The Church of Bones: Sedlec Ossuary

The Church of Bones

Solemnity is the only atmosphere in the church? Not really. Located in the suburbs of Kutná Hora, about 70km East of Prague, there is a “church of bones”. Before going in, you must be mentally prepared. Built in the 14th century, the exterior is no different from the ordinary Gothic style architecture; however, its interior was made of skeletons. It can be regarded as a “museum of human skeletons”, rather than a church.

According to records, an abbot who had gone on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem scattered the soil brought back to the ground. Since then, people of noble descent felt honored to be buried here. The Black Death in the 14th century and a war in the 15th century caused the emergence of more than 30,000 graves. In the 16th century, some clergies started to move the skeletons into the church and piled them into a pyramid. Yet, since there were too many skeletons, some simply used them as the materials for decorations, creating this “church of bones”.