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    Kostnice v Sedlci

    Sedlec Ossuary

    4.3 (38 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

    Kostnice v Sedlci Photos

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    Starr D.

    This church was build for storing people bones due to natural massive illness. Its a nice little church with graveyard all around. Be aware, you cannot take any other photos or videos inside the main church, but ok to do so when you go upstairs. Rather they want you to buy what they sell inside, photos, books, and cards. Not sure if it has always been this way, but at least when I went in 2023 this was the rule. It's definitely something you don't see every day. Worth to stop by. Do recommend by @winedinenvacay

    John H.

    Cryptically contemplative. People wanted to be buried at the cathedral to be closer to God, and in this instance their bones are arranged into sculptures, pillars, chandeliers. Photos are not allowed so you will have to make mental notes. Tickets are available at the info center a few blocks away or online only.

    Brian L.

    Stopped at this place as part of a mini-tour to Kutná Hora. I'm glad I did the tour instead of renting a car like I'd originally planned. The church, while very cool, might be a bit underwhelming. I think that's due to the Disneyfication of actual cool places like this. It's hard to get by the fact you're looking at and ensconced by a bunch of bones of actual humans. One area was under construction/refurbishment, but it's a much smaller place than the photos seem to depict. I'm glad the guide was giving some interesting information, otherwise I think I'd be a bit bored going solo. The surrounding cemetery is interesting too. If it's make or break, skip it, but if you can dedicate the time then do it.

    Zita C.

    I was never thrilled at the thought of visiting the infamous Sedlec ossuary. I mean a building filled with decorative art of human bones, ummmmm ... But it's another of the Czech Republic's UNESCO Heritage sites so after much convincing from the friends I decided to go along for a day trip from Prague. I have to say I was both impressed and disturbed at the same time and honestly I don't ever have to go back to visit lol. I enjoyed the other UNESCO sites in Kutna Hora much better. It's not too difficult to get to and we went on our own. Trains to Kutna Hora from the Hlavni Nadrazi in Prague leave every hour, and once you get to Kutna Hora, there are clear signs (and the white footsteps) that show the way to the town. Or just follow everyone else who got off the train (that's what I did! Lol). Ok so back to the Ossuary - it was a lot smaller than I imagined but quite an impressive display until it registered in my brain again that I was looking at ACTUAL human bones. Chandeliers, pyramids, family crests, and other decorative wall art made of tens of thousands of ACTUAL human bones! That were all bleached for uniformity of color!!! Short history about how it came into existence - in the 13th century the abbot of the Cistercian monastery brought soil from Golgotha (Jerusalem) and spread across the cemetery making it one of the most coveted places to be buried in Europe. Of course the cemetery could only hold so many people, so after about 30,000 burials and more and more coming, well they had to do something with the bones. So they tasked a local woodcarver with arranging the bones artistically. As I said, the work is quite impressive, but in my mind I don't need to see dead human bones (Well ANY human bones lol). If you have the time while visiting Prague and want to do the day trip it may be worth it to you if you like that kind of thing. But if you have limited time in the Czech Republic and have to make a choice of day trips, Cesky Krumlov, Karlovy Vary, or the UNESCO towns of Telc and Trebic may be the better way to go. To note: The town of Kutna Hora was famous for silver mining and is itself quite pretty. And there are other amazing sites to visit like the Church of St Barbora (stunning!), The Church of The Assumption (also beautiful), The Italian Court, The Gothic Stone Fountain, The Silver Mine museum, and the Jesuit College Museum, just to name a few.

    Signage to the ossuary.
    Jasmine A.

