Bones, Bones, More Bones... and Bobsledding

A few weeks back, there was a national holiday in the Czech Republic. This meant that all schools were closed on Friday! Wanting to take advantage of our long weekend, my friend, Hailey and I decided to take a train ride to Kutná Hora.

Kutná Hora is a common day trip for people who want an escape from Prague. The town is most (in)famous for Sedlec Ossuary- which is more commonly referred to as "The Bone Church."

Short history lesson: In the 1278, Henry the abbot was sent on a mission to the Holy Land. He returned with a jar of earth from the location where Jesus Christ was crucified in Jerusalem. He supposedly spread this dirt all over the cemetery. Soon, people throughout Europe began requesting that they and their dead relatives be buried there.

Fast-forward to Europe's Black Plague. Sick and dying people from all around travelled to Sedlec so that they can be buried there. As you can imagine, the cemetery soon became packed with bodies.

In the 1400s, the ossuary was constructed to hold dug-up skeletons. However, it wasn't until 1870 that Frantisek Rint, a Czech woodcarver, was hired to arrange the bones in a more pleasing manner. Rint went above and beyond as he used the skeletons of 40,000 people to create art.

 Admittedly, Sedlec Ossuary was the main reason Hailey and I went to Kutná Hora. After a 30 minute walk from the train station, we arrived at a small church at the edge of town. After walking around the cemetery and waiting in line for a bit, we entered the church and were soon surrounded by 600+ year-old skeletons.

My brain really had trouble processing that these were real human remains.

After visiting the bone church, we really didn't have concrete plans for the rest of the day. We strolled back to the main part of town, grabbed pizza for lunch, and walked the streets. The town itself was very cute and reminded me of something from a fairytale.

Online, I had found that Kuntá Hora had a small chocolate museum that gave out free samples of interesting-flavored chocolate bars. So me being me, I had to visit.

And very small it was. We walked into the 'museum' which was just big enough to fit 3 people. After a 2 minute circle around the museum, we were ready to try out some chocolate (I sampled some very tasty goat milk chocolate)!

And of course, chocolate just puts me in the mood for...

Next, we headed to St. Barbara's Cathedral.

Another brief history lesson: Kutná Hora was originally a silver miner's town and place of much wealth in the Czech Republic. Therefore, it seemed fitting that a church be built to honor St. Barbara- a patron saint of miners. Construction of the church began in 1388 and still has not been completed today.

This huge cathedral is one of the most famous Gothic churches in Central Europe and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

And rightfully so. With it’s spacious halls and detailed designs, it’s a place that people of all religions can appreciate.

After a day of checking out historic sights (and chocolate), Hailey and I decided to end our day by doing something a bit more quirky- bobsledding!

Turns out, there is a small amusement park with a bobsledding course at just the edge of town. You get to go on two courses that takes you through the woods and gives you a view of the town for a cheap price. Not to mention, the chance to act like a kid for 15 minutes :) 

After, we grabbed some drinks and sat on a patio to simply relax and enjoy the warm weather.

Unfortunately, I killed a bit of the tranquil vibe when I realized that our train to get back to Prague was not just around the corner, but rather a 30+ minute walk across town. Cue fast-paced walking and illegal (?) jaywalking to make it to the correct train station in time. Luckily, our train ended up being 5 minutes late, so we were able to make it on time.

Overall, Kutná Hora was a great place to explore without an overkill of tourists. I got my fill of creepy bones, chocolate, and bobsledding all in one day :)