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Bone Church Artistry in the Czech Republic

I couldn’t think of a more appropriate Halloween post this year than our visit to the macabre Church of Bones or Bone Church at the Kostnice Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic. Located an hour from Prague, this was definitely one of the most memorable and unique places we have visited. 

Sedlec Ossuary skeleton entrance

The 40,000 human skeletons arranged in decorative fashion were a sight to behold and quite fascinating. Bones were everywhere!

The ossuary is on an underground area past the cemetery and the Gothic church of All Saints. You never would have expected what lies beyond this graveyard.

Bone Church Church of All Saints

History of the Church of Bones

So, how did all these skeletons get here? The King of Bohemia sent the Sedlec Cistercian Monastery Abbot(Henry) to Jerusalem in 1278.  

The abbot brought back a jar of “holy soil” from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the area thought to be where Jesus was crucified at Golgotha. They scattered the soil over the cemetery. Word spread across Bohemia and surrounding countries and many wanted to be buried in the Sedlec cemetery.

Church of Bones skulls

Many came here before their deaths during the European plague epidemics in the 14th century. This quickly amounted to 30,000 people buried here. They buried another 10,000 people here during the Hussite Wars in the 1400s.

Creating the Sedlec Ossuary

Ossuaries were sites usually used to store skeletal remains when burial space was scarce. Sedlec Ossuary was created in the basement of the Gothic church in the 15th century.

Legend has it that a half-blind monk arranged the bones and skulls into the six pyramids and supposedly got his eyesight back after this task.

Bone church with kids

The bones remained in the ossuary for over 300 years until 1870. Frantisek Rindt ,a local woodcarver, arranged all the bones.

But, the governing body most likely didn’t expect such an artistic arrangement and spectacle. He made his mark with this bone signature found at the bottom of the staircase.

Rint Bone Church

Going inside the Sedlec Ossuary

The ossuary wasn’t as big as I expected. Looking from the entrance, this was most of the room.

Sedlec ossuary Bone Church

The Bone Church had a vast array of decorations that more than made up for its small space. This impressive arrangement over the arch greeted us.

Church of Bones entrance

This was on the wall by the ticket counter.

Bone church decoration

We also found small niches with bone accessories like this below.

bone church decorations

You can’t miss the chilling but fascinating artwork that was hung at the center of the Bone Church.

Sedlec ossuary Bone church chandelier

Chandelier of Bones

Rint built the chandelier of bones from almost every bone in the human body. He disinfected and bleached the thousands of bones he used with chlorinated lime giving them a somewhat uniform look. I hope he had some help because it just seemed so tedious.

Bone Church chandelier details

Small angel sculptures were added to enhance or add some color to it. Essentially, you can look at this chandelier as one whole person.

Bone church chandelier sedlec

It really was an incredible item and these pictures don’t do it justice. One can’t help but admire Rint’s imagination and creativity in creating this one of a kind masterpiece.

Bone church chandelier

The Bone Pyramid

These were the skulls of warriors from the Hussite wars who died from swords and arrows among other things. It was interesting to see the holes and impressions on their skulls.

Hussite warrior skulls bone church


The six large bone pyramids that started this all were behind fences. The bones seemed endless as they were stacked from top to bottom and deep inside the pit. 

The wooden carved crowns on top of the pyramids were supposed to represent Jesus’ triumph. After all, this was a Roman Catholic church.

Bone Church decorations

Family Crest in Bones

The Schwarzenberg family bought the abbey property at some point. This impressive family crest or coat of arms in human bones was created by Rint in their honor. Can you see the raven pecking at the severed head of a Turk?

Schwarzenberg family crest bone church

Most parts of the ossuary were decorated in some form or another. There were garlands of bones hanging in many places.

Church of Bones decorations

We saw many people spent a short time here and this seemed to be a quick stop for bus tours to Kutna Hora. Even though it’s not very big, take some time to explore the nooks and crannies of the ossuary.

Luckily, there weren’t that many people during our visit so we didn’t have to fight for floor space. We were surprised at some of the details that made us admire and really appreciate the amount of work put into this place.

Bone church candle holder

Visiting the Church of Bones with Kids

I was a little worried bringing my kids here but my husband and I really wanted to see this place. They saw pictures beforehand but it was nothing compared to seeing these many skulls in person.

We figured they can take a peek and always stay outside if issues arise. Their first reactions were “cool” and “neat” with my then 7-year old son questioning the authenticity of the skulls.

Bone Church with kids

After she saw everything for about five minutes, my ten-year-old daughter wanted to get out. My son, on the other hand, didn’t have any issues posing next to skeletons with a smile. 

My daughter was uncomfortable, didn’t like the smell and she felt like all the skulls were looking at her. Well, she had a bit of point.

I didn’t smell anything noticeable beyond that old church smell. So, she went outside by the ticket area followed by her brother for some company. Fortunately, no nightmares followed our visit here.

Church of Bones with kids

A Sacred Place

The whimsy feel in some of the decorations made it easy to forget that this was also a sacred resting place that deserved respect. I felt a bit uncomfortable not because of all the skulls here but felt more like I was invading a graveyard.

Would I be okay letting people use my skeletal remains as decorations for many to see? Whichever way you answer this question may dictate how you view a visit to the Bone Church. My answer to this question was…I’d be fine being propped up in a respectful way like this. How about you?

Church of Bones Sedlec Ossuary

Though it may look like a backdrop from a horror movie, there was also a bizarre sense of peacefulness here. I struggled with a mixture of feeling uneasy, creepy and in awe.

