Monday, January 28, 2013

Seddlec Ossuary-Bone Church


 Seddlec Ossuary also known as the Bone Church or Church of Bones may seem like a regular Chapel from the outside but its inside will surprise anyone. It is located in the Czech Republic in the suburbs of Kutna Hora. It is decorated with over 40,000 human skeletons. It dates back to 1278 when the King of Bohemia sent the abbot of the Sedlec Cistercian Monastery to Jerusalem. When he returned he brought a jar of soil from the Golgothan. It was considered holy soil. Shortly after people from all over the world requested to be buried in Sedlec. Soon the Cementary had to be expanded. In the 15th Century a Gothic Church was built near the cementery. The bones remained there for centuries until artist Frantisek Rint was appointed to redecorate. He decided to  use them for chandeliers, wall mounts, columns, and altars. It is considered one of the top places to see and although it might sound like a macabre place it manages to attract tourist from all over the world year round. Critics today consider it a form of Conceptual art because of the story behind it. A sort of play on faith, hope and death. 40,000 people once wished to be buried there for its holiness and centuries later they make part of art and history without having any say so in it.









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