Paris Catacombs

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History
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre. Sacré-Cœur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the excesses of the Second Empire and socialist Paris Commune of 1871 crowning its most rebellious neighborhood, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.
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The Catacombs, which form a veritable, or [genuine],  labyrinth beneath the. . . heart of Paris, were created in the galleries of the former quarries whose stone was used to build the capital. Situated twenty meters below ground, the ossuary contains the remains of approximately six million Parisians, & were transferred there gradually between the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries as graveyards were being closed because of the risk they posed to public health. The first of these was the cimetière des Innocents (Cemetery of the Innocents) graveyard in 1786 in what is now the district of Les Halle. 
Cemetery of the Innocents
More History & The uniqueness about the catacombs

The Catacombs represent the interface between the history of Paris and the Earth’s geological evolution. Forty-five million years ago, Paris and the surrounding area were covered by a tropical sea. Dozens of meters of sediment accumulated on the sea bed, forming over the limestone deposits visible in the Catacombs today. Geologists worldwide call this period in the history of the world the Lutetian period, alter Lutetia, the Gallo-Roman name for Paris.

As early as the first century AD, the Gallo-Romans were using this limestone to build Lutetia. From the thirteenth century onwards, the open quarries on the slopes along the river Bièvre were replaced by underground workings to supply the huge quantities of stone required to build Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre and city ramparts.

ANCIENT PARIS(LEFT) MODERN DAY PARIS (RIGHT)

As early as the first century AD, the Gallo-Romans were using this limestone to build Lutetia. From the thirteenth century onwards, the open quarries on the slopes along the river Bièvre were replaced by underground workings to supply the huge quantities of stone required to build Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre and city ramparts.

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 COM263: rELIGIOUS iDENTITY 
(Pg 105, Experiencing iNtercultural Comm)

IBS101: Manners and Customs
(CH5: The cultural ENVIRONMENT)
Religious identity is an important dimension of many people’s identities as well as a common source of intercultural conflict. Often, religious identity gets confused with racial/ ethnic identity, which can be problematic to view religious identity simply in terms of belonging to a particular religion.

“. . . the way a society does things that prevail in foreign countries. Manners and customs affect both the management and marketing operations of a company.” -Even though this happened in the 18th century. 

Aesthetics: Color, form and music are the major components of aesthetics (i.e. taste and beauty as perceived by a society).

 

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4 April 1777 : Louis XVI established the Quarries Inspectorate responsible for protecting Parisian quarries.The City of Paris Quarries Inspectorate is currently working on this project.

7 April 1786 : Blessing and consecration of the former Tombe-Issoire quarries, which became the ossuary known as the Catacombs. It took two years to transfer all the bones from the cimetière des Innocents graveyard, which was the largest in Paris.

1787-1814 : Transfer of bones from other Parisian parish graveyards to the Catacombs.

1810-1814 : Héncart de Thury, the Inspector of Quarries, carrier out work to make the site accessible to visitors.

1859 : The final transfer of bones takes place during the urban regeneration work carried oui by Haussmann.

1983 : Management of the Catacombs is taken over from the Quarries Inspectorate by the City of Paris Cultural Affairs Division.

2002 : Catacombe officially become part of the Carnavalet – History of Paris Museum.

2008 : The Catacombs reopen after three months of work, notably in the Port-Mahon gallery, which has been closed since 1995.

KEY DATES

Facts and Figures

20 metres (100 Ft) : The depth of the Catacombs, equivalent to a five-story building

213 : The total number of steps during the tour (130 to go down and 83 to reach the exit)

2 kilometres : The distance covered by the tour

45 minutes : The average duration of the tour

14°C : The constant temperature in the Catacombs

11,000 sq. m : The surface area of the ossuary

800 meters ( about 1/2 mile) : The length of the galleries in the ossuary.

6 – 7 million : The number of Parisians whose remains lie in the Catacombs

Sources:

Picture 1: “More than 2000 Years of History.” Catacombes De Paris. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2014.

PIcture 3: “Written In Stone…seen through My Lens.” : Geological Legacies of the Paris Basin: Part II – Subterranean Limestone Quarries and Catacombs of Paris. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2014.

pICTURE 3: “Lutetia, the Gallo-Roman Ancestor of Paris.” Medicographia RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2014.

wording:

 “Lutetia, the Gallo-Roman Ancestor of Paris.” Medicographia RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2014.
Website

 “More than 2000 Years of History.” Catacombes De Paris. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2014.
Website

 “[Quarries, Underground, and Catacombs of Paris].” [Quarries, Underground, and Catacombs of Paris]. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2014.
Website

 “Written In Stone…seen through My Lens.” : Geological Legacies of the Paris Basin: Part II – Subterranean Limestone Quarries and Catacombs of Paris. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2014.