Trip to Kutna Hora
Last Saturday I went on a day trip to Kutna Hora, another event that was organized by the International Club.
Kutna Hora is a town in Central Bohemia, well known for its long history as a mining town. In the 13th century the town provided about one third of silver in Europe. Historical City Centre Area, along with St. Barbara church and the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Sedlec has been since 1995 UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The town is most famous for its "bone chapel" called Sedlec Ossuary. The ossuary is among the most visited tourist attractions of the Czech Republic, attracting over 200,000 visitors yearly.
Four enormous bell-shaped mounds occupy the corners of the chapel. An enormous chandelier of bones, which contains at least one of every bone in the human body, hangs from the center of the nave with garlands of skulls draping the vault. Other works include piers and monstrances flanking the altar, a large Schwarzenberg coat of arms, and the signature of Rint, also executed in bone, on the wall near the entrance.
Entrance
Chandelier made of bones and skulls
Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms made with bones
I found the bone chapel fascinating and impressive in a cruel way - you couldn't take your eyes of what was displayed in front of you and some of it actually looked like a beautiful piece of art, but at the same time it's quite brutal to know that those people who died during the epidemics of plague or in the Hussite wars never gave their consent for this.
After visiting the chapel, we continued on walking to the city centre:
We stopped several times in between to look at the following sights:
the Stone House, a richly decorated house dating back to the 15th century
the "Plague Column", raised in 1715 and dedicated to the virgin Mary in gratitude that only half the population had been wiped out by the dreaded disease, rather than everyone
The old well where all the people used to get clean water
Barborská Ulice which is often compared to Charles’ Bridge in Prague for its collection of regularly-spaced and beautifully detailed statues
St. Barbara Church, one of the most famous Gothic churches in central Europe and it is a UNESCO world heritage site. St Barbara is the patron saint of miners (among others), which was highly appropriate for a town whose wealth was based entirely upon its silver mines:
In the city centre:
international photo - Sara from Sweden, Karel from Ecuador and me :)
At the Italian Court, formerly a royal residence and mint, which was built at the end of the 13th century, currently the building serves as a museum of coin minting:
the Chapel of St Wenceslas, who is one of the four patron saints of the Czech lands.
It was created in 1386 and is among the best surviving examples of Bohemian gothic architecture.
the Italian Court from the outside
Last but not least we did an underground mine tour:
I really enjoyed this tour and I already made plans on travelling the Czech Republic a bit more, it really is not all about Prague... ;)
Kutna Hora is a town in Central Bohemia, well known for its long history as a mining town. In the 13th century the town provided about one third of silver in Europe. Historical City Centre Area, along with St. Barbara church and the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Sedlec has been since 1995 UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The town is most famous for its "bone chapel" called Sedlec Ossuary. The ossuary is among the most visited tourist attractions of the Czech Republic, attracting over 200,000 visitors yearly.
Four enormous bell-shaped mounds occupy the corners of the chapel. An enormous chandelier of bones, which contains at least one of every bone in the human body, hangs from the center of the nave with garlands of skulls draping the vault. Other works include piers and monstrances flanking the altar, a large Schwarzenberg coat of arms, and the signature of Rint, also executed in bone, on the wall near the entrance.
Entrance
Chandelier made of bones and skulls
Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms made with bones
I found the bone chapel fascinating and impressive in a cruel way - you couldn't take your eyes of what was displayed in front of you and some of it actually looked like a beautiful piece of art, but at the same time it's quite brutal to know that those people who died during the epidemics of plague or in the Hussite wars never gave their consent for this.
After visiting the chapel, we continued on walking to the city centre:
We stopped several times in between to look at the following sights:
the Stone House, a richly decorated house dating back to the 15th century
the "Plague Column", raised in 1715 and dedicated to the virgin Mary in gratitude that only half the population had been wiped out by the dreaded disease, rather than everyone
The old well where all the people used to get clean water
Barborská Ulice which is often compared to Charles’ Bridge in Prague for its collection of regularly-spaced and beautifully detailed statues
St. Barbara Church, one of the most famous Gothic churches in central Europe and it is a UNESCO world heritage site. St Barbara is the patron saint of miners (among others), which was highly appropriate for a town whose wealth was based entirely upon its silver mines:
In the city centre:
international photo - Sara from Sweden, Karel from Ecuador and me :)
At the Italian Court, formerly a royal residence and mint, which was built at the end of the 13th century, currently the building serves as a museum of coin minting:
the Chapel of St Wenceslas, who is one of the four patron saints of the Czech lands.
It was created in 1386 and is among the best surviving examples of Bohemian gothic architecture.
the Italian Court from the outside
Last but not least we did an underground mine tour:
I really enjoyed this tour and I already made plans on travelling the Czech Republic a bit more, it really is not all about Prague... ;)
christina_abroad - 26. Okt, 21:14