    When I was planning my trip to Prague, I heard about the Sedlec Ossuary, a chapel that contains the bones of tens of thousands of people who died from the plague in the 14th century and the Hussite Wars in the 15th century. The bones have been arranged into various sculptures, the most noteworthy being a chandelier and a coat of arms. A gruesome thing to want to see, but going on vacation is all about seeing and doing different and interesting things, and seeing an ossuary was certainly something very different. The ossuary is in Kutná Hora, a city that is about 120 km from Prague. There were all day tours going to Kutná Hora to see the various sights, including the ossuary, but I decided to go on my own, as I didn't want to spend an entire day in Kutná Hora, and I wanted to see the ossuary at my own pace. It's fairly straightforward to get to the ossuary, but the train that you catch at the main train station in Prague, Hlavní nádraží, only runs every two hours, and the train ride is about an hour long, so you really have to plan things out, and be sure to bring a book to read for the trip! The ossuary is about a 15 minute walk from the train station in Kutná Hora. While the ossuary was really neat, it wasn't worth the long trip, and if you only have a few days in Prague, I'd skip it, as there is so much to do in Prague. The ossuary isn't particularly big, and you only need about 15 minutes to thoroughly see it all; maybe you can stretch it out to 20 minutes if you really try. [Yelp collections: Europe 2015; Prague, Czech Republic]

    Ray S.

    This church, The Sedlec Ossuary also known as the Church of Bones is one of the most unusual chapels you will ever see. If you think that you have seen everything in your life, this church will definitely prove you wrong. Once you enter this small cathedral, you will immediately realize that, this is one unique and rare experiences ever. This church has been decorated by more than 40.000 human skeletons. This 15th, Century Gothic church was built near the cemetery and its basement was used as an ossuary. One of the most fascinating artistic works inside the Sedlec Ossuary is the big chandelier of bones that is located in the center of this church. This unique Gothic church is located in Kunta Hora which is about an hour away from Prague, the capital of Czech Republic. There's not much other stuff in this city to visit, except fantastic local beer and little shopping places.

    Chandelier made of human bones!
    Janice C.

    * 1400th review * Kutna Hora is a well preserved medieval town one hour east of Prague. It's a former mining town, but these days, it's famous for its bone church. In 1870, a woodcarver took the bones of 40,000 people who died from the bubonic plague and created bizarre and weird decorations for the crypt. A fan of the macabre? Something out of the ordinary? Maybe Disney-esque because of the tourists? You decide. I got chills in my bones (pun intended) looking at this place. Definitely a sight to see once in your life.

    Melissa M.

    The Sedlec Ossuary is worth a trip, just don't expect to spend more than 1 hour in the church. I did a lot of online research on how best to get there, hours etc... It ended up being quite easy. Check their website for hours and price, but it isn't expensive. We took the train from Prague to Kutná Hora. Take the express train, the others stop too often. You'll know when to get off because all the tourists get off the train there :) It's just under an hour from Prague via train. Once you arrive, there are two options. You can take a bus or van to the Ossuary or walk. My suggestion is to walk. It doesn't take more than 10-15 minutes to walk there, and if it's a nice day, it's a flat easy walk. It's well sign posted and there is a big map in a few places. The Ossuary and its grounds is a quick tour but there are several places to grab lunch around it. The Ossuary itself is small. You have to go down a flight of stairs into the chamber and you can view the crazy bones that make up everything. You can take all the photos you want and people certainly do! It does feel a bit like a Disney Bone church because of the numerous tourists and the ticket desk location, inside the church. I wish the ticket desk and mini-store were located outside the sanctuary. If you are interested, then go. It's a nice day trip. Check out the train schedules and plan your trip there and back.

    One of the pyramids...with a light on inside!
    Jessica S.

