McKenzie Harris
September 30th, 2023
On Sunday, we woke to the first fall chill of the season. It was as if the wind knew we were going to the perfect autumn destination: Kutná Hora, a town perched on a hill, crowned by an imposing gothic cathedral, and best known for an ossuary decorated with bones.
Kutná Hora is a town of around 20,000 people located an hour’s train ride east of Prague. It originally rose to prosperity in the 1300s, because it was home to a silver mine. Its most famous historical sites also date back to the medieval time period, including St. Barbara’s Cathedral and Sedlec Ossuary. I could tell, during the long walks through the town, that the architectural feats were more than just beautiful; they were rooted in a history much deeper than my own.
We arrived in Kutná Hora around 11 am, with 10 hours to spend as we wished. Our abundance of time allowed us to move slowly—to wander in any direction we felt pulled—and as a result, the whole day had a relaxing and explorative feeling that made the trip so enjoyable. Because of the perfect weather (sunny with some stormy clouds rolling over, and warm with a chill), we walked almost everywhere. In fact, my friend’s apple watch clocked us at 8 miles total!
For the rest of this entry, I’ll let the pictures tell the story of our trip:
^spot the 3 west coast license plates on the wall of the coffee shop we went to for breakfast!^
^we started with the statue-guarded walkway to St. Barbara’s Cathedral^
^Megan, Cierra, and Grace^
^the view of the terraced hillside from the statue walkway^
^St. Barbara’s Cathedral looks good from any angle^
^This was taken moments after I took the picture above this one^
foreshadowing for our later trip to the Bone Church^
^somehow this tree in front of the cathedral reminds me of something out of Lord of the Rings^
^the garden in front of St. Barbara’s^
^the top of the hill was covered in lawns and flowerbeds, with some sculptures^
^and some other cool buildings^
pictures from our walk to the next cathedral^
^Church of the Assumption at Sedlec^
The next stop was the Bone Church (Sedlec Ossuary), but pictures were not allowed.
^a graveyard wrapped around the outside of the bone church, and just beyond the walls was a playground–we all thought it was an interesting contrast^
^a combination of buses and walking got us back to the main town center^
Having previously seen an overgrown cobblestone path leading down the hill from St Barbara’s, we decided to follow it. The following pictures are what we found…
^cat #1!^
^As the night got darker and clouds rolled in, St. Barbara’s Cathedral took on an imposing and dark fantasy-esque appearance^
^left to right: Todd, Cierra, Grace, Megan, me (pc: Cindy)^
^these are the terraces we could see from the cathedral!^
^cat #3!^
We ended the night with dinner at an Italian restaurant, took the train home, and slept very soundly.