August 9, 2013
August 9, 2013
Today we are going on an adventure taking a day trip into the Czech countryside. From the main station in Prague we catch the next train going the fifty miles east to Kutna Hora. During the Middle Ages, Kutna Hora was a very prominent and wealthy city in Bohemia because it was a major source of silver ore.
A short walk from the train station on the outskirts of town is the biggest tourist draw of Kutna Hora, the Sedlec Ossuary. It is in the basement chapel of the cemetery church of an old Cistercian Monastery. According to legend a small amount of soil was brought back from Golgotha in Jerusalem and was sprinkled on this cemetery making it a desirable burial site. Because of plague and war, many thousands were buried here. Eventually the graves were dug up and stored in this Ossuary. Later a demented woodcarver organized the bones. The basement is truly macabre, containing the bones of some 40-70 thousand skeletons. Besides four gigantic pyramid bone piles in each corner, the ceiling is decorated with a chandelier and long garlands, all made of bone segments. Bone decorations also adorn the walls. One is in the shape of a coat of arms. Based on what we saw the decorator had to be a member of the Addams Family.
From the Bone Church we walked over a mile into the old section of Kutna Hora. The Old Town is a smaller version of Prague, without the crowds. It definitely is a pleasure walking the narrow streets not dodging thousands of tourists taking photos. We pass through the Old Town square, see a monument to Plague victims, and then stop for a pint and a bowl of Garlic soup. On the complete opposite end of town is Kutna Hora's Old Town gem, Santa Barbara Cathedral. It is a Gothic medieval masterpiece with all its flying buttresses.
There are limited trains to Kutna Hora, so we cut short our visit and head to Kutna Hora City station. We pass one of the old silver mines along the way. They are just commencing a tour. Fortunately it is not of interest to us. We don't like caves. At the city station we take an eight minute local electric train back to the other Kutna Hora station saving us at least a mile of walking.
Back in Prague, it starts to rain. No problem, we are having dinner tonight at the hotel and it was great. I had Schnitzel and Aimee had Schweinebraten with potato dumplings.
Today we are going on an adventure taking a day trip into the Czech countryside. From the main station in Prague we catch the next train going the fifty miles east to Kutna Hora. During the Middle Ages, Kutna Hora was a very prominent and wealthy city in Bohemia because it was a major source of silver ore.
A short walk from the train station on the outskirts of town is the biggest tourist draw of Kutna Hora, the Sedlec Ossuary. It is in the basement chapel of the cemetery church of an old Cistercian Monastery. According to legend a small amount of soil was brought back from Golgotha in Jerusalem and was sprinkled on this cemetery making it a desirable burial site. Because of plague and war, many thousands were buried here. Eventually the graves were dug up and stored in this Ossuary. Later a demented woodcarver organized the bones. The basement is truly macabre, containing the bones of some 40-70 thousand skeletons. Besides four gigantic pyramid bone piles in each corner, the ceiling is decorated with a chandelier and long garlands, all made of bone segments. Bone decorations also adorn the walls. One is in the shape of a coat of arms. Based on what we saw the decorator had to be a member of the Addams Family.
From the Bone Church we walked over a mile into the old section of Kutna Hora. The Old Town is a smaller version of Prague, without the crowds. It definitely is a pleasure walking the narrow streets not dodging thousands of tourists taking photos. We pass through the Old Town square, see a monument to Plague victims, and then stop for a pint and a bowl of Garlic soup. On the complete opposite end of town is Kutna Hora's Old Town gem, Santa Barbara Cathedral. It is a Gothic medieval masterpiece with all its flying buttresses.There are limited trains to Kutna Hora, so we cut short our visit and head to Kutna Hora City station. We pass one of the old silver mines along the way. They are just commencing a tour. Fortunately it is not of interest to us. We don't like caves. At the city station we take an eight minute local electric train back to the other Kutna Hora station saving us at least a mile of walking.
Back in Prague, it starts to rain. No problem, we are having dinner tonight at the hotel and it was great. I had Schnitzel and Aimee had Schweinebraten with potato dumplings.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 12:38 PM
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