    3.5 stars Most of my colleagues back home thought it strange that we wanted to take a trip out of Praha in order to visit the ossuary. It's macabre, it's maybe a tiny bit creepy - why would we want to go? Honestly, a morbid curiosity drove us. That, coupled with a love of history and a sense of adventure, got us out of the city on our last day in town. We took the train out, and from the stopping station, it's about a ten minute walk. They do have shuttles that run on a pretty regular basis, but it's not a bad walk at all, and after being on a train for an hour, I wanted to stretch my legs. It's not hard to find the ossuary itself. There are signs pointing the way, and even if you can't read Czech, the images are pretty easy to decipher. The "WOW" factor starts from the outside - the cemetery in front, the sculptures on the street...and then you step inside, and you're face-to-skeletal-face with the sculptures. And a ticket booth. I know they have to make their money, to help with the upkeep of the ossuary and the grounds around it, but it's the first tourist location that *felt* touristy. I don't know how to explain it. So, we paid for our tickets (choosing only to visit the ossuary and the cathedral), and added in the audio tour. We thought it was a cheap addition, and it was, for a very good reason. It was short. Super short. Almost ridiculously short. The tour takes you to four different stopping points along the chapel, which is kind of ridiculous because the chapel itself is tiny. I had expected it to be large, expansive, full to the beams with bones. And while it did have bunches of bones, it certainly wasn't as large as I had expected it to be. And the audio guide was really a waste of money, cheap as it was. The guide was most talkative at the very beginning, where he told you how the guide would work. Otherwise, he was abrupt and really didn't impart much information. It's worth a look if you've an interest in things like this. I'm glad we went. But, I wish we would have paid a bit more attention to the train schedule, so that we could have gotten back to the city earlier. As it was, we visited the ossuary, the cemetery around it, the cathedral down the street, had lunch, stopped in a couple of the gift shops, and walked back to the station, and still had over an hour to wait for the next train. So, it's really not a full-day trip, if you're considering going. It's interesting - some may call it fascinating - but won't take up your whole day.

    Drive through the countryside is a 5!
    Elee J.

    Someone from work had told me about this place. It is approx 1 hour from Prague. I did the tour with one of the flyers from the hotel. I'm sure almost every hotel in Prague contracts with a tour operator to Kutna Hora, so just check with yours. Mine was with Prague Expert, and I do recommend them. They advertise small groups year round. Ours was extra small because we had a whopping 4 people, including myself, for a bus that fits about 20 or so. A taxi picked me up and took me to the meeting place, which was by Old Town Square. Note - there were a LOT of other tour groups that met there also. From there, about 30 minutes of the journey was through the countryside. It was really nice and refreshing to see the country. First stop was here - Sedlec Ossuary. Very small, and they do not hold any masses. This is more like a tourist attraction with its more than 40,000 bones acting as decorations. The chandelier is the focal point. There will likely be tons of tourists with you. We only stayed 15 minutes and that was enough time to snap and pose. Afterwards we headed to town about a 5 minute drive. Bus driver let us down and guide walked us through town. Kutna Hora is very quaint and charming. The highlights were the Cathedral of St. Barbara, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, and a traditional Bohemian lunch at a tavern. The food was delicious and beer was great!

    Krsna V.

    Are you the kind that wears goth clothing? Do you find joy in macabre locations? Do you love history? Does the idea of decorating your home in skull and bones interest you? If yes, then head over to the Sedlec ossuary. It is unique ossuary located just under a two-hour drive out of Prague. We rented a car and made it into a half-day trip including a lazy lunch. You don't need to spend an entire day. I hear there are buses and trains to get there, but we found renting a car and driving ourselves to be much faster and easier. It is quite surreal watching piled up bones of about 40,000 dead humans neatly decorated in patterns. I am sure there is a "boner" joke somewhere, but I will refrain my 16-year old self from making such jokes in a historic and holy site :)

    Human skulls
    Carl F.

    So someone took one of my least favorite things (Church) and Pinterst-style DIY'd it up with one of my most favorite things, the skeletal remains of over 40,000 long-dead humans. If death, the macabre, and boner jokes are big in your repertoire, the Sedlec Ossuary is a must-see place for you. It will definitely take you a hot minute to get here via bus if departing from Prague... I think it was around two hours by charter bus if I remember correctly, but it def seemed like an eternity. We came in the dead of winter so while the town of Kutna Hora could have been confused for a ghost town, the nice part was that we were basically the only non-locals roaming the area. There's several historical churches in the area and you'll have to do a walk of a few miles to get out to all of them, but it's a scenic and leisurely walk that even I didn't mind all that much. Again, I'm not big on churches, but chances are if you're here, you probably traveled quite a ways to be here so you might as well make it worth your while and try to visit them all - in which case, you should visit this bone church first, because they sell a bit of a discounted pass to see all the churches, and if you start at some of the other churches, you'll be stuck buying the passes individually (like we mistakenly did). The total to get in to the churches is pretty nominal and I recall it being somewhere around or under $3 (US) a person, but if you can save a few bucks - why not? The bone church is by far the coolest church I've ever seen. Stellar if you have a dark sense of humor (insert humerus joke here) or just love photography. Even my crappy old iPhone pics turned out pretty rad. The skeletal remains def fall into the category of art, as opposed to some grand masochistic showing. There's a chandelier made out one of every bone in the human body and gives you the perfect opportunity to recycle that Ali G Show skit from an interview with the surgeon general (at 2:50 to 3:13), which I certainly appreciated and took advantage of. You can take as many pics as you want but they ask you not use flash, you could even touch a lot of the bones on display and we even found several loose teeth that you WILL be tempted to take (do not). The bones here are from folks who died looooong ago, mostly from the black plague, and then this creative woodworker decided he would create something out of them since people were dying faster than new graves could dug, so out of necessity, he created this rather strange but beautiful thing. Like I said, if this is something you find truly interesting** - go for it, but know that it'll likely set you back an entire day from your travel schedule as the ins and outs of getting to/from this area from Prague can be confusing and will absolutely be time consuming. **might also be a great option if traveling with kids. Lord knows I probably would've behaved a lot better if my mom took me to a bone church of death than a plain jane roman catholic one.

