When I started researching my visit to Prague, I stumbled upon a page about Sedlec Ossuary, also known as the Bone Church. I got excited right away. I'd heard about this before! It sounds so magnificently creepy, I just had to see that with my own eyes. So I took a daytrip to this gothic attraction.
Sedlec Ossuary, or Kostnice in Czech, was one of the most popular burial grounds in central Europe, because legend has it a handful of earth from the Holy Ground had been scattered there by an abbot who'd traveled to Jerusalem. The Black Death and the Hussite Wars left many dead at Sedlec in the 14th and 15th century. Over 40,000 people were buried at the site, which had to be greatly enlarged. In the 15th century a major part from the cemetery was abolished and relics from the graves were brought to the Sedlec church and stacked there. Then in the 19th century the noble family Schwarzenberg employed wood carver FrantiĊĦek Rint, who created the present form of the church with its many human bone decorations.
A church, decorated with thousands and thousands of human bones. It really is a surreal place. It's not actually as creepy as it seemed, but I found it immensely fascinating. Imagine having your remains used as decoration like that. The main decorations are the big chandelier you see upon entering, and the Schwarzenberg shield made up of bones. The church supposedly represents the message of 'memento mori, with the hope of resurrection'.
It's definitely worth a visit if you're in Prague. Just take the train to the town Kutna Hora, which takes roughly an hour and costs about €6 for a return ticket, and then take a local train to Kutna Hora-Sedlec. From there the church is just a short walk away.
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