Today I took my first solo trip by train. I was a bit nervous because it was my first time taking the train in CZ. I had everything written down and the trip there went smoothly. Kutna Hora is about 60km SE of Prague. I decided to go there this weekend because my students recommended it. It used to be a famous silver mining town, these days it is popular because it’s a belongs to Unesco’s World Heritage Sights.
The main train station is a few miles from the middle of the town, however near the main station is the really interesting Kostnice Sedlec Ossuary. My students told me about this ossuary and I was shocked when they described it. It really is one of those things you have to see to believe. The monastery has been around since 1142, but when the plague struck the bones began to pile up. In the late 1800s a local woodcarver got creative with the bones- which were about 40,000 people. Garlands of skulls and femurs are strung from the celing-there is even a chandelier made of bones and skulls. Surprisingly it wasn’t at all eerie, just kinda like a normal church with a lot of bones… As I was leaving the ossuary I noticed 3 Japanese girls going in. I told myself that if I ran into them again I would strike up a conversation.
I walked the rest of the way into the town which was pretty empty. After lunch in what was probably the only open restaurant in town I headed on the walking tour lonely plannet suggested. While in the Italian Court I noticed the Japanese girls again, so I figured, what the heck! And started talking to them in Japanese. They were shocked, of course and asked where I was from. They assumed I was Czech (I’ve been getting that a lot! And it sucks). Two of the girls were friends, and the other one joined somewhere along the way. So, I joined them for the rest of the day. We spoke in Japanese the entired time, and I didn’t suck too badly for not speaking in Japanese for several months.
The main attraction in Kutna Hora is the Gothic Cathedral of St Barbara. I’d seen pictures, but it was nothing compared to the real thing, it’s really beautiful. Even my pictures don’t do justice. It’s dedicated to the patron of saint of miners and is considered one of the finest Gothic churches in Europe. Work starte in 1380 and finished in the late 19th century.
The rest of the walk was rather uneventful. It was pretty cold out and windy so we went into a nice little café for some coffee and cake. We had time to kill, and no stores were open so we walked back to the main train station; plus we figured we should walk off the cake and it would help keep us warm. We go there just in the nick of time, cuz it started raining pretty hard once we’d arrived.
The main train station is a few miles from the middle of the town, however near the main station is the really interesting Kostnice Sedlec Ossuary. My students told me about this ossuary and I was shocked when they described it. It really is one of those things you have to see to believe. The monastery has been around since 1142, but when the plague struck the bones began to pile up. In the late 1800s a local woodcarver got creative with the bones- which were about 40,000 people. Garlands of skulls and femurs are strung from the celing-there is even a chandelier made of bones and skulls. Surprisingly it wasn’t at all eerie, just kinda like a normal church with a lot of bones… As I was leaving the ossuary I noticed 3 Japanese girls going in. I told myself that if I ran into them again I would strike up a conversation.
Kostinice Sedlec Ossuary
I walked the rest of the way into the town which was pretty empty. After lunch in what was probably the only open restaurant in town I headed on the walking tour lonely plannet suggested. While in the Italian Court I noticed the Japanese girls again, so I figured, what the heck! And started talking to them in Japanese. They were shocked, of course and asked where I was from. They assumed I was Czech (I’ve been getting that a lot! And it sucks). Two of the girls were friends, and the other one joined somewhere along the way. So, I joined them for the rest of the day. We spoke in Japanese the entired time, and I didn’t suck too badly for not speaking in Japanese for several months.
The main attraction in Kutna Hora is the Gothic Cathedral of St Barbara. I’d seen pictures, but it was nothing compared to the real thing, it’s really beautiful. Even my pictures don’t do justice. It’s dedicated to the patron of saint of miners and is considered one of the finest Gothic churches in Europe. Work starte in 1380 and finished in the late 19th century.
The rest of the walk was rather uneventful. It was pretty cold out and windy so we went into a nice little café for some coffee and cake. We had time to kill, and no stores were open so we walked back to the main train station; plus we figured we should walk off the cake and it would help keep us warm. We go there just in the nick of time, cuz it started raining pretty hard once we’d arrived.
Meeting my Japanese friends in the Italian Court
Church of St.James
13 Baroque Statues of Saints
View of Kutna Hora
Cathedral of St. Barbara
The Stone House
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