Kostnice v Sedlci Photos
Recommended Reviews - Kostnice v Sedlci
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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
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
* 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.
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.
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.
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!
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 :)
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.
This is definitely a place to see. I didn't find information about when it was started but there is a QR code to scan later for that information. They did ask that we not photograph the bones but clearly most people didn't listen . read more
Sedlec Ossuary, known as the Bone Church and is one of the most visited sights in the Czech Republic, a chapel decorated with the bones of an estimated 40,000 people. How did they all get there? In 1278 King Ottokar II of Bohemia sent an abbot of the Sedlec Cistercian Monastery to Jerusalem; he returned with "holy soil" from Golgotha, the location of Jesus' crucifixion, and sprinkled the soil on the ground around the church. This became a strong draw for people to be buried here, and the cemetery expanded, most notably during the times of the Black Death plague and the Hussite Wars. Later when construction of a Gothic church began in the early 15th century, bones from mass graves were uncovered during construction and stored in the basement of the church. There they remained for centuries until 1870, Frantisek Rint, a woodcarver, was given the task of organizing them. The final result was a chapel with four main mounds of skulls, an impressive chandelier and a coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family, all created from human bones. Currently tickets need to purchased thru separate tour operators. I went with a bus tour and stayed there for about 30 minutes in total as the church and cemetery outside is pretty small, and a distance (maybe 10 minutes driving) from the town of Kutna Hora proper. They have a strict no photos policy as of 2024 autumn, citing concerns to people posting negative comments and criticizing the display of human remains. While it is macabre in some ways, the bones were all bleached in efforts to prevent disease and well-preserved. Such an uncanny experience to walk among so many that walked before us! For more info: https://sedlecossuary.com read more
2 years ago
Visiting Sedlec Ossuary is the coolest thing I have done in my entire life. I photograph and explore cemeteries all over the United States and Europe, but a BONE CHURCH?! It is a serene, haunting experience. Inside, the church is spectacular - something not everyone will see in their lifetime. Outside, it is a lovely old church with a graveyard and lovely statuary art. I treasure all the photos I took. I also found lots of neat trinkets in the gift shop for both myself and my parents. The train ride to Kutna Hora out of Prague is also a pleasant experience. If you're visiting the area, I'd say you have to visit Sedlec. read more
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 read more
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. read more
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. read more
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. read more
8 years ago
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] read more
8 years ago
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. read more
9 years ago
* 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. read more
11 years ago
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. read more
11 years ago
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. read more
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! read more
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 :) read more
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. read more
13 years ago
12 years ago
This is a really cool church... but it's not really an absolute must-see attraction or anything. Students get a nice discount when they go there, but the actual church/exhibit itself is quite small. You walk down a set of stairs and you encounter a rather impressive chandelier made out of bones. The corners of the room are blocked off with major structures of bones, and there's a pretty nice bone crest/shield on the left side of the room. All in all, a small place that's interesting, but not something that I found to be particularly exciting or worth visiting. Obviously you can't touch any of the bones, and the four structures in the various corners of the room are more or less the same thing. It's just the chandelier and the crest that look cool, but you don't need to make a large effort out of your way to see that when you can just google a picture or look at it on Yelp. tl;dr interesting concept and history of the church, but more of a read it on wiki than actually make an effort to go see it kind of thing read more
12 years ago
Half the reason we came to CR was for the Bone Church! Should have gotten a longer tour but we did have many other things to see like an awesome church next to the Jesuit school. I forget the name of the church...was a female name...dangit. That was a beautiful church. The whole town that we saw was great. Even got to see a cat. Even got myself into my local newspaper in the "Around the World" section. Yeah! read more
11 years ago
I am so happy I made it to Sedlec Ossuary! You have to see this place for yourself. Personally I like macabre shit so this was right up my alley. Lots of history in this tiny chapel. It is beautiful in a weird way. I expected to get a bad vibe but it is a very peaceful place. They actually still have two services there which are held on the day of the dead November 1 & 2. If you're curious go check it out. It's a bit if an adventure. read more
