Kutna Hora

Friday, June 21, 2019

Kutna Hora, Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic

Kutna Hora.

For the Dutch readers, the name of this town will sound weird. The 23.000 inhabitants’ town of

Kutna Hora is located about 60 km South East of Prague and is famous for its old silver mines which once were the largest in Europe. The town became very rich, which is evident in its great architecture. For hundreds of years, it was here where they minted the standard coinage of much of Europe.

Bone church of Kutna Hora

Perhaps just a well as the town needed a boost as they had needed to recover from a great disaster that cost the lives of nearly all of the people who lived in the district.

At school, we learned about the ”The great plague of Europe” which disastrous effect wiped out millions in the 14^th century. We learned what happened in London, Paris etc. and that cities ran out of space to bury the victims. In Paris, they buried the people in the underground catacombs and in London in big burial pits.

Bone church of Kutna Hora

Around Kutna Hora they build very large cemeteries, but as most of the population had died, there was no one to look after the graves. A few centuries later, the land was needed, and the graves were removed.

Just outside Kutna Hora is a village of Sedlec where the “bone church” is located.

Riding along the narrow road, I follow the sign and shortly after arriving at the church. While parking the bike in the narrow street, I wonder what is in store for me. On the outside, everything looks the same as other Czech churches I have seen today; inside, however, it is a very different story.

Bone church of Kutna Hora

The bones of 40.000 people decorate the walls and the ceilings. The 14^th-century plaque and 15^Th-century wars provided all the raw materials necessary for creative monks who made the designs. We all face death sooner or later and have the choice of being buried or cremated. You would never expect that long after your death that you may be hanging around for another few centuries as a chandelier.

While walking around, I thought about that some time ago these were all real people like you and me who would go about their daily lives of working, eating, drinking and loving as we do and that ultimately this is everyone’s destination.

A weird place for sure. Just imagine, if one day the display was classified as inappropriate and a plan was put in place to put the bodies together for a proper burial, it would be a lifetime job for a forensic expert to sort it all out