北京ket pet阅读 巴黎的另一面

Forbidden Paris：  

The Secret World of the Parisian Catacombs

探索 巴黎隐蔽的另一面

Adapted from Culture Trip 选自：  趣游

Translated by Michelle 翻译：蜜雪

Set apart from Paris’ literary sophistication, artistic air and stunning fine-dining establishments, there is a more mysterious, reclusive scene, which buzzes under the foundations of the city. 

  The Paris catacombs beguile and hypnotise the imaginations of all who hear about them, as those left outside can only imagine what lies beneath. We explore the history of Paris’ best-kept secret and take a tour of its endless underground corridors.

   除去巴黎的文学修养、艺术氛围和令人惊叹的精致餐厅之外，还有一个更神秘、更隐遁的巴黎，在这座城市的地基下。

   巴黎的地下墓穴能迷惑和催眠所有听说过它的人的想象力，因为在外面的人只能想象地下的东西。我们探索巴黎最秘密的历史，并参观它无尽的地下长廊。

 There is a certain romantic hue to the damp stone walls lining the corridors in Paris’ underground network of tunnels and hollowed-out shelters.

   It’s a far cry from the Eiffel Tower, and it in no way rivals the luminosity of the Sacre Coeur or the grandeur of the Arc de Triomphe, but it represents Paris in a way that few other historical monuments in the city can. The number of people that touch those walls and have trodden those tunnels is incredibly limited, and yet the history of Paris is intrinsically linked to these claustrophobic and dark, enclosed spaces.

   在巴黎的错综复杂的地下隧道和挖空的庇护所中，潮湿的石墙衬在走廊上，有一种浪漫的色彩。

  它与埃菲尔铁塔相距甚远，也绝不能与圣心大教堂的明亮和凯旋门的宏伟相比，但它以一种这个城市中其他历史古迹所不能达到的方式代表了巴黎。能接触到这些墙壁、走过这些隧道的人非常有限，但巴黎的历史， 与这些幽闭、黑暗、封闭的空间有着天然内在的联系。

 Underneath southern Paris there are more than 300 km of these tunnels which all interlink, despite numerous collapses and manmade blockades. Two major networks interlink, providing a veritable maze for daring explorers stretching from Montparnasse to Porte d’Orléans and beyond. 

        A select group of (primarily) young urban explorers make regular trips below street level, gaining access via a number of manhole covers which are surveyed and tracked by the community of self-professed ‘cataphiles’, enabling all those across the city who wish to go down to be up-to-date on the available entry points. The problem is that the police also survey them, almost as closely. They scrutinise from above and below ground the manhole covers which are opened by official and non-official means and once this information is confirmed, the entrance is sealed.

  在巴黎南部的地下，有超过300公里的这些隧道，尽管有很多坍塌和人为封锁，但它们都是相通的。有两个主要的网相互连接，这为勇敢的探险者提供了一个名副其实的迷宫，从蒙帕纳斯到奥尔良港甚至更远。

  年轻的城市探险家(Cataphiles) 定期从城市里可用的井盖入口处潜入地下探险。警察也会对他们进行密切调查，他们从地面和地下仔细检查用官方和非官方的方法打开的井盖，一旦确认了这一信息，入口就被封住了。

The practice of going down into the catacombs is therefore one relatively fraught with risks. The possibility of attempting to come back to the surface and being confronted by a sealed and therefore inaccessible trapdoor back to the road above is a real one, and therefore demands of the cataphile an extensive knowledge of the hundreds of kilometres of networks and the different access points. 

   The likelihood of parts of the stone walls and reinforcements coming crashing down on innocent visitors is minute, but not nonexistent. It’s reassuring that the only known case of a death down in the catacombs dates back to 1793, and the case of Philibert Aspairt. He wasn’t a curious tourist ，nor a  dedicated cataphile, but a gatekeeper who caught wind of a rumour that there was a secret stash of liquor under a convent and so set out with only a candle on him to find it. 

   He was found eleven years later a few steps from the exit with a bottle of the said liquor in his hand. To this day, cataphiles revere Philibert as the guardian, the resident ghostly presence of the cataphiles, and the example not to follow.

   进入地下墓穴的做法是一个相对充满风险的做法。最可能的风险就是当试图返回地面时，面对入口封死的可能性。因此需要cataphile对数百公里的巴黎地下网络和不同的入口有广泛的知识。

   石墙坍塌的可能性微乎其微，但并非不存在。令人欣慰的是，地下墓穴中唯一已知的死亡案例可以追溯到1793年，还有一个叫菲利伯特·阿斯帕特的案例。他既不是一个好奇的游客，也不是一个虔诚的城市地下探险家，而是一个把守大门的人。他听到一个谣言，说在一个修道院下有一个秘密藏酒的地方，于是他就带着一支蜡烛出发去寻找。

   11年后，他被发现在离出口几步远的地方，手里拿着一瓶酒。直到今天，探险者们仍然尊崇Philibert为守护者，地下探险家鬼魂般的存在，是不可效仿的榜样。

  Aside from protecting Cataphiles from harm, it is told that Philibert’s spirit becomes active each year on the anniversary of his death. Wandering the Catacombs, blowing out candles and whispering into the ears of tourists.

   除了保护探险者免受伤害外，据说这个曾经的守门人Philibert的灵魂每年在他的忌日都会变得活跃起来。在地下墓穴里徘徊，吹灭蜡烛，对着游客的耳朵低语。

 Why take the risk, then? The reasons are as varied as the occupations, names and facial features of those that venture down the rusty metal ladders which lead to the catacombs. The quiet, temperate (though somewhat damp) ambiance and the isolation offer a cool respite from the hubbub of the city above.

