The Bone Church in Prague

Henry, the Cistercian Abbot of Sedlec, travelled to Palestine in 1278 and brought a handful of earth from Golgotha which was later on sprinkled across the Sedlec cemetery. As a result, the ground became a sacred place for burying the dead.

In 14th century, a Gothic church was built in the centre of the cemetery with a vaulted upper level and a lower chapel was used as an ossuary for the mass graves unearthed during construction. This method was another way to make rooms for new corpses. In 1511, the exhuming skeletons were handled by a half-blind monk who used to collect bones to stack within the ossuary.

In 1870, Frantisek Rint, a woodcarver was appointed by the Schwarzenberg (or Bohemian aristocratic) family so that the heap of bones can be arranged in order. With his effort, Rint framed different artworks such as Four enormous bell-shaped mounds and chandelier composed of bones. His unaccomplished works of art include a large Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms and the signature of Rint designed by human bones.

 

While in Prague, you must visit the Bone Church and make your holidays more thrilling. Live a dead life even though you are alive.