But, we don’t regret visiting or taking the kids here. We can definitely say it was quite an experience. Thy arranged this church beautifully and well worth the day trip from Prague.

Tips for visiting Sedlec Ossuary Bone Church

  • Getting there:  We took the train from Prague to Kutna hora Hlavni Nadrazi (h.ln) train station which was an hour away. The ossuary was walkable for about 15 minutes on a busy road. But, we took a small local train to Sedlec and it was a short walk from there with plenty of signs pointing us to the right place.
  • Admission Price: Adults 90 Czech Koronas($5 US); Children 60 CK ($3US), Photo fee additional 30 CK ($1.60 US). Get the ticket combo with 1-3 other attractions in Kutna Hora that included two UNESCO sites like the Cathedral of Our Lady (which was down the street) and St. Barbara Cathedral (absolutely stunning and one we highly recommend visiting) and the Jesuit College. We did the 3-combo tour and paid 160 CK ($8.50 US) and 110 CK ($6 US) for kids.
  • Audio guides were available but each ticket came with a handout (available in various languages) with the history and some explanation of the church.
  • Do not miss the charming town of Kutna Hora. We took the bus from the ossuary to the town center which was about 15 minutes. There’s a visitor’s center near the ossuary and they told us which bus to take and departure times. Taxis were also available.
  • There are also many day trip tours from Prague to Kutna Hora with a stop here. Check with your hotel concierge for any discounts.
  • Bringing kids – you know your kids’ tolerance and sensitivity for these things. My kids tend to like some scary movies but are also a bit older. Even then, my daughter only lasted a few minutes. I have a sensitive 4 -year-old niece who I would never have brought here if she was traveling with us.
  • Check the departure times of trains going back to Prague. Many only come once an hour and be sure to go on the express ones.

*Have you visited the Bone Church or similar places? 

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Church of Bones Czech Republic

38 thoughts on “Bone Church Artistry in the Czech Republic”

  1. How eerie. I am not sure how long I would last either! Though I think it is a fitting memorial for the plague and gives us a sense, hundreds of years later, of the death toll. Interesting post!

  2. Fascinating and completely creepy at the same time! There’s not a chance that I would ever have been able to get Emma inside – your daughter is brave for having ventured in for even a few minutes!

    1. All the amazing things he did with the bones makes you almost forget the creepiness. I was actually surprised my son was fine since he’s usually the one with zombie nightmares. Maybe when Emma gets older you can see this church :)

  3. You’re right about this being the perfect post for Halloween.I’m more fascinated than anything with the sheer number of bones and the fact that someone can take human bones and make them into artpieces that are extraordinary.

  4. Lance | Trips By Lance

    I think our 7-year-old son would like this, but I’m not sure. I can see where your daughter would want to leave after five minutes. I honestly think my wife would too.

    1. I think if your son likes some scary movies he may not mind. My son was fine and he was the one I was worried about. Once you’re in here and you’re looking around with all these other people surrounding you, it doesn’t seem so bad.

  5. No kidding on a fantastic post for Halloween, Mary! My jaw dropped and my eyes were as big as golf balls looking at all of the pictures. I love posts that give a fantastic history too! That picture of your son with all of the skulls stacked up behind him was stunning. Amazing post! :)

  6. A perfect Halloween post, Mary. Wow! I’ve heard of this church, and maybe seen a photo or two, but never been given this much of a virtual tour. It’s totally fascinating. I’ll really try to get there seometime.

  7. The perfect place for Halloween! I really wish I had known about this when I visited Prague – I love stuff like this. However, I’ve discovered somewhere very similar in Rome called Capuchin Crypt where I’ll be going tomorrow!

    1. They probably have special tours during Halloween. I hope you get to go back to Prague and go here. I know you’ll enjoy it. I can’t wait to see pictures and post about that crypt. Have a great trip, Shing.

  8. What an incredible place to visit but I have to admit, I am a little freaked out by all of those bones! It’s hard to fathom just how many peoples’ remains are here … the thousands and thousands sculpted into all kinds of shapes and designs! I bet it was an eerie experience to say the least. Thanks for this most perfect Halloween post!

  9. Hi Mary, Happy Halloween! You succeeded in spooking me today! I haven’t heard about this place. It’s rather eerie I guess because there were too many skeletons.But I can appreciate the artistry in which they arranged all the bones. Would I want my bones displayed like this. I guess so. I think it would be more useful if it can entertain some people rather than being buried six foot under:)
    Can’t blame your daughter for feeling uncomfortable. But your little guys is such a trooper.

  10. I went there a few months ago and did a post about it. I live only 3 hours away from Kutna Hora and I was really excited about this trip. We also went to this amazing midieval restaurant in Kutna Hora! The food was amazing which surprised me.

  11. This is a very well-timed post, both for Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. This reminds me of my family’s visit to the Paris Catacombs, although the arrangements at Sedlec are much more artistic. I just showed my daughter your post, and she ran off to show me Seldec’s mention in the National Geographic Kids Ultimate Weird but True book.

  12. The right person Rindt, got this job. Clearly, he was a very talented person who could see and create beauty even from the macabre. His carved work must have been quite spectacular.

  13. Ossified “republic” :-). We are CZECHIA. CZECHIA is an official name of the country, included in UN List (The name was registered by the United Nations and included in UNGEGN World Geographical Names). Thus, call our country Czechia, please. Our country has more than 1200 years old history and only very small part of it is
    the history of republican system. Leave that cold and clumsy formal name Czech Republic for politics. Czechia is a geographical name, which is independent
    on time and state-political changes in the country, thus, it can be used for our country both in historical and contemporary context. https://cz.pinterest.com/pin/238901955211877529/

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