    Mike B.

    How could you not go to the Bone Church? Where else will you see anything like this? It was a morbid highlight of a visit to the Czech Republic. If you are in Prague it is very easy to get too and worth seeing.

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    It's an interesting place. Make sure to stop here on your way to the main sights in Kutna Hora. It only takes about 10 minutes to visit.

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    Kostnice v Sedlci Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Kostnice v Sedlci

    We started at the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist, then went to Sedlec Ossuary.

    Mentioned in 15 reviews

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    Chrám Svaté Barbory - Looking towards the organ in the back of the church

    Chrám Svaté Barbory

    4.4(16 reviews)
    2.3 km

    A lovely stop on a tour to Kutna Hora, I really wished I had more time here but the tour guide I…read morecame with was kinda curmudgeonly and rushed the group (and that's no fault of the cathedral). The Gothic design of the church is impressive on the outside with pointed spires, vaulted arches, flying buttresses giving it that distinctive "lacy" appearance, and on the inside with ribbed vaulted ceilings, large colorful stained glass windows and floor-to-ceiling frescoes (partially restored). Less ornate than the Milan Duomo, Paris' Notre Dame, the Cologne Cathedral, or even St. Vitus in Prague, though still very beautifully and intricately constructed. The cathedral was built in the 14th Century dedicated to Saint Barbara, patron saint of dangerous occupations, including miners, to which this silver-mining medieval town attributed much of their success. The design was created by multiple architects and craftsmen though the inner gallery and vaulted roofs are credited to Benedikt Ried. Major renovations occurred in the later centuries including the stained glass windows installed in the 20th century. Walking inside the entrance brings you to the back of the main space, like most cathedrals the center of the building contains the trancept and nave, columns then an outer aisle encircles the central portion. Alcoves with smaller altarpieces sit along the aisle. Walking around the church takes about 10 minutes, if you want to look in more detail maybe 30 minutes will do. It's a short walk northeast to other sights closer to the town center, within 5-10 minutes. Tickets are currently 180 CZK for adults, 140 CZK discounted, children/disabled 60 CZK. Combination tickets with Sedlec Ossuary (Bone Church) are available. More info and virtual tour available at: https://chramsvatebarbory.cz/en/about-the-cathedral/

    Beautiful church inside and out. Yes, it's another UNESCO world heritage site. The admission price…read moreseemed reasonable and the displays on the second floor were well curated. My favorite parts were the coats of arm and symbols on the ceiling. The outside arches were so reminiscent of the York Minster, but the overall esthetic was unique.

