Sedlec Ossuary

 Author: Anna Mervine

In Kutna Hora, there is a place called the Sedlec Ossuary. People can take trips and visit the church that has over 35,000 bones in it. The exact number of bones the church has is 40,000. According to the author Michael Turtle, in an article entitled “Visiting the Sedlec Ossuary in Kutna Hora.” The bones are real, and they come from bodies that were buried in the cemetery around the church in the 14th and 15th century. After that, they were moved into the ossuary after they were dug up so the cemetery's size could be reduced. This church has been around for years, and to this day it still fascinates people enough to go out of their way to explore it.

Bone Church

You can visit the Sedlec Ossuary in Prague. The author, Stephanie Hubka, of the article “Sedlec Ossuary: Visiting the Bone Church of Kutna Hora” states that she had to take an organized tour to get there because they did not have a rental car and there is not a direct form of transportation option. “Trains and buses will extend your journey from one hour to almost three hours.” She states. Around Sedlec Ossuary, there are places you can stay if you would rather stay overnight in Kutna Hora. Unless you can get a rental, there is not a formal form of transportation, so if you visit then you would most likely be better off taking a day trip to Prague. If you want to visit, tickets are available on their website. The ossuary is open from 10AM – 6PM between April and September. The Ossuary is open from 10AM – 4PM between October and March. In the article "Czech Republic’s notorious Sedlec Ossuary to ban selfies.” it states that as of 2020 “visitors will need to ask for permission from the parish three days in advance if they wish to take pictures in the ossuary.” Meaning, unless given permission, no photography is allowed inside the building while visiting. Kutna Hora. 
The Ossuary was built during the time of the Plague. People would come to the Sedlec before their death. When they died, they would have been buried in the Sedlec. After that had stopped, the task of creating the Ossuary was given to a half blind monk named Frantisek Rindt who arranged the bones to remember the people who had died during the Plague. Now, in 2022, people can visit the Sedlec Ossuary to view the beauty of the Ossuary and have a tragically gruesome dedication to the dead. Their lives still live on and will always be remembered.

Works cited:
Turtle, Michael. “Kutna Horas Church of Bones.” Time Travel Turtle. 22 September. 2022. https://www.timetravelturtle.com/sedlec-ossuary-bone-church-kutna-hora-czech-republic/. Accessed 23 October. 2022.

Hubka, Stephanie. “Sedlec Ossuary: Visiting the Bone Church of Kutna Hora.” Road Unraveled. 20 March. 2018. https://www.roadunraveled.com/blog/bone-church-sedlec-ossuary-kutna-hora/. Accessed 24 October. 2022.

Prague, Kafkadesk. “Czech Republic’s notorious Sedlec Ossuary to ban selfies.” Kafkadesk. 22 October. 2019. https://kafkadesk.org/2019/10/22/czech-republics-notorious-sedlec-ossuary-to-ban-selfies/. Accessed 24 October. 2022.

Links for Further Reference:
So, Haley. “Sedlec Ossuary – The Creepy Church that Decorated with Thousands of Bones.” The Value. 3 Jan. 2019. https://en.thevalue.com/articles/sedlec-ossuary-church-of-bones. Accessed 25 October. 2022. This article provides information about how the Sedlec Ossuary is decorated and why it is how it is.

Tripadvisor. “Sedlec Ossuary (Kostnice Sedlec).” Viator. https://www.viator.com/Prague-attractions/Sedlec-Ossuary/overview/d462-a22657. Accessed 25 October. 2022. This article, from a trip advisor website, shares need to know information before going to the Sedlec Ossuary. Like how to get there and where you would go.

Lovejoy, Jess. “7 Amazing Facts about the Sedlec Ossuary.” Mental Floss. 27 Feb. 2019. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/575129/sedlec-ossuary-facts. Accessed 18 Oct. 2022. Jess writes an article and in every paragraph, she shares a different fact about the Sedlec Ossuary.