The ossuary will be reconstructed and tourists will be revived. Temple of bones in Prague Sedlec Czech Republic

An amazing and terrifying architectural monument, created specifically to remind us of death, is world famous under the name Kostnica, Czech Republic. Decorations, inscription letters, pyramids, a chandelier - everything here is made from a truly unusual material, from human bones. The Church of Bones contains the remains of 40,000 people.

This unusual church is located near the town of Kutna Hora, approximately 70 kilometers from the capital of the Czech Republic. Now it is a small town, but once, thanks to silver deposits, it was practically a second Prague and, moreover, the main financial center of the entire country. But Kutna Hora was not destined to either eclipse or even catch up with the capital. The reason for this was the plague and religious wars, and over time, depleted reserves of silver. I doubt that any of the predecessors could have imagined that Kutna Hora would become famous because the world-famous ossuary (ossuary) is located here. The Czech Republic, in turn, will become a place of pilgrimage for hundreds of tourists who want to see a cemetery in the shape of a church.

Its history dates back to 1278. Then the Polish king Otakar II sent the Abbot of Siedlce on a diplomatic mission to Jerusalem. Upon his return, the abbot scattered the brought earth (a small handful) over the monastery cemetery. This event gave the cemetery the title of Holy Land and, not surprisingly, increased the popularity of this place among noble families throughout the Czech Republic and surrounding countries. Accordingly, the cemetery grew rapidly. Soon it reached a size of four hectares. After some time, rumors began to circulate that martyrs and people who died in the name of faith were buried here.

In 1218, the plague spread throughout Europe, cemeteries could not accommodate the huge number of dead, so secondary burial was actively practiced, when old bones were put in chapels (they were called “ossuaries”), and in place of the old bones, the dead were buried again. The land in the cemetery was resold more than six times, and as a result, the remains of actually 40,000 people were collected on the site of the Sedlec Monastery ossuary. In 1511, a half-blind monk, having bleached all the bones, began to stack them into six pyramids. Each pyramid was 2-3 meters high. When the monk died, the pyramids were not destroyed, but the church made of bones was closed for 350 years.

In the 18th century, Prince Schwarzenberg, who then owned the monastery land, ordered the creation of what people later called the “church of bones.” This unusual case was entrusted to the care of a local woodcarver, whose name was František Rint. He soaked the bones in bleach and gradually created his creations. One of the most unusual was a chandelier, where the master used absolutely all parts of the human skeleton - from the phalanx of the fingers to the coccygeal bones. In gratitude to his employer, Rint also made the Schwarzenberg coat of arms out of bones.

Often the Kostnica-Czech Republic route is chosen by gold-mining tourists. What is the reason? In the 16th century, monks found a treasure under one of the pyramids. It was never possible to find out its origin. It seems like it came out of nowhere. That is why the brothers attributed the discovery to divine intervention.

It is difficult to find a more striking and tragic work than a church made of bones. The Czech Republic annually welcomes thousands of guests from all over the world who want to see a unique creation of human hands. The ossuary in the Czech Republic is a kind of reminder of the frailty of all things and the coming apocalypse, the transience of human life and the day of judgment.

This church, completely unremarkable from the outside, is located near the town of Kutna Hora, approximately 70 kilometers from the capital of the Czech Republic.

From the inside, the hall is an amazing and at the same time shocking architectural monument in which all the main design elements are made of human bones. At the sight of this entire masterpiece, dual feelings begin to fill the soul. Aweful horror and vivid delight merge in a single dance of the most intimate emotions.

In 1218, a plague epidemic swept across Europe. When cemeteries could no longer accommodate such a huge number of dead, secondary burials began. The old bones were put into chapel-ossuaries, and the dead were buried again in their original places.

The cemetery was resold several times, and as a result, the remains of more than 40,000 people were collected on the site of the Sedlec Monastery ossuary. In 1511, a half-blind monk, having bleached all the bones, began to stack them into six pyramids. Each pyramid was 2-3 meters high.

When the monk died, the pyramids were not destroyed, but the church of bones was closed for 350 years and tens of thousands of skulls, phalanges, ribs and hip joints were left waiting in the wings.

