Boning up on Czech history

As Jeremy mentioned in the previous blog, our road-trip through the Czech Republic did not disappoint. We soaked up some culture and visited one of the most bizarre places we’ve ever seen – the Sedlec Ossuary.

An ossuary is a receptacle for the bones of the dead, in this case a small church located in the town of Kunta Hora, about an hour from Prague.

Head to toe, top to bottom, this church is strategically decorated in the remains of more than 40,000 Bohemians. Chandeliers, wall hangings, pyramids, in the laps of angels and other Christian relics, around light fixtures and outlining the alter - all bones.

Bones. Everywhere.

Skulls. Spines. Sternum. Sacrum. Everywhere.

So the story goes, in 1278 an abbot of Sedlec named Henry went on a mission to the Holy Land and brought back a handful of earth from Golgotha (the site of Jesus' crucifixion) which he sprinkled over the grounds of the monastery. This created a desire by the wealthy to be buried there.

The plagues of the 14^th century enlarged the cemetery on the grounds. The bones were later erected during a remodeling job (Gothic was so last century, they wanted a more Baroque style) in the early 1700s.

The design and current display dates back to 1870 and is the arrangement of a famous Czech wood-carver named František Rint. His name is displayed – in bones of course – on the wall of the church.

Nightmares be damned, this is definitely a place to see - no bones about it.