In the 14th century, Kutná Hora, 60km southeast of Prague, rivalled the capital in importance because of its rich deposits of silver ore. The ore ran out in 1726, leaving the medieval townscape largely unaltered. Now with several fascinating and unusual historical attractions, the Unesco World Heritage–listed town is a popular day trip from Prague.
Interestingly, most visitors come not for the silver splendour but rather to see an eerie monastery, dating from the 19th century, with an interior crafted solely from human bones. Indeed, the remarkable Sedlec Ossuary(Kostnice ; www.ossuary.eu;), or better ‘bone church’, features the remains of no fewer than 40,000 people who died over the years from wars and pestilence.
Closer to the centre of Kutná Hora is the town’s greatest monument: the Gothic Cathedral of St Barbara (Chrám sv Barbora www.khfarnost.cz ). Rivalling Prague’s St Vitus in size and magnificence, its soaring nave culminates in elegant, six-petalled ribbed vaulting, and the ambulatory chapels preserve original 15th-century frescoes. Other leading attractions include the Hrádek (České muzeum stříbra;www.cms-kh.cz;) from the 15th century, which now houses the Czech Silver Museum.
Kutná Hora can be reached from Prague by either bus (68Kč, 1¾ hours) or train (101Kč, one hour). The bus station is located on the Old Town's northeastern edge, which is convenient to the central sites, but 3km from the ossuary. Kutná Hora’s main train station, by contrast, is just 800m from the ossuary, but 3km from the Old Town.
Interestingly, most visitors come not for the silver splendour but rather to see an eerie monastery, dating from the 19th century, with an interior crafted solely from human bones. Indeed, the remarkable Sedlec Ossuary(Kostnice ; www.ossuary.eu;), or better ‘bone church’, features the remains of no fewer than 40,000 people who died over the years from wars and pestilence.
Closer to the centre of Kutná Hora is the town’s greatest monument: the Gothic Cathedral of St Barbara (Chrám sv Barbora www.khfarnost.cz ). Rivalling Prague’s St Vitus in size and magnificence, its soaring nave culminates in elegant, six-petalled ribbed vaulting, and the ambulatory chapels preserve original 15th-century frescoes. Other leading attractions include the Hrádek (České muzeum stříbra;www.cms-kh.cz;) from the 15th century, which now houses the Czech Silver Museum.
Kutná Hora can be reached from Prague by either bus (68Kč, 1¾ hours) or train (101Kč, one hour). The bus station is located on the Old Town's northeastern edge, which is convenient to the central sites, but 3km from the ossuary. Kutná Hora’s main train station, by contrast, is just 800m from the ossuary, but 3km from the Old Town.
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