The Sedlec Ossuary is a small Roman Catholic chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. The ossuary contains approximately 40,000-70,000 human skeletons which have been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel.Henry, the abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Sedlec, was sent to the Holy Land by King Otakar II of Bohemia in 1278. When he returned, he brought with him a small amount of earth he had removed from Golgotha and sprinkled it over the abbey cemetery. The word of this pious act soon spread and the cemetery in Sedlec became a desirable burial site throughout Central Europe. During the Black Death in the mid 14th century, and after the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century, many thousands of people were buried there and the cemetery had to be greatly enlarged.
Around 1400 a Gothic church was built in the center of the cemetery with a vaulted upper level and a lower chapel to be used as an ossuary for the mass graves unearthed during construction, or simply slated for abolition to make room for new burials. After 1511 the task of exhuming skeletons and stacking their bones in the chapel was, according to legend, given to a half-blind monk of the order.
Between 1703 and 1710 a new entrance was constructed to support the front wall, which was leaning outward, and the upper chapel was rebuilt. This work, in the Czech Baroque style, was designed by Jan Santini Aichel.
In 1870, František Rint, a woodcarver, was employed by the Schwarzenberg family to put the bone heaps into order. The macabre result of his effort speaks for itself. Four enormous bell-shaped mounds occupy the corners of the chapel. An enormous chandelier of bones, which contains at least one of every bone in the human body, hangs from the center of the nave with garlands of skulls draping the vaults. Other works include piers and monstrances flanking the altar, a large Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms, and the signature of Master Rint, also executed in bone, on the wall near the entrance.
beautifully stunning.
Morbidly striking, indeed. And quite Metal, hehe! Seriously, the guy must have had lots of spare time… but thinking of the origins of this ossuary, and the origin of the bones, all this just makes it more interesting.
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[...] I don’t have pictures. So when I saw this article on io9.com about ossuaries I went picture hunting again. I think I’ll have to go back again sometime (and to a few of the others in the io9.com [...]
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[...] here. There are some great photos by a photographer and blogger who goes by ‘Sterf’ here. I noticed Sterf sometimes blogs in haiku so he must be a pretty cool guy. In which case, I [...]
[...] by- Sterf Visit to see more strange and beutiful [...]
I love these photographs of Sedlec Ossuary. Could I purchase any of them?
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[...] by sterf Filed Under: Eye Candy Tagged With: bones , cemetery , photograph , sedlec ossuary , sterf Tweet Hier klicken, um die Antwort abzubrechen. [...]
hey do you know sedlec ossuary
i have been in sedlec ossuary it is a spooky place to be
uhmm
k interesante ahi millones de huesos
aka en peru tambien ahi una iglesia i en su base
ahi miles de huesos y es bine loko entrar a ver la sivilisacion pasada
y sus formas de matar me gusta los misterioz de grande viajare x todo el mundo
a conoses maz de su civilisacion SI AHI GENTE SE APUNTA MI CEL ES 992971693 SOI DE PERU MI CEL Y MI MSN EL_ATREVIDO450@HOTMAIL.COM
AtT: DENIZ SULCA MAMA DE PERU LIMA
¡QUÉ MAGNÍFICA OBRA DE ARTE!
EN MI VIDA HE VISTO ALGO MÁS ESCALOFRIANTE QUE ESTO.
ESTOY IMPRESIONADO.
CON QUE FRIALDAD EL ARTISTA TRABAJÓ EN ESTE OSARIO. MACABRA EXPOSICIÓN.
LA IGLESIA CATÓLICA, NO DEJA DE SORPRENDER CON SUS ATREVIMIENTOS AL SER HUMANO (AUNQUE ESTÉ MUERTO).
BUEN VIAJE, POR EL MUNDO DE LOS MUERTOS.
ASÍ SEA.
Em outubro de 2010 fui para Republica Checa , lindo demais… de Praga peguei um trem e em 1h estava
em Kutná Hora – Sedlee , fui na capela é imprescionante a arte feita com ossos humanos, é um lugar
que vocêr para para refletir e não consegue uma resposta.
Thanks for your photos. I will use them for presentation on English Lesson in Russia. (=
[...] http://www.sterf.be/photos/sedlec-ossuary [...]
Macabrely precious… more than beautiful!