Sedlec Ossuary

Sedlec Church is a small Roman Catholic chapel located in Sedlec, a suburb in the city of Kutna Hora in Czech Republic.  This chapel has a few names such as Sedlec Ossuary, The Church of Bones or Bone Church, named after the awe-inspiring architecture found inside what appears to be an ordinary church.  Sedlec Ossuary is ornately decorated with between 40,000 and 70,000 human skeletons (“The Church of Bones”). The walls, ceiling and floors are decorated with bones; the most fascinating piece being the chandelier that includes at least one of every bone from the human body.  Another extremely unique piece of work includes the coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family that is also made from human bones (“The Church of Bones”).

                Sedlec used to be part of Bohemia, and in 1278 the King of Bohemia sent the abbot of the Sedlec Monastery to Jerusalem.  Here he collected some soil from Golgotha, known as “Holy soil”, and brought it back to Sedlec to be spread across the cemetery located just outside of the church (“The Church of Bones”).  This was such an attraction that soon the cemetery had to be expanded, and in the 15^th century a gothic church was built and an ossuary was created in the basement.  Eventually the graves were exhumed, and the bones were kept in the ossuary until 1870 when a woodcarver by the name of Frantisek Rint was hired to display the bones.  The result was what we see today, an impressive display in the Church of Bones. 

                The Schwarzenberg family, whose coat of arms can be seen in the Sedlec Ossuary, are the ones who hired Frantisek Rint to organize the bones.  This is a unique piece of art, with many exciting details on it.  Adolf zu Schwarzenberg modified the coat of arms after the conquest of Raab from the Turks to include the head of a Turk, with his eyes being pecked out by a raven (Hamad).  According to some sources, the Schwarzenberg family had a hatred for Muslims, and it was rumored that some of the bones used to create the coat of arms were those of murdered Muslims (Windsor Star).  This is represented on the bottom corner of the coat of arms, with a skull representing the Turk, and a raven impressively made out of bones, pecking his eyes out.  The Schwarzenberg family is a prominent name in Czech Republic even today and is recognized as one of the oldest and wealthiest family names in Europe; being traced back through the centuries to 1172 (Hamad).  The famous Schwarzenberg coat of arms has historical value and importance and is an important part of the Sedlec Ossuary.  It is recognized and appreciated by many tourists, and can be admired for its ornate detailing. 

                These displays of bones have been very controversial over the centuries, as well as a large tourist attraction.  The concept of decorating a church with human skeletons is either very interesting or very grotesque, but nonetheless attracts the attention of many curious visitors. This type of decorative ossuary is not just prominent in Czech Republic, but can also be seen in various places across Europe.  Some more famous ossuaries include Santa Maria della Concezione in Rome, Capela dos Ossos, in Portugal and Chapel of Skulls in Czermna, Poland.  These are just a few examples of the ossuaries that were constructed around the same time.  With growing populations and the spread of diseases, ossuaries became more prominent due to lack of space.   During the Black Death in the mid-14th century, and after the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century in Bohemia, many thousands of people were in need of cemeteries, and so something had to be done (Connolly 46). After the bones had been exhumed, it was common for them to be stored in piles in these ossuaries until someone had the time and the money to put them on decorative displays. 

                Ossuaries have raised much controversy, with people continuously questioning the decision to put human remains on display.  Questions have been raised such as would the dead really approve being put on display if they had a choice before dying, and they are very valid.  How would the dead have felt about this if they knew beforehand what was going to happen to them?  Why did the Schwarzenbergs commission this display of bones? How would the dead feel about contributing a part of their body to an important family’s coat of arms?