Kutna Hora Trip

Today we went to Kutna Hora, one of the towns which I did some research last semester for a weekend visit. It was wonderful knowing a little about the town before going, since I could just guide myself around knowing the history behind things. The first stop we went to was the Ossuary, Kostnice, in Czech, which "kost" means bone and "nice" means place. This chapel is decorated in bones, since in the 14th century they emptied graves to make room for dead bodies during the plague; they just pilled up in this Chapel. In 1870 a Czech woodcarver made art out of the piles of bones. In the Chapel, there was a chandelier that was made up of every human bone in the body. Next we break for lunch and found a cheap, but good Chinese Restaurant to eat at. Then we visited the Italian Court, which was built by Wenceslas II to start the Royal Mint, because of the silver mines which once were flourishing in the area. Next we went down Ruthardska, which is said to be haunted by the ghost of a young girl that was locked in the basement and starved to death in the area. We finished off by going to the Cathedral of St Barbara, which is in the midst of Renovations, but is still a very beautiful church. Ahoj!

Ossuary

Human Bones in the Ossuary

Apse of Ossuary

Me in the Ossuary

Human Bones in the Ossuary

Statue in Graveyard outside of Ossuary

Church of the Ascension of the Virgin

Statue near entrance to Church of the Ascension of the Virgin

Pedestrian Alley

Good Chinese for Lunch

Plague Column

Italian Court

Italian Court

Italian Court Courtyard

Spiral Staircase

Church of St James

Ruthardska

View into Valley

Creepy Gnome Yard Ornament

Cathedral of St Barbara

Modern Building Blended in with the Old