In the 18th century, Prince Schwarzenberg, who then owned the monastery land, ordered the creation of what people later called the “church of bones.” This unusual case was entrusted to the care of a local woodcarver, whose name was František Rint. The designer decided to compromise his moral principles and create something special.

He soaked the bones in bleach and gradually created his creations. One of the most unusual was the chandelier, where the master used absolutely all parts of the human skeleton. In gratitude to his employer, Rint also made the Schwarzenberg coat of arms out of bones.

Human remains cannot be restored. In the 70s of the last century, they tried to strengthen the bones with cement, but then they considered this to be disrespectful to the memory of the dead. As a result, it was decided that the interior would be stored until it crumbled into dust - this is approximately another three centuries.

It is difficult to find a more striking and tragic work than a church made of bones. The Czech Republic annually welcomes thousands of guests from all over the world who want to see a unique creation of human hands. The ossuary is a kind of reminder of the coming apocalypse and death, which slowly follows each of us.

Video – Ossuary - creepy church

One of the most amazing and extraordinary monuments of world architecture is the Ossuary in the Czech Republic. This structure was erected over several centuries in order to remind all of humanity how terrible and terrible death is. Of course, the frame of the building itself is made of more durable building materials, but the arches, portals, decorations, inscriptions, as well as the famous chandelier included the bones of more than 40 thousand people.

The ossuary in the Czech Republic is now located in a town located 70 kilometers from Prague. In ancient times, this village was built on a silver deposit, and therefore was a major economic and commercial center of the country. Later, these treasures were exhausted here, and the city itself was covered by a wave of plague. This was followed by armed uprisings and wars that finally destroyed the former financial center of the state, and Kutna Hora became just a small province. However, the same notorious Ossuary still glorifies it.

The 13th century was a terrible time. People died in large numbers, and as a result, cemeteries grew across uninhabited areas at enormous speed. Soon, secondary burials began to be practiced in the country, and those bones that had already spent many years in the ground were taken out and placed in the local Sedlec monastery, which served as a chapel at the cemetery. By the 14th century, the bones of more than 40 thousand people had collected in this place, and one of the monks decided to bleach them. Gradually clearing out each bone, he stacked them into pyramids, which eventually turned out to be 6 pieces, each several meters long. After the death of this monk, the Sedlec Monastery was closed for 350 years.

The Ossuary itself in the Czech Republic was born in the 18th century, when a certain F. Rint carved a real work of art from all these human remains. Its technology still remains secret, but the wonders of this non-standard art form delight the eye and inspire philosophical reflection. It is also known that everyone who enters this church will remember the terrible beauty for the rest of their lives.

The ossuary in the Czech Republic includes absolutely all parts of the human skeleton. The oblong ones became the basis for the coat of arms and crown, skulls decorated the portals and arches. But the greatest delight is caused by the huge chandelier, in which the master placed bones of all kinds: both phalanges and twisted coccyxes. It is worth noting that this cathedral is very large, and despite this, each of its cells, each hall and passage is equipped with patterns and hand-cutting from this material. That is why the Ossuary in the Czech Republic is considered a temple, an example of the severity of Medieval architecture and the horror that a human skeleton can instill in the soul.

Photos of this work of art, as well as its most outstanding parts, are presented in the article, and before traveling to this country, you can appreciate the greatness and horror that lurk in this place. Finally, it is worth noting that, despite the huge number of human remains concentrated in one place, there are still no legends about possible ghosts and spirits living here.

Skulls lovingly arranged on shelves. Bones neatly stacked into huge pyramids. The ribs, collarbones and hip joints from which chandeliers and bowls are made. Forty thousand human skeletons turned into works of art. Scary? No, rather, it's interesting. Although it's probably creepy. The ossuary in Kutna Hora is one of the most unusual places I have been to. The Czech Republic never ceases to amaze and amaze. On the eve of Halloween, this photo report looks even more appropriate) Welcome, the master invites you to visit.

A small, seemingly unremarkable chapel in the middle of a cemetery on the outskirts of the city of Kutna Hora. The place is called Sedlec.

2.

Formally, the Gothic chapel is called the Church of All Saints, but everyone knows it exclusively as an ossuary.

A small panorama. In the corners of the chapel, behind bars, there are four pyramids of bones. A huge chandelier hangs from the middle of the nave. There are garlands of skulls around. This is a really strange place.

