After several months of reconstruction the Catacombs of Paris are opened again. From the 29th of February tourists can visit one of the most terrible sights of the city. A pile of bones, covering the area of 11 000 square meters, consists of more than 6 million human bodies. However, a part not much longer than 1.5 kilometers is opened for tourists. About 160 thousand people visit the Catacombs of Paris annually. This scary labyrinth is situated in the very center of the capital of France. The entrance to the underground is called "Gates of the Hell", but the narrow winding stairs lead deep in the ground. 90 footsteps cut off in the stone lead to the tunnels. Paris was built of this kind of stone too.
In the XIII century the city began to develop quickly and new materials were needed for the building of houses, palaces and churches. This is why the quarries, which cut off a part of the city, appeared. Because of the population upsurge in Paris in the middle of the century the need in graves increased too. During very cold winters and epidemics, lack of places on cemeteries was especially problematic. In order to find an unoccupied place for burring new dead bodies, the remains of the deceased initially were put in special "skeleton houses". A terrible smell from there was spreading over the city until the day when Louis XVI ordered to bring all the remains to the undergrounds of Paris and to write on their door, leading to the tunnels, the inscription "Stop! It is a Kingdom of the Deceased".
When in Paris in XVIII old cemeteries were liquidated, it was decided to bring all the remains from there to the catacombs which during the ancient times were dug in the district of Montparnass. During the XVIII-XIX centuries the remains from the closed cemeteries were brought to the underground. The galleries in the catacombs were intentionally appointed for a big amount of skeletons, some of which even made formations of skulls. A part of the underground cemetery was equipped for excursions and has become the most terrible museum in the world. The catacombs are opened for visitors from Tuesday till Sunday, from 9:30 till 17:00. A ticket for adults costs 5 euro.
There are also other unusual museums in the world that have funny, horrible or unusual expositions.
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