[Paris] Catacombs
- hold the remains of more than six million people.
- the ossuary was created as part of the effort to eliminate the effects of the city’s overflowing cemeteries.
- During World War II, Parisian members of the French Resistance used the tunnel system and established the headquarters from where Colonel Rol-Tanguy led the insurrection for the liberation of Paris in June 1944.
- During 2004, police discovered a fully equipped movie theater in an area of the catacombs underneath the Trocadéro. It was equipped with a giant cinema screen, seats for the audience, projection equipment, film reels of recent thrillers and film noir classics, a fully stocked bar, and a complete restaurant with tables and chairs. The group les UX took responsibility for the installation
Deaths
Only one death has officially been confirmed in the Catacombs. In 1793, Philibert Aspairt, a door keeper for the Val-de-Grâce hospital, died in the catacombs. It is thought that he had lost his light source, and was left to die in the darkness. In 1804, 11 years later, his body was found, only a few metres away from a staircase that would have led to an exit. He was only identified by his hospital key ring, and the buttons on his jacket.[