5.

To begin with, according to tradition, the history of the place in two paragraphs. In 1278, a certain abbot Henry went to Jerusalem. He brought a handful of earth from Golgotha ​​and scattered it over the cemetery. This land immediately began to be considered holy and every respectable person wanted to be buried in it. Rumors quickly spread throughout neighboring regions, and soon residents of almost all of Central Europe dreamed of resting in this cemetery. The plague and constant wars took their toll - there was not enough room for everyone. In 1400 they found a way out - a cathedral with a tomb was built in the cemetery. The bones from the old graves were moved there, and new dead people began to be buried in the ground.

6.

7.

Such structures were par for the course in medieval Europe. When the cemetery ran out of space, the monks simply dug up the bones and threw them into the deep cellars of the chapels. In Sedlec, the ossuary was watched over by a half-blind monk, apparently with oddities. One day he stopped throwing bones into the basement - why waste them - and began laying out pyramids and all sorts of figures from them. According to the plan, all this was supposed to symbolize the resurrection. The brothers did not appreciate the creation and closed the creepy chapel. They remembered her only three hundred years later. Then the emperor closed the abbey and sold the monastery lands to the Schwarzenberg family - the largest landowners in Bohemia.

8.

9.

The Count liked the idea. In 1870 he asked local woodcarver František Rint to create something Gothic. He put the pile of bones in order - bleached, sorted and created a work of art from them. He covered the walls and vaults with skulls, hung bones from the ceiling, and created a family coat of arms and a chandelier. It uses absolutely all human bones.

The Schwarzenberg family coat of arms is another creation of Frantisek Rint.

12.

At the bottom right of the coat of arms is a Turk whose eye is pecked out by a raven. Adolf von Schwarzenberg commanded a regiment of imperial troops in the war with the Turks and in 1599 was awarded the title of count for the liberation of the Hungarian fortress of Győr.

13.

Signature of the master himself.
14.

About 40 thousand human skeletons were used to decorate the chapel. A whole small city. By the way, half as many people live in Kutna Hora itself.

15.

16.

The rich were buried whole. The interior was created from the remains of the poor and unknown wanderers. Siedlce Cemetery is a place where miracles are expected. Everyone buried here was sure that they would be resurrected. The logic is simple - the abbot brought the soil from the place where Jesus was crucified. Jesus put an end to death. To be near the holy land means to be closer to Jesus, and, accordingly, to salvation.

17.

This is one of the few ossuaries preserved in Europe. The Vatican has long insisted on closing the ossuary, but UNESCO and common sense are winning so far.

18.

19.

Everyone considers it their duty to throw a coin into the skull for good luck. Hit the eye socket - well done.

20.

21.

Chilling beauty.

22.

Happy upcoming Halloween) To be honest, I didn’t plan to post a post specifically for this day, it just coincided so well.

23.

Literally opposite the chapel is the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It looks pompous, but no one goes there, everyone wants to go to the ossuary.

24.

And, by the way, one of the oldest abbeys in the whole Czech Republic.

25.

Liked? Click like and repost.

For those who missed my first photo report from the Czech Republic. Olomouc is a city founded by Caesar. In my opinion, this is the most underrated Czech city among our tourists. And completely in vain. There is something to see and where to walk.

Every time we were in Prague, we planned to stop by the famous Czech Ossuary. But everything somehow fell through and didn’t work out. And finally, in the cold winter of 2017, my friends and I went by car to this, to put it mildly, unusual, but very memorable place.

Not far from Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, there is a small city called. For several centuries it was known for its large silver mines. But these sources of mineral resources have not been active for a long time, and the city could become a quiet, peaceful place. But…

But life here is in full swing, and all thanks to a historical landmark that is known not only in the Czech Republic, but also outside the country - the Cemetery Church of All Saints. A more common name is Ossuary .

From Prague, getting to Sedlec (a place near the city of Kutná Hora) by car will not be difficult. The distance is about 80 km. The route was suggested to us by the navigator. You can leave your car in the parking lot in front of the Ossuary.

