St. Pierre, once known as the Paris of the Caribbean, was completely annihilated in May 1902 along with its 30,000 inhabitants by the catastrophic eruption of Mont Pelee. Today visitors can explore some of the ruins from that disaster within the partially rebuilt town. The remains of the theater, psychiatric hospital (with chairs where patients were strapped down, as well as cold water baths - the state of the art treatment for insanity in those days), cathedral and jail are most interesting. The latter has the cell of Cyparis, the only survivor of the catastrophe - a criminal who was severely burned but nevertheless survived due to the thick protective walls of the concrete bunker in which he was imprisoned. The Perret Museum has photos of the aftermath as well as artifacts such as melted glass and metal items and the crushed iron bell of the cathedral tower - testaments to the incredible violence and heat of the super-hot cloud that engulfed the unfortunate city.

Written by  Mike Lyvers.

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