    Despite the dedicated police force patrolling the catacombs to prevent any illegal access and fining intruders on-the-spot, there is a distinct lack of authority and control once underground (it’s rumoured that this dedicated police force numbers fewer than five full-time officers for more than 300 km of tunnels). 

    The sense of community felt amongst cataphiles is the biggest self-policing method and the only one necessary to prevent severe degradation of the stonework and the desecration of the more historical features such as a Second World War German bunker or the tomb of Philibert. Recent spates of vandalism are all the more shocking given the exclusivity of gaining access and this self-control, which is unspoken and yet universal amongst cataphiles. This leads some to believe that knowledge of the network and the spread of information is getting out of control and allowing anyone to penetrate the catacombs and destroy the work of artists, stoneworkers and explorers.

  为什么要冒这个险呢?

  原因各不相同，那些冒险走下通往地下墓穴的生锈的金属梯子的人， 他们有着不同的职业和背景。但这个宁静、温和(尽管有些潮湿)的氛围和与世隔绝的环境，为他们远离地面喧嚣提供了一个凉爽的喘息之机。

  尽管有专门的警察部队在地下墓穴中巡逻，以防止任何非法进入，并对现场的入侵者处以罚款，但在地下却明显缺乏权威和控制(有传言称，这支专门的警察部队在300多公里的隧道中只有不到5名全职警官)。

  地下城市探险家们(Cataphiles) 的集体感是最大的自我监督方法，也是唯一一种防止地下城衰落和亵渎更多历史特征的必要方法，例如二战德国碉堡或菲利伯特墓。

  也有些人认为，巴黎地宫的价值正在失去控制，无数人进入地下墓穴，破坏艺术家、石匠和探险家的作品。

  The most common question those who hear that someone they know is a cataphile is ‘have you ever stolen any bones?’ Indeed, the official tourist destination, Les Catacombes de Paris, contains thousands of skeletons and bones from past Parisians, Meanwhile, an unofficial catacomb visit will uncover almost no bones and a distinct lack of human remains. 

   The catacombs are in fact the quarries from which a large proportion of the limestone for Paris’s Hausmannian buildings was extracted hundreds of years ago. When the quarrying ceased, some of the tunnels were used for growing the popular Paris mushrooms, as they thrived in the damp, dark conditions. Such activity has completely ceased in recent years and now the city’s mushrooms still bear the prestigious name but are grown in the provincial areas to the north of Paris.

   对于地下探险家来说，最常见的问题是“你偷过骨头吗?”事实上，官方公开的巴黎地下墓穴包含了数千具过去巴黎人的骸骨，但非官方的地下墓穴之旅却也许几乎没有找到遗骨。

  巴黎地下墓穴实际上是采石场，数百年前，巴黎奥斯曼式建筑的很大一部分石灰石就是从这里开采出来的。采石停止后，一些隧道被用来种植广受欢迎的巴黎蘑菇，因为它们生长在潮湿、黑暗的环境中。当然如今，巴黎的蘑菇仍享有盛名，但现在全部在巴黎北部的省级地区种植。

  Now, the catacombs play host to cinema screenings, parties, concerts, dinner parties and all manner of gatherings. Extensive work is constantly undertaken by various groups to create playful and artistic spaces with no planning permission necessary and only the limit of space and time to restrain them. 

  It’s not for the fainthearted though. Thigh-high waterlogged passages, tunnels the width of a slim child and uneven ground can delight some and scare off many.

  现在，巴黎地下墓穴可以举办电影放映、聚会、音乐会、晚宴和各种聚会。各种各样的团体不断地进行大量的工作来创造有趣的和艺术的空间。没有什么特别的规定，只有有限的空间和时间来约束它们。

   但它不适合胆小的人。一些人兴奋于高到大腿的充满水的通道，狭窄的隧道和不平坦的地面，但同时这也很多人害怕。

  The tourist trend is one that’s more and more common and brings new dangers. Alcohol abuse, accidents, social pressure and undue delegation of responsibility to perhaps less than experienced friends are all greater risks, in reality, than rubble crashing down, but ones which are regularly taken.

  这种趋势越来越普遍，也带来新的危险。酗酒、意外事故、社会压力以及责任心的下滑，这些都比坍塌的瓦砾更危险，但这些都是经常发生的。

  Getting to grips with the secret life of the Paris catacombs can entail years of exploration and experimentation, and even the hardiest veteran cataphiles acknowledge that they’ve only scratched the surface of the full potential of Paris’ underground system. There are an almost equally substantial number of suburban quarries, tunnel networks and urban exploration sites which stretch beyond the boundaries of the city, and mean that it would be possible to spend a lifetime wandering the unnamed and unmanned underground streets of the region without so much as scratching the surface.

   了解巴黎地下墓穴的秘密生活需要多年的探索和实验，即使是最勇敢的地下探险专家也承认，他们只触及了巴黎地下系统的表浅一部分。还有大量的郊区的采石场地宫 , 隧道网络一直延伸到城市的边界，或许探索完， 可能要花一生的时间在这些无人无名的地下街道游荡。 

 For those who would prefer the claustrophobic atmosphere of the dark catacombs, Paris’ abandoned underground world is another great way to explore the lesser known aspect of the French capital.

  对于那些喜爱黑暗地下墓穴的幽闭恐怖气氛的人来说，探索巴黎废弃的地下世界是在探索这座法国首都鲜为人知的一面。

  更重要的是， 在这里，看到了对死亡的尊重，甚至是死亡的艺术。 

The Paris Catacombs are a fascinating and spooky place to enter. It is said that the Gates of Hell exist in the underground tunnel network and those who loose their way may be unlucky enough to stumble upon them.

   巴黎的地下墓穴是一个迷人而阴森的地方。据说，地狱之门存在于这个地下隧道中，而那些迷路的人可能很不幸地撞进了它们。

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