After a few months off (that turned into almost four years), I've got back into the swing of things....
After a few months off (that turned into almost four years), I've got back into the swing of things... concentrating mostly on travel reviews this time around.
Member since:28.07.2000
Reviews:155
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That is probably the most accurate description of what awaits here, thousands of them in fact! All piled up in a little church in the small town of Kutna Hora, easily accessible about 60km east of Prague.
Kutna Hora was once a royal town and home the royal mint in the 14th century (due to the German-dominated silver mines in the surrounding districts), and today the town itself is still well-preserved with some beautiful buildings around the main square, but there isn't really very much in the way of amenities - a couple of tourist shops and a few bars, and that's about it. Some of the town's more imposing buildings are currently being restored, but the main attraction is actually in the suburb of Sedlec, a good 20-minute walk out of town (which you only find out if, like me, you park the car in Kutna Hora and decide to walk it).
The local tourist board has placed signposts pretty much all the way along the road to keep you on the right track, which is no bad thing. The walk takes you past one old church, which is locked, and then gives fabulous views of some cracking Soviet-period concrete architecture which can be a bit depressing, but the ossuary (bone chapel) is well worth the walk out of town.
There is a small entrance fee to be paid, plus a small surcharge if you want to take photos, and you can get a printed visitor guide in various languages (including English) which gives you plenty of historical background. Apparently, the abbot of the monastery in Sedlec returned from a pilgrimage in the 13th century with a handful of earth from Golgotha, and as a result many people chose to be buried there, and many victims of the plague had this as their final resting place. It is estimated that the ossuary holds the bones of 40,000 people.
The chapel itself is a chilling experience - you descend from the main reception down a flight of stairs into the dank interior, and there you are surrounded by many thousands of bones, painstakingly arranged into coats of arms and chandeliers (by a sick and blind elderly monk, according to the guide). The chandelier contains every bone in the human body, apparently - when the collectors got bored, they simply carried on stacking the bones in towering ivory piles. Nice.
Just round the corner is Sedlec cathedral (you aren't allowed to take photos here) which is also well worth a visit, as it doubles as a sort of local museum with all sorts of information about the local area. The people were without exception friendly and helpful, and spoke some English, or failing that, German was the next best thing. Best of all, this town and its attractions were mercifully free of the hordes of people that can make Prague less enjoyable, and if you have the opportunity it is a very different tourist attraction that is well worth a visit.
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Aug 18th, 2000
(Jun 8th, 2001)
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