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The history of the Paris Catacombs starts in the late eighteenth century, when major public health problems tied to the city’s cemeteries led to a decision to transfer their contents to an underground site. 

The municipal ossuary in the Paris Catacombs is one of the world’s largest and one of only a handful located underground. Before being opened to the public in 1809, it underwent an extensive decorative rearrangement under the auspices of Inspector Héricart de Thury, who transformed the site using a museographical and monumental approach.

From the street level to the Catacombs, visitors descend through a series of rocky strata that date from about 45 million years ago.

In the reign of Louis XVI, the fermiers généraux in charge of collecting taxes suggested to the king that he build a wall around Paris that would be 24 kilometers long and feature 55 entry points to allow levying taxes on merchandise.