Near the chapel there are souvenir shops and beer restaurants with very good prices for a foamy drink (a bonus for those who do not drive). And within a five-minute walk there is another attraction that deserves attention - the Church of the Ascension of the Mother of God.

It is worth setting aside a whole day for a trip to Sedlec and Kutná Hora. There is something to see and where to walk, especially if you are luckier than we are with the weather).

History of the creation of the ossuary and description

So, what did we see in Sedlec and about the history of this mysterious structure. In summer, by the way, it looks less ominous.

In the Middle Ages, human bones were often buried in chapels. But in Kostnitsa they were not just stored, but were used as building material. The interior is made of bones. The church was built at the monastery in Sedlec, a suburb of the town of Kutna Hora. But the historical beginning of this place happened a little earlier.

At the end of the 13th century, Abbot Henry, who served in the monastery, brought earth from Golgotha ​​from Jerusalem to consecrate this cemetery. The abbot scattered the brought earth on the burial grounds. Thanks to this, the cemetery has become very popular not only in the Czech Republic, but also in Central European countries. Therefore, many wanted to find eternal shelter on this holy land.

Notable dead from the Czech Republic and other European countries were buried on the territory of the cemetery. At the entrance to the cemetery there is a plague column, traditional in European cities.

The country was gripped by a plague epidemic for many years, which claimed the lives of millions of people. Numerous wars and floods further increased the mortality rate. The cemetery quickly expanded its area. The monks decided to free him by eliminating the old graves.

In those days, it was not possible to dispose of the excavated bones, and the remains had to be stored in the basements of the monastery. These basements became burial grounds - ossuaries. After some time, their number increased to 40 thousand.

They tried to free the cemetery territory by reburial several times throughout the entire period. The name of the half-blind monk who deposited the remains remains unknown. It is only known that the monk did not throw the bones into the cellars. He cleaned them with a bleach solution until they turned white. The monk then placed the bleached bones into pyramids.

As a result, two central and four side pyramids, topped with crowns, appeared in the chapel. After the monk died, the pyramids remained untouched, but the chapel was abandoned for more than three hundred years.

For a long time the chapel was not used, and the bones that accumulated were burned. At the end of the 19th century, the noble Prince Schwarzenberg bought the church and its territory. When he saw the bone pyramids in the chapel, he was dissatisfied with their appearance.

The prince decided to reconstruct the chapel premises. A local woodcarver, Frantisek Rint, was invited to do this work. He was given the task of changing the interior in the Gothic style.

The master understood the order in his own way. To decorate the church, he decided to use the bones stored in the chapel. Human remains were cleaned in a chlorine solution and then used to create the unique architectural masterpiece of the Ossuary. All the parts made from bones in the chapel have survived in their original form to this day.

In the Ossuary there is a coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family made of bones.

Hanging under the dome is a giant chandelier made from human remains, which was attached to it with jaws. All the decorations in the temple are made of bones, of which, according to conservative estimates, up to fifty thousand were used.

A large number of skeletons belonged to people who died from the plague. There are also many remains of warriors. The Ossuary displays skulls with holes, which indicate that their former owners probably died during battle from a spear or sword.

Currently, archaeological excavations are being carried out on the territory of the Ossuary. Human remains are still found underground. The bodies of many people were dumped on top of each other in mass graves due to too many deaths. Mountains of corpses accumulated, so it was not possible to perform funeral rituals for each deceased. In addition, not all dead people had families who could take care of their bodies.

The church was the setting for episodes of the films “Dungeons and Dragons” and “Blood and Chocolate”. The temple is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in summer (April to October) and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in winter (November to March). The entrance ticket costs 3.25 euros. Tours of the church are available in Czech, English and German, and audio guides are also available in Russian, French and Spanish.

The attitude towards the Ossuary is ambiguous. Everyone decides for themselves how to perceive this place: as a religious or tourist site. And everyone’s impressions are completely contradictory. But this building is definitely worth seeing. Moreover, everything there is imbued with ancient history and mysteries.

Of course, this is one of the most interesting places in the Czech Republic. As they say, “MUST-SEE”. Good luck on your travels! Share your impressions of this place in the comments.

Working hours

Open daily except December 24th.
April - September: 9:00 - 18:00 (from 9:00 to 18:00 on Sundays)
October - March - 9:00 - 17:00