Bone Church in the Czech Republic

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I would love to be so elegant a writer to be able to explain the meaning of such a place as the Ossuary of Sedlec, near Kutna Hora. Or have the ability to photograph these sculptures made of human bones, so that you could clearly see the meaning in them.
The little booklet states that "This work is not an end in itself; for decades, it has reminded visitors of the limits of human life and the fact of death. This fact is intended to lead to mutual harmonic coexistence and to respect for life and to make people aware of their responsibility to God."
From a modern point of view, besides being unbelievably beautiful, it is a recycling marvel!

A trip to the town of Kutna Hora had been on our to do list for many months. This chapel had been here since the 14th century. The Abbot of the Sedlec Monastery is said to have brought a handful of earth here from Golgatha in Jerusalem, making this a Holy Land. People from all over Bohemia were to be buried here. The black plague left 30,000 victims in 1318. Then the Hussite Wars added to the dead in need of a resting place. And what to do with all the skeletons placed in the ossuary. Which by the way is a storage facility for bones. Once the remains have been deminished to a skeleton, the bones are collected and placed in boxes or stacked to make room for newer graves.
In this case, the Schwarzenberg family hired Frantisek Rint, 1870 to put the bones in some sort of order, to furnish the church. He used every bone in the human body to form the huge chandelier that hangs in the center.
It was snowing and grey outside, yet, once in the lower chapel, surrounded by the odd decor, we indeed felt warm and cozy. This will be one of my favorite afternoons spent in Europe.

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Photos

eastern european cross
Bone Church detail

in the ossuary
reminds us of limits of life

severed head of the enemy and the raven
detail on the Schwarzenberg Coat of Arms

signed by the Master wood carver, hired to redistribute the bones
he put the bones together, even his signature

us
Bone Church of Kutna Hora

valted ceilings
Ossuary in Sedlec

window
the coat of arms of the Schwarzenbergs

glittering offernings
on the floor of the chapel in the Bone Church

smile
a few of the 40,000 persons who are decorating the church

grave site
Cemetery All Saints Chapel with the Ossuary

All Saints Chapel
ossuary in Kutna Hora

wreath and lantern
cemetery at the ossuary

memorials
outside of the Bone Church

sunshine through the snow
Kutna Hora

Comments

[AnnaAdventuring]

Wow - what an amazing, strange, weird and wonderful place. Thank you for sharing.

[Fyz]

Morbidly fascinating.

[5 Swedish Meatballs]

Another "I Wish"
This place will go on my list of things I wish we had seen... Great photos and I like the take on recycling!

[Russ T]

Halloween
I'm planning on heading to the Church of Bones for this upcoming Halloween. Have no idea if anything is planned but I can't wait to see this place.

[Keith and Pete]

No halloween celebration!
I know that if you are an American, halloween is a time of masquerading. But remember that in Europe, November 1 and 2 are celebrated as All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day. These holidays are very reserved, family times set aside for remembering relatives, and not at all like Halloween in the states! I hope you will treat them as such when in this beautifully decorated church! You will be in a church, not at a party!