The underground world by theme

Paris' microcosm

Superflux - a cataphile from Paris and Lyon (in French)

Nain de Jardin (the Garden Dwarf) production (in French) : Who has never met in an underground gallery this vilifier of cyber-cataphiles addicted to the network of networks but unknown in the underground networks...
The site is a reflect of the figure : eccentric. To notice, a practical column about underground works, which develops itself very quickly and the retranscription of "52 sur le Une", broadcast which made loud noise on June 1-st, 1990 on French TV.

Mercury's web site (in French) : The only site about the sewers of Paris. With an interesting history part and pictures of good quality.

The Hermine's web site (in French) : With an original topic about catacombs through Uderzo (Asterix), Trondheim (Lapino) and Jacobs (Blake & Mortimer) comics.

The Katabreizh (in French) : Did you know that a part of the Breton Diaspora resided in the underground cavities below Paris?

The Gargoyle's web site (in French) : With a lot of pictures taken in the early nineties, when the webmaster uses to survey underground quarries with a camera in his hand.

The CataNauts (in French) : Descents under Paris of an active cataphiles group. This site, mostly related with subterranean investigations, also has some curiosities as sound or video archives of media which were interested in the underground world of Paris.

Le Petit Cataphile Illustre - The Illustrated Little Cataphile (underground newspaper) In construction for a while as it is. (in French)

Rue des Lumières : A well-structured site mostly devoted to underground quarries. (in French)

 

Speleology

Petzl

INRIA section of speleology - Sophia Antipolis

Caves of Europe : Video films about speleology.

Russian SpeleoInfoCentre (in English and Russian)

Sub Galatee Le Chesnay : Speleo diving section (in French)

French museum of speleology : The museology society for underground science realized by Joelle et Patrick Pallu co-authors of many books including "Anet sur Marne underground quarries" (in French cf Bibliography).

French Federation of Speleology
130, rue St Maur 75011 Paris
Be carefull, if you haven't paid your federal licence, if you aren't escorted by a third degree member, if your equipment is not agreed, if you haven't verify the weather forecast for the next three weeks and above all, if you haven't asked your federation for an authorization, then, for your own security, you are not allowed to go in your wine-cellar looking for a bottle.

French Speleo Rescue : The rescue commission of the French Federation of Speleology groups volunteers teams which organize rescue operations in underground environment. When an accident occures, this site allow to follow in real-time rescue operations.

Spelunca Mundi – The French spoken speleo portal

Belgian Union of Speleology (in French) : This French speaking belgian federation is also interested by escalade, air diving and canyoning.

 

Mines and quarries

ERMINA : Equipe Interdisciplinaire d'Etudes et de Recherches Archeologiques sur les Mines Anciennes et le Patrimoine Industriel.
Archeological, Antic Mining, Industrial Heritage Research and Studies Interdisciplinary Team.

Mine Imaginary in Western Europe : Yves Bouveret's site, an academic who has created a database related to mines trough European litterature (the subject is extensive). The database will be soon available directly on the website, but for the moment the webmaster must be contacted to obtain the reference wanted.

Association pour la Sauvegarde & la Promotion du Patrimoine Industriel en Vaucluse (in French) Association for protection and promotion of the industrial patrimony in Vaucluse department (France).

François-Xavier Bibert's web site : A retired mining engineer from the iron mines of Lorraine (France). Note the rich bibliography of the site.

-> Mine museums to visit in France : Discovery of underground France

 

Miners and quarrymen lamps

Acethylene.com : The most comprehensive site on the Web about acetylene lighting . Many copies of old catalogues lamps can be downloaded from this site.

Lampes a carbure (in French) : The blog of a carbide lamps fanatic who posted there some models of his collection.

Cavannus, lighting engineer and cataphile (in French) : A site devoted to lighting in all shapes.

Rauleigh Webb, Australian collector

Welsh Miner's Lamps which, as its name does not indicate, is a U.S. site for online sales of Welsh miners lamps replica.

Miner lamps of Wallonia (Belgium)

Philippe Estang, French collector (in French) : Philippe Estang's lamps collection is exposed in the Museum " Les Lumieres de la Mine" in Bousquet d'Orb (France department of Herault).

Lampterophiliste : The Web site of JPP, French collector of old lamps. Among those, many models of carbide lamps found in secondhand trades of Paris area.

 

Verdun

Reservistenkameradschaft Wetterau (Hessen) : The German Reserve Soldiers Association of the Bundeswehr has organized many visits on Verdun's battlefield. The reports are on their website (Home>Militärgeschichte).

maginot.gif (2927 octets)The Maginot line

The Maginot Line in Wargames and in Reality (finn wargamers)

The Maginot Line : Generic site but well-informed about Maginot Line.

