The Sedlec Ossuary "Bone Church", the Czech Republic
The Sedlec Ossuary "Bone Church", the Czech Republic
The Sedlec Ossuary is a small Roman Catholic chapel, located
beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in
the Czech Republic. Known to most as “The Bone Church,” it displays some of the
world’s more macabre art. It
is also one of the most unusual and amazing chapels you will ever see.
As you enter the Sedlec Ossuary though, you
will soon realize why it is one of the most amazing and also unique churches in
the world. The Sedlec Ossuary is artistically decorated by more than 40.000
human skeletons.
But why are these massive skeletons in that
small church, let’s see:
In 1278 King Otakar II of Bohemia sent Henry,
the abbot of Sedlec, on a diplomatic mission to the Holy Land in Jerusalem.
When leaving Jerusalem Henry took with him a handful of earth from Golgotha
which he sprinkled over the cemetery of Sedlec monastery, consequently the
cemetery became famous, not only in Bohemia but also throughout Central Europe .
many wealthy people desired to be buried here. The burial ground was enlarged
during the epidemics of plague in the 14 th century .
The ossuary, then, is estimated to contain the skeletons of about 40,000 people, whose bones were artistically arranged from 1870 onwards by a Czech woodcarver by the name of Frantisek Rint.
One of the most fascinating artistic works
inside the Sedlec Ossuary is the big
chandelier of bones that
lies in the center of the Church of Bones. The immense chandelier contains at
least one of every human bone.
In addition to that splendid bone chandelier الثريا
composed from almost every bone in a human body, the ossuary displays two large
bone chalices, four baroque bone candelabras, six enormous bone pyramids, two
bone monstrances (a vessel used to display the Eucharistic host), a family
crest in (you guessed it) bone, and skull candleholders. Festively looping
chains of bone are hung throughout like crepe paper at a birthday party.
While there are other macabre places to visit
in Europe like the Paris Catacombs, the Sedlec Ossuary is really unique in
nature and is among the most visited tourist attractions of the Czech Republic,
attracting over 200,000 visitors yearly. Below you will find pictures of this
unique place along with the history of the church and visitor information
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق