Paris Catacombs Reopen After Spooky Renovation

After five months of extensive renovation, the vast tomb known as the Paris Catacombs is scheduled to reopen its mile-long public section on Wednesday. Architects, designers, technicians, and masons have worked to install new lighting and ventilation systems, restore the bone walls, and prepare updated audio guides. These improvements aim to preserve the site and enhance visitor accessibility while retaining its characteristic somber and spooky atmosphere.

The labyrinth, which extends for hundreds of miles, was converted in the 18th century to address overflowing cemeteries and sanitation issues in Paris. Authorities began transferring the remains of people who lived from the 10th to the 18th centuries into abandoned quarry tunnels. In the 19th century, these tunnels were transformed into an underground museum, with workers arranging bones into decorative walls and pillars, officially opening to visitors in 1809.

Renovations were necessary due to humidity and carbon dioxide from two centuries of visitors, which caused structural damage and bone decay, exacerbated by an outdated electrical system. The primary challenge for restorers was to ensure that these modernizations did not compromise the site's haunting essence. Finding workers willing and physically able to work in the demanding underground conditions, over 60 feet below ground, was also a significant hurdle.