Kutna Hora and the Bone Church

One of the last few days my parents were here, the four of us took a day trip to Kutna Hora, a town about 45 miles east of Prague. There are a few highlights in the town, but the most famous are Saint Barbara’s Cathedral and All Souls Chapel and Ossuary. In 1999, Phil visited Kutna Hora and was particularly struck by the ossuary. My Dad remembered talking about it with Phil back then and has wanted to see the ossuary ever since. So after eight years, we made it happen.

The “bone church” deserves some explanation, so bear with me for a little historical context: In 1142, a Cistertian monastery was founded in Sedlec, which is now part of the town of Kutna Hora. This monastery had burial grounds on the land and for a multitude of reasons including the plague and wars, thousands of people were buried there over the centuries. A chapel was built in the 15^th century and an ossuary (kostinice in Czech) to house the bones was established. As the story continues, legend mixes with a bit of history. A half-blind monk was put in charge of the ossuary during this time and began assembling and organizing the bones. (I’m not entirely clear how or why the “half-blind monk” is pivotal in the story, but he’s in every single account of the ossuary, so I felt obliged to keep him in this mini-history.) By the 19^th century, there was quite a collection of bones in the ossuary and a Baroque chapel had been built on the grounds as well. At this point, a man named Františeck Rint used the bones to decorate the chapel. It is said that the bones of 40,000 people are in the chapel.

I had and still have very mixed feelings about the “bone church”. On one hand, it is an incredible sight. From a purely aesthetic viewpoint, it is astounding. There is a cross, a chandelier (containing every bone in the human body), and the papal coat of arms made entirely of human bones. The detail and intricate design of the bones clearly indicate that Františeck had some artistic vision and engineering ability to dream up the bone church and make the idea a reality. On the other hand, there is an overwhelming sadness to the chapel, amidst the tourist snapping photos in the dimly lit room (myself among them). The bones are human bones, from real people, thousands of them…I found it hard to wrap my brain around all of it. I was standing in a graveyard, a uniquely decorated one, but a graveyard nonetheless. I was glad that there were candles available to light near the cross on the wall. My Mom and I lit a candle for the souls of the people who had died and were buried there. As I said, I still feel conflicted about the ossuary, but right now, I believe it is a moving, sad, strangely beautiful, and intriguing place.

Moving on to the rest of the town of Kutna Hora – what an adorable town! We spent the rest of the day roaming around the picturesque center of town. The main cathedral, Saint Barbara’s, was a classic Gothic cathedral. (I’m quickly learning the architecture of cathedrals. Gothic = windows with pointed arches at the top, flying buttresses, stained glass windows, BIG freaking ceilings. Very precise architectural terms.) After seeing Saint Barbara’s we walked all over town: cute stores, lots of green space, an Italian Court (Vlašsky Dvur) built in the 14^th century which became a royal residence...just your average town in the Czech Republic!

The weather was lovely, and this particular Saturday, we saw five weddings. No joke, five brides and five grooms, each taking photos in front of the same fountain in the main square. One of the funniest “cliché tourist” moments happened when we ran into a Chinese tour group. (My Dad was standing next to the group and recognized a few people speaking Chinese.) The entire group surrounded the bride and groom, started clapping for them, and snapping photos of them! The group was large enough to elbow the couple’s wedding photographer out of the way so they could get better photos of the couple! It was pretty hilarious.

All in all, our first trip outside of Prague was a great success. We enjoyed both the complexities of the bone church, and the simplicity of quality time spend with family. Dad, I’m glad you wanted to visit Kutna Hora and that we (finally) made it happen.