Kutna Hora

Saint Barbara's Cathedral

On Thursday, the weather in Prague was terrible. It stormed and poured all day long. So I decided to go away for the day to discover Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora is a town about an hour's train ride outside of Prague and is the home to three beautiful churches as well as a medieval silver mine, which is the whole reason the town is there. The main reason I went was for the Bone Church or the Sedlec Ossuary. Basically, the whole lower level of the church is a mass grave for over 40,000 people that died during the Hussite War or from the plague. I've seen videos and pictures of the church before and I was surprised by how small it actually was. I thought it was incredible that so many bones could be fit into such a small area. I'm so glad that I got the chance to go.

Bone chandelier at the Sedlec Ossuary

After that I headed over to the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. It's literally right across the street. I loved the clean lines and subtle yellow color of the walls inside this church. It's over 700 years old but it didn't feel like it. Inside is a spiral staircase that was revolutionary for the time because it was built without a pillar in the middle. After walking through the incredibly creepy attic of the church by myself, I ended up in the choir loft. I was the only one up there so I couldn't help but sing a little bit. I have to say, the acoustics are absolutely amazing! I'd love the opportunity to sing there or at least hear a choir sing there.

My final church of the day was Saint Barbara's Cathedral. It's about an hour walk from the first two churches. You can take a taxi, bus, or the local town train but I decided to walk. Unfortunately, it started to rain on my way there but I had my umbrella and coat so it wasn't too awful and didn't last too long. Thank God I'm from the Kettle Moraine area in Wisconsin because I don't know if I would have made it up the hill to the church if I wasn't already used to climbing ridiculous hills. I also ended up taking the incredibly scenic route to the church after getting a little lost and wandering through a really cute neighborhood, past a beautiful stream, and eventually up a dirt path. The church itself was pretty cool. The frescos within it were really cool but the organ cover was my favorite. It was just beautiful and ornate and HUGE! The church itself was actually designed and built by the son of the architect who built St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle (I have a post with a picture of it).

View from the choir loft at the Church of the Assumption

While in Kutna Hora, I had the best trout I've ever had. The dish I chose was at a local restaurant. It was butter grilled trout with potatoes and fresh vegetables and I also ordered a beer. It was so incredibly good. And it was the perfect meal after having walked around all day. 

I left the restaurant around 3:00 and ended up at the train station around 4:00, my train didn't leave until 6 though. There really wasn't much else to do in an hour/hour and a half, anything else would have taken more time and it also started pouring. So I was happy just to sit and relax at the train station (even though it was really cold). When I got back to the hostel, I ate a burrito I bought from a street food booth and just passed out for the night. It was a great day and definitely worth the trip!

Xoxo,

Jackey