According to the records a church and burial ground existed at Sedlec from about the 12th c. In the 13th c, the Abbot visited the holy land and is said to have bought back a handful of soil from the grave of the Lord in Jeusalem, this soil he scattered in the grave yard of the church. The earth in the cemetery therefore became part of the Holy Land and in consequence everyone wished to be buried there. By the year 1318, following an outbreak of the plague, it is recorded that 30,000 people had been buried in the graveyard, with huge numbers following in 1421 after the Hussite wars. This obviously created a huge problem, there was just not enough room. In view of this bones were dug up and graves re-used, the bones being stacked around the outside of the Ossuary, eventually, they were stacked in the lower chamber of the church.
In 1511, a half blind monk started to pile up the bones in pyramids, and this was the start of what we have today, the Ossuary decorated with bones...The Church of Bones.
It is believed that the bones from upwards of 40,000 bodies are currently stacked in the church or used in decoration. I is supposed to be good luck to leave money, buying yourway to heaven.
This is just part of one of the 4 huge stacks of bones.
The chandelier is supposed to contain every bone from the human body.
I am afraid that this one got out of order, Jed just could not wait. He is really looking forward to a nice long soak in his own bath tonight. I dare not tell him it is the bidet!
Back to the bones, this is a coat of arms of the Schwarzenbergs, in 1598 Adolf of Schwarzenberg conquered the Hungarian fortress at Raab, reducing the power of the Turks for a long time. In recognition of this achievement Emporer Rudolf II added a severed head of a Turk with its eyes being pecked by a Raven to the coat of arms. This is sean in the bottom right of the coat of arms, the skull is actually that of a defeated Turk! Gruesome eh!
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