In 1280s the king of Bohemia sent Henry the Abbot of Sedlec to the Holy Land. The Abbot brought back sand from Golgotha, the place where Christ’s cross stood in Jerusalem. The holy sand was scattered across the Abbey cemetery in the small village of Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora near Prague. It became extremely popular to be buried in the cemetery. The number of people wanting to be buried in the cemetery grew and grew until eventually there was no more room. By the 14th century when the Black Plague raged in Europe the cemetery had to be expanded.
The Gothic Church of All Saints was built in the middle of the cemetery in 1400. All the bodies that had been buried where the church now stood had to be dug up. The lower level of the new church was used as an ossuary, a place to store the bones of the deceased. In 1511 a blind monk was given the job of exhuming and stacking the bones in the ossuary. That didn’t go too well and the bones collected beneath the church in piles. Then in 1870, a woodcarver, František Rint was brought in to organize the lot.
The Creation of the Kunta Hora Ossuary
Rint took great pleasure in finding ways of displaying the bones. He created coats of arms on the walls out of bones, chandeliers out of bones, and even “signed” his name in bones. The result was The Sedlec Ossuary ( Kostnice Sedlec) a Roman Catholic Chapel decorated and furnished with between 40,000 and 70,000 human bones! The chandelier contains every bone in the human body. Other bone decor in the church includes huge bell shapes, garlands, an altar, wall hangings, and piles of skulls! You have to see it to believe it. Excuse me for calling it the Prague Bone Church – it is nether in Prague nor should it be called a “bone church.” The correct name is the Sedlec Ossuary of Kunta Hora. Sedlec is the village (suburb), Kunta Hora is the town.
A Day Trip from Prague to the Bone Church
Well, I always say that it is not enough to visit only a country’s capital, you should try to get out to the smaller towns and villages. So this excursion gives you that opportunity as Kutna Hora is just an hour from Prague. There are organized tours, but who needs them. Make your own way there and then you can wander around the local town as well. I recommend you stay overnight and get a taste of the local character and atmosphere.
Other Things to See in Sedlec, Kunta Hora
Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist
While in Kunta Hora, Sedlec visit the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. This is the oldest cathedral in central Europe, constructed in 1320, and rebuilt in the Baroque Gothic style in 1709. Open: Mon-Sat – 9am-5pm, Sun 11am – 5pm
Entrance: 50CZK.
Prague Bone Church Practical Details:
Where:
Kostnice
Zamecká 127
Kutná Hora – Sedlec,
Czech Republic 284 03
Phone:
Tel. 728 125488
Getting there:
From the Prague train station, Praha Hlavni Nadrazi on Wilsonova Road catch a train to Kunta Hora, direct or changing at Kolin. There is an international info booth at the station so get info there. There is another town with a very similar name so make sure you are going the right way, and watch station signs at each stop. The church is a 10-minute walk from the station. There are 2 stations in Kunta Hora, you don’t want Kutná Hora Město unless you are staying the night and need to go to the main part of town first. Exit Kunta Hora Station(not Mesto) turn right and walk towards elevated hill then take left until you see a church on your left, then take the small road opposite (on your right). Follow the road until you see All Saint’s Chapel. The entrance to the Bone Church is on the side.
If you prefer to take the bus ( price is the same as a train)From Prague’s Florenc or Černý Most, it takes 1hr 15min -1hr 30 to Kutná Hora.
Open Hours:
Daily except for Sunday.
April-October 09:00-12:00, 13:00-17:00
Cost:
Prague Bone Church – 90CZK adults; 60CZK children.
Joint ticket cathedral and Bone Church – 120CZK adults, 80CZK children.
Joint tickets for Bone Church, cathedral and St. Barbara’s Church – 220CZK
The tickets in Sedlec are not for sale in the monuments. You can purchase tickets online or at the Ticket office near the information center in Zámecká 279, Sedlec.
Web Site:
[…] This unusual Prague attraction is not actually in Prague. You need to catch a train to the little town of Kunta Hora, but in my opinion, it is worth it. To cut a long story short, a monk was put in charge of stacking the bones of the deceased, and he got creative. He started making chandeliers, and other decorative pieces in the ossuary. Check out the website, as you need to buy the tickets online or at a ticket office in the town. Also, read my post about the bone church. […]
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