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    Chrám Svaté Barbory - The ceiling

    The ceiling

    Chrám Svaté Barbory
    Chrám Svaté Barbory

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    Katedrála Nanebevzetí Panny Marie

    Katedrála Nanebevzetí Panny Marie

    3.5(2 reviews)
    0.3 km

    Walking into town from the main train station, this is one of the first sites you come upon in…read moreKutna Hora, just a little way ahead of the famous Bone Ossuary. This Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is itself listed as a Unesco Heritage site. Walking into this cathedral, I was immediately impressed and awestruck by the towering ceilings, high arched columns, and just clean lines and symmetry. Quite a pleasant contrast from the outside view - A Baroque Gothic masterpiece! Be sure to check out the Temple Treasure Chest and walk upstairs to get an amazing view. The cathedral cinema has a 9-minute film that talks about the creation and history of the cathedral, which changed hands and functions many times over the years. A tobacco factory still exists there from one of the repurposed uses of the cathedral as it changed hands over the years - prior to being restored to use as a church. Entrance to the Cathedral is 120 CZK per adult, but for 220 CZK you can purchase a combination ticket to the three main Unesco Heritage sites - this Cathedral, The Sedlec Ossuary, and the Church of St Barbora. At this location, you can only pay cash. But at the Information Center you can pay with credit cards also. There are guided tours available also, although you can walk through freely on your own.

    This church was built around 1300. It was built on the place of an older church and was a part of…read morethe Cistercians Sedlec Abbey, which was the oldest Cistercian abbey in the Czech lands founded in 1142. The woman at the information building suggested we come here before going to the Sedlec Ossuary. She said this would be a small dose of what we could expect at the ossuary and might help ease into it. She was right, I would advise starting here. There are parts of this church that were unearthed in a reconstruction that encased a number of bodies in the stones. Plus they have preserved "relics" or bones of a couple martyrs dressed to the nines--in gold and glass display coffins. Once you get past that, the church is lovely. Definitely go upstairs and view the church from above. It is worth it. It won't take too much of your day and it is a nice intro to the ossuary. Once you get back to the main street from the ossuary, catch a bus into town and see St Barbara's. It is an impressive church and grounds. You can catch a little train in town back to the main train to return to Prague if that is the way you came (and I suggest it.) You can get tickets in advance to sit in assigned seating (advised if you don't like meeting interesting people), or you can buy an open seat to come and go when it works for you. We didn't check about open first class passage, but you might, especially if there are a number of you, though the train back to Prague in the evening was much more open than the full train to Kutna Hora that morning.

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    Katedrála Nanebevzetí Panny Marie
    Katedrála Nanebevzetí Panny Marie
    Katedrála Nanebevzetí Panny Marie

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    Church of Our Lady before Týn - 12/25/2022 - Christmas Day in Prague

    Church of Our Lady before Týn

    4.2(5 reviews)
    63.5 kmStaré Město, Praha 1

    Late Gothic Landmark with Limited Hours…read more Peter Parler and Matthias of Arras designed and built this 14th century spired cathedral. It is so interesting how the "face" has been changed with the addition of a building directly in front of the church entry. Climb the Old Town Hall Towers for a better view. Note: There are limited hours for entry. Check the schedule, we were lucky to enter 5 minutes before they closed midday.

    Church of Our Lady before Týn is the name of the ridiculously gorgeous Gothic church that stands in…read morePrague's Old Town Square. You've seen pictures before. Despite visiting years ago, it took living here for a month for me to learn its name or explore inside. It wasn't until one of my new friends invited me along for a classical music performance that I became acquainted with it. I heard that it's a rarity to be able to attend a concert in the church, but I also heard the opposite, so I'm not actually sure. Either way, if you have the extra funds and want to experience some local, albeit touristy, culture, be sure to book through Via Musica. The ticket cost me around $38 (935 crowns...NOT cheap!!) but I think it was worth it for a one-time visit. I spent most of the 65-minute concert mesmerized by the church itself. Faces everywhere. Gold everywhere. Intricate designs. Unreal beauty. It was such an amazing experience! It was also cold. Keep in mind it's a very old church. Even though it's indoors, it's not like they have central heating so you'll still feel the elements. Dress appropriately! And be sure to arrive early for a good seat. If you're visiting Prague, don't miss a trip inside this church. Classical concert or not!

    Photos
    Church of Our Lady before Týn
    Church of Our Lady before Týn - View from the tower above the astronomical clock

    View from the tower above the astronomical clock

    Church of Our Lady before Týn

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    Kostnice v Sedlci - churches - Updated July 2026

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