Nestled prettily amidst steep hills, UNESCO World Heritage listed and architecturally rich Kutná Hora is an excellent town for the budget traveller to visit in the Czech Republic – within easy commuting distance by bus or train to the enchanting, but far more tourist-clogged and ultimately expensive Prague.
Highly recommended, Hotel U Zvonu is tucked away in the one-way road system just short of the main town centre. At 1,200 Kč, double rooms sound expensive, but this actually works out to a mere £28 – including spacious, comfortably furnished accommodation and continental breakfasts of cheese, sausages and breads, tea and coffee – for two people. The in-house restaurant also offers affordable, good quality meals. For about £4 each, you can enjoy hearty, tasty three course meals of onion soup; skewered pork, potatoes and sauerkraut; cheese or dessert – washed down with large (but cheap) glasses of Budvar (the original Budweiser – much better than the American version) or Pilsner Urquell. You’ll soon find yourself speaking the local lingo fluently. Velko pivo, prosím – a large beer, please!
During the 14th Century, Kutná Hora was the second largest town in Bohemia, owing to the rich veins of silver below the city. Its boom ended in the 16th century, so the medieval townscape is today basically unaltered and well-preserved; one of its main attractions. The Old Town is wonderfully charming, its narrow, cobbled lanes winding between old stone buildings and its fortified walls silently presided over by a long row of ancient statues.
The jewel of the Old Town is the magnificent Cathedral of St Barbara (the Czech and Polish patron saint of mining). The Cathedral is a particularly popular stop for coach tourists of all nationalities out on day trips from Prague.
Some may feel a little disappointed with the Cathedral’s interior, depending on tastes. It’s certainly beautiful and inarguably historical, with some sections dating back to the 1400’s; however, this is currently not a “working” church, leaning more towards the tourist trade with a resultant commercial, rather than spiritual, interior atmosphere. For some, a church or cathedral becomes special through its spiritual atmosphere and the fact it is actively used for the purpose that it is designed for – worship. On the other hand, one must also appreciate that the tourist trade brings in much needed, very welcome income supporting ongoing maintenance and necessary restoration required to keep such ancient relics standing. Generally, St Barbara’s is a truly magnificent structure and well worth a visit.
There is a Mining Museum to explore as well as an ancient former silver mine near the Cathedral. The town also offers numerous, interesting little shops, many selling wonderful jewellery.
A twenty-minute walk brings you to the small satellite town of Sedlec and its world-famous tourist destination – the Kostnice Ossuary – often referred to, very aptly, as the “Church of Bones”.
A Cistercian monastery was founded near this site in the year 1142. In 1278, the King of Bohemia sent Sedlec’s abbot on a diplomatic mission to the Holy Land. While in Palestine, the abbot visited Golgotha and collected a bagful of earth there, which he brought back to Sedlec and sprinkled around the monastery’s cemetery. As a result, the cemetery became famous, not only in Bohemia but also throughout Central Europe, and many wealthy people clamoured to be buried here “in holy ground”. The burial ground was later enlarged, during the plague epidemics of the 1300’s (about 30,000 people being buried here in 1318) and also during the Hussite wars of the early 1400’s.
The ossuary is located within the All Saints’ Chapel, constructed in Gothic style around the year 1400 to house bones from abolished graves in the overflowing graveyard outside, in order to make way for new occupants. A half blind Cistercian monk began this task of shifting bones from the graveyard into the Ossuary sometime after the year 1511. The Ossuary today contains the remains of about 40,000 people, with the largest collections of bones arranged in the form of bells in each of the four corners of the chapel. The present arrangements of bones throughout the ossuary date from 1870 and are the work of a Czech woodcarver, František Rint (whose name is spelled out in bones on the ossuary’s right-hand wall). Rint was employed to “do something” with the pile of bones by the Schwarzenberg noble family; a strange but ultimately practical task, given the amount of bones in storage at that time!
Rint’s most interesting creations are the huge chandelier in the centre of the nave, incorporating all the different bones of the human body; two monstrances beside the main altar; and the Schwarzenberg family coat-of arms on the left-hand side of the chapel – all constructed from human bones. On the roof of the Chapel, in place of the usual Christian cross, is a “jolly roger” of skull and crossbones.
Several glass-fronted cabinets contain the skulls of Hussite warriors who all apparently died of head injuries. These terrible, fatal injuries are still clearly visible as holes of various shapes and sizes in the skulls. It is also easy to determine, from the differing bone structures, which of the men must have had particularly large or prominent noses, chins and foreheads. It’s a surreal feeling to be viewing the skulls of fellow human beings who were clouted and killed in such an ancient war by long-obsolete, medieval weapons like maces and clubs.
Human bone is incredibly enduring but, oddly, there aren’t many of the smaller rib, spinal, hand or foot bones to be seen in the Ossuary. One can only assume that these deteriorate far more easily than do the larger bones of the human body.
The Ossuary is a fascinating place, a must-see; strange and macabre, but also naff and cheesy at the same time.
Come and discover the history of this fabulous town, formerly the jewel and treasury of the Czech Republic, with wealth that helped elevate the Czech kingdom to fame and power. Today, this ancient atmosphere remains, emanating from almost every building and street. Its preserved treasures represent invaluable and precious pieces of history, combining to present an extraordinary picture of the past for all to appreciate.
Prague is a fabulous city. But also make sure that you don’t miss a visit while in the Czech Republic to enchanting Kutná Hora - a truly Bohemian experience.
(Copyright L. Chynoweth-Tidy - July 2005)
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