The city of Kutna Hora is only an hour's drive from the Czech capital, about 70 kilometers southeast of Prague. In addition to the old town, another attraction for tourists is the Bone Church (Constance) in the Sedlec district. The interior of a small chapel was decorated here from the bones of around 40 people. From chandeliers to imposing meter-high bells made of skulls and thigh bones, everything here is made of human material in the truest sense of the word.

One would think an ideal place for black trade fairs. But the Bone Church is a Catholic place of worship and so you can also find all the utensils for Catholic worship here - lovingly made from human bones. Services are no longer held in the church today.

According to tradition, in 1278 the abbot of Sedlec Jindrich monastery was sent to Jerusalem with a message from Premysl Otakar II, from where he brought a handful of clay from the Calvary and scattered it in the Sedlec cemetery. This gave the cemetery the reputation of a holy earth. Since then, not only have many people from the surrounding area been buried here, but also from abroad, especially from Poland, Bavaria and Belgium. Thousands of people found their final resting place here during the great plague epidemics. Old chronicles state that around 1318 people were buried here during the plague in 30. The bones were initially stored around the chapel and later moved to its rear part. It was here that a half-blind monk first arranged six pyramids in 000.

The fact that the Sedlec Chapel became the bizarre gem it is today is thanks to the Schwarzenberg dynasty from Orlík. They bought the property in 1866 and commissioned the woodcarver Frantisek Rint to redesign the interior - as artfully as possible. Rint disinfected all bones and prepared them with lime containing chlorine, which means that they are well preserved to this day, more than 140 years later. From the original six pyramids he removed two, the bones of which he used to decorate the chapel, the remaining bones - after all, he buried about 40 m3 with piety in the earth of the cemetery.

Although the question of František Rint's state of mind remains unanswered, the salvation of his soul should be ensured thanks to the unique, albeit somewhat macarous, decoration of the church and the dignified burial of the other bones. What is certain, however, is that the structural condition of the church is cause for concern. The building fabric is so badly damaged that they wanted a new director Reimann to finance the renovation of the building.

Address:
Constance
Zámecká 127, 284 03 Kutná Hora - Sedlec
Information and guided tours: Tel .: +420 327 561 143
Opening times: daily 8 a.m. - 18 p.m.
Email: info@kostnice.cz, website: www.kostnice.cz