Known as the ‘Bone Church’, Sedlec Ossuary is a magnificent example of memento mori located in Kutná Hora, which is just a short train journey from the centre of Prague. The remarkable church holds the remains of 40,000 – 70,000 people whose bones festoon each and every inch of this small Gothic church, creating one of the World’s most macabre displays of art.

But how did thousands of bones end up in this unique location? Well, it all started when the Cistercian abbot of the monastery, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and brought back a jar of earth from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. When he arrived home in Kutná Hora he poured the earth over the Sedlec cemetery which caused it to become a highly desired place to be buried due to its ‘Holy Soil’.

During the 14th century the ‘Black death’ claimed the lives of nearly 30,000 victims who were then buried at Sedlec. The Hussite Wars that happened in the early 15th century also added around 10,000 more casualties to the site. Eventually they ran out of room for burials which sparked the idea of creating the ossuary.

In 1511, the task of assembling the bones was given to a half-blind monk who began collecting the remains from the graves to create decorative ornaments. The master architect Jan Santini Blazej-Aichel renovated the chapel in his famous Baroque Gothic style and later in 1784 the Schwarzenberg’s, who were one of the most prominent European noble houses, bought the ossuary and had the inspiration to organise the cadavers into their various artistic forms. It was in 1870 when the local woodcarver, Frantisek Rindt, was tasked with bleaching and rearranging the skeletons, artfully decorating the holy space as we see it today.

One of the key pieces is the breath-taking four poster skull tower with the tremendous chandelier above it. This is certainly one of the main features of the chapel; created from at least one of every single bone in the human body! From this you will find garlands of skulls and femurs hanging from the ceiling forming one of the most remarkable displays of dark art I have ever witnessed. The angelic cherubs which sit at the top of the pillars even have skulls resting on their knees, whilst candles glow from grinning skulls gazing down upon you.

No matter which direction you look, you are surrounded by ornate bones producing differing formations including the gigantic stacked pyramids in the corners of the space, which are truly quite staggering in size. If you examine them closely you can even see coins which have been put in some of the eyeball sockets of the skulls.

One of my favourite pieces was the Schwarzenberg coat of arms which showcases a raven made of tiny bones pecking at a severed head. Along with the two impressive monstrances which adorn the sides of the altar. The peaceful chapel is a transcendental place which evokes many different emotions, whilst it also acts as an important reminder of the impermanence of life and inescapability of death.

Please note that photography is not allowed within the ossuary and I was given special permission outside of their regular opening hours to take photographs.