The Maginot Line : Another English spoken website but realized by Frenchmen.

Schoenenbourg's fort (Lower-Alsace)

Fermont's fort - Lorraine (in French)

Galgenberg's fort (in French) : This site lets to follow all works passed and future realized by the association for maintenance of Cattenom forest fortified device which besides the Galgenberg is composed of Cattenom wood shelter. A planning with dates and hours of visits is also available.

Michelsberg's fort (Moselle department) : The A15 association website. This association restores and promotes this artillery work.

FASF - The Federation of associations for safeguarding fortification

The 100th US infantry division : This division fought harshly by the end of 1944 in Lorraine area (France) against German units entrenched in the Maginot line works around Bitche city.

 

Other fortifications

Association for discovery of Metz's fortification : This association restores the fortified complex of the Aisne and organizes visits of this place (called in the past Feste Wagner), which was a German fort of Metz's city fortified belt (France).

The Friends of Vauquois and its region : An association which clears and consolidates galleries which give way deeply under Vauquois' hill, famous place of underground war during world war I. The "Friends of Vauqois" have recently opened near the hill a museum dedicated to mines war.

The Friend of Troyon's site : Association which restores for 10 years Troyon's fort, a Sere de Riviere's work, attacked without success by Germans in october 1914, and bombarded by their artillery all along the war.

Fort San Carlo of Fenestrelle : This gigantic fortress of Piemont (Italy), was build in the XVIIth century and was constantly modernised up to the end of the XIXth.
The wholly web site is in Italian.

The Fortress Ring : Fortifications between 1450 and 1950. This "circle" includes organizations and private individuals interested by the subject.

De Forten site (in Dutch) : A Dutch site which deals with fortification in the Netherlands.

The defence line of Amsterdam : All about the fortified line which defended the Dutch capital (forts, etc...) during the first and the second world wars. About this subject the Herstelling Foundation site is related to a very ambitious project which consist of renovating all the military works left to abandonment.

The fortified Moselle from XVIth to now (in French) : History of a French department which was often a battlefield more especialy during the three franco-german wars.

The Atlantic wall (in French)

-> All fortifications to visit in France : Discovery of underground France

 

Troglodytes

CATP :
Carrefour Anjou Touraine Poitou
Anjou Touraine Poitou Crossroads
An association which deals with economical, scientific and touristic activities related with regional troglodytic dwelling (center of France).
The presentation is quite original. This web site was developped with the latest technologies (check your plug-ins!).

Unusual sites of Charente department : Studies about the environment anthropisation and organization during the holocene period.
Studies about natural cavities, caves, shelters and troglodytic dwellings, and antique grain silos.
Presentation of archeological and historic sites of East and Southeast of Charente department (France). Districts of Soyaux and Villebois-Lavalette.

Troglodytes in Anjou region : The troglodytic housing in tuffeau and fallun stone (rock from the Loire river banks).

-> All trogolodytic dwellings opened to visits in France : Discovery of underground France

 

Underground France

Lyon Souterrain (in French) : The ancient capital of Gaul has many subterranean networks. Here is the reference site to discover them.

Jérôme and Laurent Triolet's website (in French) dedicated to underground shelters and troglodytic dwelling. Triolet brothers wrote many books related to these subjects (Bibliography).

Underground cavities of Provins city (in French)

Underground cavities of Orleans city (in French)

Underground cavities of Limoges city (in French)

 

And elsewhere...

The Dutch limestone mines (in Dutch) : A site about underground quarries in the Netherlands with many detailed maps.

The Christian Catacombs of Rome : A site wholly dedicated to the roman catacombs of Saint Callixtus (description, history...).

 

Varied organizations

Centre de Recherche des Monuments Historiques
Historical monuments research center
Palais de Chaillot
1, place du Trocadero 75116 Paris

Ecole des Mines de Paris : Mining school of Paris.
For maths students amateurs of underground quarries, it is the quite drawn way...
Big hazing in the underground quarries of Paris with shovels and pickaxes for Saint Barbe (patron saint of miners).

Societe Geologique de France
Geologic society of France
Maison de la Geologie
77, rue Claude Bernard 75005 Paris

Universite de Paris I'Institut d'Art et Archeologie
Art and archeology institute of the university of Paris
3, rue Michelet 75006 Paris 

 

 

Associations related with underground cavities

 

Official organisms 

 


Summary