Sedlec Ossuary
The more churches and cathedrals you see, the more they have to step up their game to really be memorable. (You can read my post on my favorite Cathedral in the world, here.) I can assure you that Sedlec Ossuary, or “The Church of Bones,” just an hour east of Prague, is not a church you will soon forget.
Back in the 1500s a monk went to Jerusalem and came back with some sand that he sprinkled in the cemetery – instantly making it the hot-spot to be buried. Unfortunately, so many people wanted to be buried there that they ended up digging the older bodies to make room for new ones. They didn’t want to just throw those bones away, so they had to think about how to keep the bones yet preserve space. Thus began the initial decorating of the Sedlec Ossuary. More accurately it was a half-blind monk who went to task staking bones in a decorative manner. In the 1700s, they started to get really fancy and created the more intricate art that you see there today – including a coat of arms and a chandelier that utilizes every bone in the human body!
I know the idea may seem morbid to some but I think it is kind of cool that centuries after their deaths people are still seeing them every day – over 200,000 people each year in fact! It is certainly a more cost effective way to decorate a church than the gaudy gold and marble of most European churches!
There are no actual church services held in bones part of the church of bones but the second story did have a simple room with chairs that looked like it may be used for small services. If you are out in Prague, and especially if you have a car, it is worth the trip to check out this incredibly unique church!
Xx
Kali