. Some sects have also used the tunnels for macabre rituals. In the catacombs there are also some galleries decorated with beautiful murals, which are made by some cataphiles.

Despite the ban, today the catacombs are very crowded, as could be seen by two Spanish explorers who posted a video of their experience tonight on the channel Okos (the video is in Spanish, you can activate the automatic subtitles in English in the bottom bar of the player):

It must be said that Okos makes very well elaborated videos. You can see here some screenshots of it (the video is very complete and in it you will see very interesting things). This is one of the illuminated tunnels on the official tour open to the public.

And here one of the tunnels in the restricted area. There is no lighting and the state of the gallery is very painful.

One of the most hidden galleries, with human skulls. In the video you can see some galleries with the floor full of bones...