Treasures of Czechia on the UNESCO list: Kutná Hora
This Czech treasure has been on the UNESCO list since 1995. It used to be a city inhabited by aristocrats, and it has retained its noble atmosphere to this day. The absolute landmark is the Cathedral of St. Barbara, a majestic building in Gothic style. It features luxurious sculptures and a number of supporting pillars. Worth noting are the stained glass windows with themes from the history of Bohemia and Kutná Hora.
Kutná Hora: the mining town
Kutná Hora was famous for the mining and processing of silver ore. In the 13th Century, one third of the silver in all of Europe was produced here! Silver also gave the city its name – from the word “kutat” (“to mine” in Czech).
Chandelier of human bones and other curios in the ossuary!
Not far from the city (in Sedlec) is another particularity, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors every year: the ossuary of the All Saints cemetery church. The unique features include decorations made of human shoulder-blades, a chandelier made of human bones, a pyramid of 40,000 hones and other morbid decorations. Where did all this come from?
Sedlec became the destination for many pilgrims, and Christians from neighbouring countries would have themselves buried here, because being buried here was considered to be a promise of resurrection. Another 30,000 victims of the plague and fallen soldiers from the Hussite wars also found rest here.
Bones started being used for decoration only in the 16th Century. The current appearance of the ossuary is the work of Jan Blažej Santini. The last modifications were made in the 19th Century by woodcarver František Rint.
Bones in the ossuary, meat on the plate
Let us leave the bones in the ossuary and return to the historical centre of Kutná Hora. The lovely, picturesque town centre will delight everybody. You can also find many cafes and restaurants, but no visit to Kutná Hora would be complete if you left out lunch or dinner at the old Bohemian Dačický restaurant. Go back in time for a moment and enjoy the period atmosphere.
Famous names from Kutná Hora
Finally, let us recall some famous personalities associated with Kutná Hora. It is the birthplace of playwright Josef Kajetán Tyl. In the 1950s Karel Havlíček Borovský lived and worked here, and Kilián Ingnác Dienzenhofer and Petr Brandl were also active in Kutná Hora.
