Church of St. Barbara
One of my favorite places in the Czech Republic is Kutná Hora, a small city in the Czech Republic about 40 miles east of Prague. It is famous for a few things: the super-creepy ossuary, the silver mines, and some very nice architecture. Both Kutná Hora and neighboring Sedlec are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They make an interesting day-trip from Prague or as a stop on the way from Prague to Brno.
The silver mines were opened in 1260, and after that the city became the richest in the area and around 1400 was the seat of King Václav IV.
The beautiful Gothic interior
The Church of St. Barbara from 1388 is well-known for its unique tent-spires. It is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture– you can see the buttresses, high arches, and walls filled by stained glass that exemplify the high Gothic style. The walk to the church is along a statue-filled street with the Jesuit college on one side and views back to the town on the other.
A view of the tent spires and the beautiful street leading to the church
Besides the church, the town offers many other things to see and do: a tour of the silver mines 6 stories underground (which I did back in 1997– really fun!), a museum of alchemy, quaint back streets to wander, and plenty of beautiful architecture to admire.
Tiny back street in Kutna Hora
The Italian Court
The coat of arms at the entrance to the "Bone Church"
What most people come to see is the ossuary, or “bone church,” in Sedlec, a suburb located on the way to Kutná Hora from the train station. This place is bizarre, to say the least, but really worth a visit just because it’s unique. The interior of this normal-looking church is decorated with the bones of up to 70,000 people. Some of them are in massive piles, but other bones were used to make some pretty amazing decorations. The “highlight” is the huge chandelier, which supposedly contains at least one of every single bone in the human body.
The chandelier
Logistics: It’s definitely worth a full-day-trip, and you can go by yourself or join a tour from Prague. You can reach Kutná Hora by easy bus or train connections from Prague. Unfortunately, the main train station is located outside the city. You need to take a small train from the main train station to Sedlec and then on to Kutná Hora. See the comments of this post for details and a map, which were provided by a Czech friend.
Great post! Really enjoyed it!
Let me just add a few comments on how to get there as this is a very popular side trip from Prague. Actually, it is not so difficult to get to the town by train and you don’t have to walk or travel by bus. There’s a side rail track between Kutná Hora main station (the station you are mentioning) and the town centre. The trains conveniently connect with all fast trains running between Brno and Prague (when a fast train arrives at KH main station, the local train is waiting there and departs a few minutes later). The ride only takes about five minutes. The only thing you have to do when buying a ticket in Prague or Brno is to say you are travelling to “Kutna Hora město” – that’s the name of the station right below the town centre. This way your ticket will include this short ride as well.
(Jenna, this service is similar to the service between Staré Mesto and Kunovice – it’s a pity nobody told you about it.)
David, Thanks so much for the information! I had no idea. I don’t travel with a guidebook in the Czech Republic since I know my way around pretty well, but maybe I would have benefited from one in this case! And it’s not easy to get information from the train station clerks– I was proud of myself for ordering train tickets in Czech from Prague to Brno with a stop “v Kutne Hoře” or whatever the case change was for that name. I have seen people on the Internet talking about how it’s hard to get there and that it’s a good idea to go as a tour, so maybe not enough people know about this little train. The only problem with it is that it wouldn’t make it convenient to stop at the ossuary– I suppose one could walk to the ossuary, then walk back to the train station and take the little train to the town center.
nice pictures. well done. we didn’t make it to the bone church during our trip but friends did and said it was pretty neat.
Actually, the small train is convenient for the ossuary as well. It has one stop between KH main station and KH-town: in “Kutna Hora-Sedlec” which is right behind the church in Sedlec, a short walk from the bone church. Look at this map (you can see the three stations):
http://www.mapy.cz/#mm=ZTtTcP@x=135047680@y=135476224@z=13
If you buy the ticket to Kutná Hora-město, you can interrupt the journey here and then hop on the next train.
I should have figured as much. I’m so happy to know this information! Next time I’m in the Czech Rep., I will make a trip there and use this little train. No more walking on that busy road from the main train station to the city! There’s still plenty I want to see in KH anyway.
By the way, you have declined “Kutná Hora” very well
Thanks. I think I just have that one stuck in my head. The rest of my attempts at declension wouldn’t impress you.
I mean grammatically.