Travel Goals

1. Climb to Everest Base Camp.
2. Climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
3. Learn to Scuba Dive.
4. Visit every continent.
5. See the Galapagos Islands.
6. Sail down the Amazon River.
7. Climb Ayer's Rock.
8. Ride the Trans-Siberian.
9. Go into space.
10. Go wild at La Tomintina.
11. See the sunrise from Mt. Fuji.
12. Gaze at Borobudor.
13. Visit the Pyramids
14. Safari in East Africa.
15. Go to the World Cup!
16. See Machu Picchu.
17. Join the Century Club.
18. Visit Antarctica.
19. Do development work.
20. See Petra Jordan.
21. Backpack the Eastern Block.
22. See the Northern Lights.
23. Vegas Baby! Vegas!
24. Greek Island hop.
25. Cycle Tuscany.
26. Visit India.
27. Lounge in the Seychelles.
28. See Morocco.
29. Oktoberfest!
30. Caravan across the Sahara.
31. Visit Tibet.
32. Fly first class.
33. Go to Israel.
34. Carnival!!!!
35. Mardi Gras!
36. Cannes Film Festival.
37. Sundance Film Festival.
38. Eat a sushi meal at NOBU
39. Pacific Island hop.
40. Spend a night in the Ice Hotel.
41. See Glacier National Park.

Book Your Travel Here!!

This bone church is located in Kutna Hora, a few miles outside of Prague in the Czech Republic. Officially called the Sedlec Ossuary, it is often just referred to as “the bone church” and contains over 40,000 bones arranged to decorate this Roman Catholic Church.

In 1278, the church’s Abbot, Henry, went to the Holy Land. When he returned, he sprinkled some earth from the holy land around the church, making it holy. The cemetery in Sedlec became a popular burial site for those in Eastern Europe. After the Plague in the 14th century, thousands of people were buried here and the cemetery had to be enlarged.

Around 1400, a church was built in the center of the cemetery and the lower chapel was used as an ossuary for the mass graves unearthed during construction. According to legend, a blind monk began the process of stacking the bones in the chapel around 1511.

In 1870, František Rint, a woodcarver, was employed by the Schwarzenberg family, the church’s landowners, to put the piles order. They wanted some symbolic of the impermanence of life and the inability to escape death.

As well as a chandelier, there are strings of skulls and bones hanging from the ceiling, a skull candelabra, a display case showing skulls with wounds inflicted by various medieval weapons, chalices that stand in alcoves, and Mr. Rint’s signature made out of finger bones.

The Kutna Hora Bone church is open 7 days a week year round, except on the 24th and 25th of December. Entry is 40kc for adults, 20 for students, and a photography permit is an extra 30kc.

7 Responses to “Unusual Place of the Month: Kutna Hora Bone Church”

1. lara dunston on June 15th, 2008 5:35 pm

   Hey there, like the new design! Got your comment on my blog - yep, happy to do an interview - flat out with deadlines this week, but should be fine by Friday so send questions through and I’ll get them to you on the weekend. Cheers, Lara

2. Christy on June 15th, 2008 6:43 pm

   A friend of mine may be getting in contact with you to talk about your future trips and something about a travel publisher. I don’t know all the details but his name is Knight. Just wanted to let you know!

   P.S. Nice new layout.

3. Travel In Malacca on June 16th, 2008 5:22 am

   Hi Nomadic Matt, thanks for visiting my blog.
   I’ve added your blog in my blogroll, you can check it now.
   Thanks, Have a nice day.

4. Debo Hobo on June 16th, 2008 3:03 pm

   Some what creepy but still really fascinating. Are these your photos, have you been?

5. Pages tagged "unusual" on June 16th, 2008 10:03 pm

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6. backpakker on June 17th, 2008 7:57 am

   stunning pics..they still haunt me

   lakshmi

7. captain oddsocks on November 1st, 2008 3:39 pm

   Interesting place, isn’t it? Nice pics.

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