Kutna Hora is known for its bones, and the Sedlec Ossuary is the absolute definition of Kutna Hora. This bony church and modern cemetery have bones from adults and child alike. It used to be thought that the bones are only adults until recently someone discovered there was a child skull as well. These bones are from the priests that used to live in Kutna Hora and many other victims of the plague. Kutna Hora means "hills of the white hood" because the priests found silver and used their shiny white hood to cover it so that they remember where to mine them. Within the Sedlec Ossuary, there are many noteworthy bony structures include a coat of arms, the signature of the artist, and the bony pyramids right in the middle. The entire experience is about facing "death" and not be afraid of the eventuality of it. The entire tour would not take more than 20 minutes including photo taking. Here is also one of the few places where you can get some bony souvenirs. Enjoy! read more
9 years ago
12 years ago
This ossuary left me speechless. From the outside, this church looks like nothing special. But once you enter, you will walk straight into one of the most unique, disturbing, enlightening, thought-provoking places I have ever seen.... Sedlec Ossuary contains 40,000-70,000 human skeletal remains in their final resting place as skull garland, a chandelier which uses every bone in the human body, a coat-of-arms constructed entirely of bones, and 4 "pyramids" of bones and skulls meticulously arranged to form what I can describe as a morbidly artful and tedious solution of so many departed person's wish to be buried in this place. It is/was sacred ground from the 1200's, because Henry, the abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Sedlec, was sent to the Holy Land and he returned with him a small amount of soil he had removed from the Holy Land, which he scattered over the cemetery. Because of this, the cemetery became a sought-after burial site. The Bubonic Plague and the Hussite Wars left tens of thousands dead, and the cemetery simply couldn't contain this volume of remains. So in 1870, František Rint, a woodcarver, was employed to put the bone heaps into some kind of order, the macabre result of which you see today when visiting the Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora. From Prague, it takes about 2 hours by metro and then bus to reach the town. From what I've read, you can take a train which only takes 1 hour instead of 2. I think the Ossuary is definitely worth seeing...I doubt you could find something like this anywhere else on such a massive and artistic scale. It's a powerful and challenging display. read more
11 years ago
We took the express train to Kutna Hora from Prague. We walked from the train. There is a bus but it was only a couple blocks to the information building. You can buy tickets there--for one, three or four places. We chose the three and that was enough to spend the whole day in Kutna Hora. We started at the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist, then went to Sedlec Ossuary. After lunch we went on to St. Barbara's by bus on the main road. You can get a small train from downtown to the main train to take it back to Prague. The small train is included in the price. This place is a work of art. Truly amazing. I was amazed by how well it was done--how beautiful it is... But most of my family was overwhelmed by the feeling that these people's souls were still here, thousands of them butchered in a war or dying from a terrible disease. In 1278, Henry, the abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Sedlec, was sent to the Holy Land by King Otakar II of Bohemia. He returned with a small amount of earth he removed from Golgotha and sprinkled it over the abbey cemetery. The word of this pious act soon spread and the cemetery in Sedlec became a desirable burial site throughout Central Europe. In the mid 14th century, during the Black Death and after the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century, thousands were buried in the cemetery, so it had to be enlarged. Around 1400, a Gothic church was built in the cemetery with a lower chapel to be used as an ossuary for the mass graves unearthed during construction and to make room for new burials. After 1511, the task of exhuming skeletons and stacking their bones in the chapel was given to a half-blind monk of the order. In 1870, František Rint, a woodcarver, was employed to put the bone heaps into order, yielding this result. read more
9 years ago
So, yeah, this is about as awesome as you think it will be. If you arrive just after a tour bus, just walk around the cemetery a while-- check out the excavation where they found more skeletons along the foundation that aren't part of the exhibit... very nice day trip from Prague with easy transit connections, so if you're there be sure to Czech it out. read more
12 years ago
I was dying to come visit this place for years and finally did. I expected it to be more of a bigger attraction. It was good to finally see it in person though. If you are Gothic or into macabre stuff, this is your spot. It is a small temple in a cemetery which makes it more spooky. Inside you'll see some fine craftsmanship of some 40,000 plus human bones. It is Christian in origin and I believe they still have services here. It looks like a place where vampires might live in. Take a visit yourself, it is quite impressive. Kutná Hora is also an ancient medieval mining town which will take you way back in time...awesome. read more
11 years ago
11 years ago
11 years ago
11 years ago
More info about Kostnice v Sedlci
Zámecká 279
284 03 Kutna Hora
Czech Republic
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326 551 049
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http://www.ossuary.eu
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Kostnice v Sedlci - churches - Updated July 2026
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