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Kutna Hora
THE CZECH REPUBLIC -
Kutná
Hora
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The now small town of Kutna Hora was once
second only in importance to Prague and made its wealth on silver mining
and minting coins from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century during which time the
impressive cathedral of St Barbara was built. Although we aren't
greatly keen on churches the interior of this cathedral is amazing and the
exterior roof with its three tent-like spires is so distinctive. We paid
the modest entrance fee and were given a guide sheet in English. We found
the beautiful large stained glass windows to be the most inspiring feature together with
ancient frescos depicting strange scenes, and statues and wall paintings of the silver miners.
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St Barbara cathedral
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St Barbara cathedral front
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miners statue, fresco detail and stained
glass window
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The rest of the town centre was a mix of
attractively restored buildings tucked away among many scruffy streets as
is usual in the new European countries. The terrace leading up to the
cathedral alongside the massive former Jesuit college was reminiscent of
Prague's Charles bridge with ornate statues and there was an
under-whelming
"stone fountain" with just four small trickling water spouts.
There is a large ornate "Plague Column" celebrating the end of
the Great Plague in 1713. Down
another unpromising lane we found a delightfully
decorated building and
doorway (with the unassuming description of House No.521, Rochacova St.) and the tourist office have done an excellent job in signposting
the town's attractions.
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Kutna Hora Plague column
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House No. 521, Rohacova St.
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Kutna Hora stone fountain
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Kutna Hora terrace and statues
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The other must see sight in
Kutna Hora is the Ossuary in the suburb of Sedlec to the east of the town
centre. It is located down a side road (signposted) opposite the
Cistercian monastery which is now part of a huge Philip Morris tobacco
factory! The crypt under the Baroque style cemetery chapel contains an
estimated 40,000 human skeletons as it was believed that some earth from
the crucifixion site in Jerusalem was taken there and it was the desirable
last resting place for many important and religious people. In the
nineteenth century it was so full that a woodcarver, Frantisek Rint, was
asked to create a decorative solution and the result is an amazing display
of artifacts including a coat of arms, a chalice, altars and a huge
chandelier made using all the bones from a human skeleton. For a modest
entrance fee we were given a guide sheet in English but it was just too
bewildering to take in. We only stayed in there about fifteen minutes - it
was quite dark and musty and a couple of visitors wouldn't even go
inside.
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Outside the ossuary we chatted with a motorcyclist (the first English
person we had met in over two weeks). He was touring solo around Eastern
Europe and Russia then heading to the Nord Cap, which made our mini
adventure a bit feeble. We wished him well on his travels and then we
headed to South Bohemia.
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