My sister is an amazing trip planner.
I cannot thank her enough for all the time and thought she puts into our family vacations. There's rarely a moment we don't have a specific direction to go, and every direction she points in has something really cool when we get there. So when she gave the options for the day pretty much everyones ears perked up when she mentioned a sanctuary of bones. Because, I mean, doesn't that just sound cool? A church, with bones, in old Europe? Sign me up!
Sedlec Ossuary is about an hour from Prague by train in a town called Kutná Hora. It's history goes way, way back, like most of the Czech Republic. I think the story begins back in the 13th century. The Abbot at the time, Henry, was ordered to travel to Jerusalem to gather some earth from the Grave of the Lord (Golgatha) by the king, Otakar II of Bohemia. Upon returning he spread the soil on the grounds of the monastery, making it one of the most desirable places to be buried. I mean, being buried on holy ground is awesome, but the soil from Jerusalem made it even more awesome, more holy.
Time passes, the graveyard gets filled, expands, gets filled, expands, but still more wished to be buried there.
So, in 1511 a half blind monk is given the task of taking the bones and stacking them in the sanctuary to make room for new bodies outside. Something like 300 more years go by and someone has the brilliant idea to hire a woodcarver, František Rint, to 'redecorate.' And redecorate he did.
It's a breathtaking experience. It's not the size of the chapel where the bones are housed that gets you, it's the scale of how many bones are right there in front of you. Stacked, hung, bound, dangled, if you can think of how to put something up on a wall, this woodcarver did it, and did it with human bones. The below ground chill reflects off the hard stone and seems to settle into your bones. Death is right there in front of you. No way to avoid looking at your own future. It's a sobering moment. One that you don't forget.
It's also very invigorating.
Life and death are so closely interwoven here. Society in general prefers to forget about it, hoping for immortality. I couldn't help but chuckle, quietly of course. I think the woodcarver was telling a joke in his own way. Making ridiculous that which we all take so serious. I mean, no one gets out alive, so why not smile at the unavoidable.
We were lucky to have arrived early. The lack of people definitely improved the experience. The few people who entered with us were as quiet as us. Too many people talking would have changed this place from a sanctuary to a museum, which is not as cool. Which, as we were leaving, was what it was turning into. A tour bus had just pulled up...
Sedlec Ossuary, the bone sanctuary as many people call it, wasn't the only place we went while here. Kutná Hora has many amazing cathedrals and other such places to visit. But that's for a different blog post.
Thanks for taking a minute to stop by and read about my Prague experience. I hope you enjoyed it and will come back to read more :)
Michael
My submission to the daily photo contest held by @czechglobalhosts for amazing pictures of Prague.
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