No Bones About It...

As many of you already know, Prague wasn't our only stop in the Czech Republic over Easter weekend... We also visited a very small town called Sedlec during our trip... And, boy, did that ever prove to be an interesting place!

First, a little background... Brian talked to a co-worker prior to us leaving for our trip to Prague and he was informed of this little town called Sedlec and one of the main tourist sites there. So, he decided that we should go. However, he chose not to tell me where we were going... He kept telling me that it was a "surprise", and I would just have to wait until we got there... Nice! :) So, for the next few days, I did everything I could to try to pry this "surprise location" out of him! I asked subtle questions about what the weather would be like there, how I should dress, etc. I went to the internet and tried searching "popular destinations near Prague" to see if I could figure it out. I tried tricking him into telling me the location! But, alas, I had no luck.

So, on Monday, as we left Prague to head to our "surprise" location, I was still completely in the dark as to where we were going. And, of course, Brian was no help at all... He kept telling me that he was selling me into slavery in Romania, and in doing so he would earn enough money to buy more camera equipment... Lovely! :) Well, we drove for about an hour until we reached this small town, which looked like it had been abandoned years ago... The buildings were rather shady looking and some were falling apart... There weren't many people out and about... In general, the place just had a creepy feel to it. And, that's exactly when Brian decided to tell me that we would be stopping there for our "surprise"... Seriously?! At that point I began to really question whether he was planning on selling me into slavery in Romania?! :)

After parking the car, we set out on foot and headed into the downtown area (Brian was searching for this "surprise" location). And, I have to say, once we got into the downtown area, I felt a little better about the whole thing... There was a small fair and Easter Market set up and tons of people were milling about... I actually got somewhat excited thinking that that was my "surprise" (you know me and my love for Christmas and Easter Markets around here! :))... In the end, it turned out that we had taken the wrong street and we had to backtrack to get back to our "surprise" location... So, no Easter Market for me that day...

We eventually made our way to this very medieval looking Gothic church, and that's when Brian stopped and told me that we'd reached my surprise... Now, this church didn't look all that spectacular from the outside... It was kind of small and definitely not very impressive looking. I remember looking at it and thinking to myself, "This is my surprise? Seriously?" :) Brian then informed me that we weren't there to see the outside... We were there to see the inside of the chapel... Apparently, the inside was pretty special... But, let me just say, based on the outside of the building, I wasn't expecting much from the inside. :) However, I was soon proved very wrong!!

You see, upon stepping into this church, I immediately knew that it was going to be completely different from any church I'd ever seen before! How did I know that, you ask?? Well, because, upon entry of the church, I noticed a variety of skulls and crossbones hanging across the archway leading into the church... Now, that's not something you typically find in many of the cathedrals/churches around here! :) After paying our entrance fee of $4 (yes, it only cost us $4 to get in!! I love how cheap the Czech Republic is!! :)), we entered the church... It was then that I started to get very creeped out!! As I stood in the center of the church, I was completely surrounded by human bones!! That was definitely not something I was expecting from my "surprise"! :)

Apparently, the church we were in is called Sedlec Ossuary (also known as the Church of Bones)and it is considered an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is considered to be a very unique church in that it is decorated with over 40,000 human skeletons!! That's correct... The entire place is decorated with human bones, arranged in very artistic designs. Initially, I was pretty creeped out by the whole situation... It took me a few minutes to make my way through the church... And, I found myself continuously cringing as I walked through and took in some of the displays...

However, as we started wandering around a little more, and really looked at some of the "artwork", the creepy feeling I had in the beginning, gradually wore off... I mean, some of the displays were pretty fascinating! After a while, I had to keep reminding myself that these were actual human bones and not just props. We actually spent quite a while in that little church, taking in all of the "artwork"... It was definitely something unlike I've ever seen before! Overall, my "surprise" location turned out to be a pretty unique and memorable place to visit! :) And I have my wonderful husband to thank for that! :)

If you're interested in learning more about the Sedlec Ossuary and it's very unique history, click here for more information.

The church in the background...

From the outside, it looked very unassuming... I definitely did not expect the inside to look the way it did!!

The city where the chapel is located...

Entering the chapel...

Please disregard the goofy expressions/smiles Brian and I have on our faces in the following pictures... We weren't quite sure how to act when it came to posing for the camera... Smiling seemed just a little too creepy, considering the circumstances... :)

The chandelier in the center of the church was made of different bone parts...

The little cherubs were all throughout the church...

In the four corners of the church, there are huge pyramids of bones... The bones are simply stacked on top of each other... There is no substance (i.e. glue/cement) holding them together...

The Coat of Arms for the Schwarzenberg Family...

Notice the bird is poking the eye of the skeleton? This depicts the Schwarzenberg family's defeat of the enemy in the war...

The church is very revered... Many people put change on the displays as a donation to the church... I have to say, that even though it's considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it is a tourist destination, it is a very highly respected place...

Some of the abandoned buildings around the chapel...

Another example of the remnants from the Communist era... A typical Communist style building...

As we were leaving the city, we noticed (again) the drastic differences in the skyline... You have the old, historical buildings with their beautiful architecture and then the buildings that were built during the Communist era... It's such a stark contrast...