Left side of altar with bone monstrance

Chandelier made of bones and skulls

Condition in 1990

Detail from the Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms

The Sedlec Ossuary (Czech: kostnice Sedlec) is a small Christian chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints (Czech: Hřbitovní kostel Všech Svatých) in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. The ossuary contains approximately 40,000 human skeletons which have been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel. Download high resolution version (1041x1696, 209 KB)Sedlec ossuary, view of side of altar with monstrance. ... Download high resolution version (1041x1696, 209 KB)Sedlec ossuary, view of side of altar with monstrance. ... Download high resolution version (900x1200, 250 KB)Chandelier made of Bones and Skulls in Sedlec Ossuary. ... Download high resolution version (900x1200, 250 KB)Chandelier made of Bones and Skulls in Sedlec Ossuary. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3873x2435, 842 KB) en:sedlec ossuary in cs:Kutná Hora, Czech Republic photographed by Stefan Richter 1990 File links The following pages link to this file: Sedlec Ossuary ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3873x2435, 842 KB) en:sedlec ossuary in cs:Kutná Hora, Czech Republic photographed by Stefan Richter 1990 File links The following pages link to this file: Sedlec Ossuary ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3424x2200, 2038 KB) Summary Detail of the Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms in bone, Sedlec Ossuary, Kutná Hora, Czech Republic. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3424x2200, 2038 KB) Summary Detail of the Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms in bone, Sedlec Ossuary, Kutná Hora, Czech Republic. ... Beliefs Though enormous diversity exists in the beliefs of those who self-identify as Christian, it is possible to venture general statements which describe the beliefs of a large majority . ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery or graveyard is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ... Kutná Hora   listen? (German: Kuttenberg, Hory Kutné in medieval Czech) is a city in the Czech Republic, in Central Bohemian Region of Bohemia. ... An ossuary is a chest, building, well or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. ... In biology, the skeleton or skeletal system is the biological system providing support in living organisms. ...

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. Abbots coat of arms The word abbot, meaning father, has been used as a Christian clerical title in various, mainly monastic, meanings. ... The Order of Cistercians (OCist) (Latin Cistercenses), otherwise Gimey or White Monks (from the colour of the habit, over which is worn a black scapular or apron) are a Catholic order of monks. ... A monastery is the habitation of monks, derived from the Greek word for a hermits cell. ... The phrase The Holy Land (Arabic الأرض المقدسة, al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah; Hebrew ארץ הקודש: Standard Hebrew Éreẓ haQodeš, Tiberian Hebrew ʾÉreṣ haqQāḏēš; Latin Terra Sancta) generally refers to Palestine or the Land of Israel. ... Otakar II (also spelled Ottokar or Přemysl Otakar/Ottokar) (c. ... For broader historical context, see 1270s and 13th century. ... Calvary (Golgotha) was the hill outside Jerusalem on which Jesus was crucified. ... Historical lands and provinces in Central Europe Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411). ... This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right}. It is housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to... The Hussite Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1420 to circa 1434. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ...

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. Events Henry IV quells baron rebellion and executes The Earls of Kent, Huntingdon and Salisbury for their attempt to have Richard II of England restored as King Jean Froissart writes the Chronicles Medici family becomes powerful in Florence, Italy Births December 25 - John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of... See also Gothic art. ... Events Diego Velázquez and Hernán Cortés conquer Cuba; Velázquez appointed Governor. ...

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, designed by Jan Santini Aichel. Events February 2 - Earthquake in Aquila, Italy February 4 - In Japan, the 47 samurai commit seppuku (ritual suicide) February 14 - Earthquake in Norcia, Italy April 21 - Company of Quenching of Fire (ie. ... // Events April 10 - The worlds first copyright legislation became effective, Britains Statute of Anne Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) Births January 3 - Richard Gridley, American Revolutionary soldier (d. ... For the Baroque style in a more general sense, see Baroque. ... Jan Blažej Santini Aichel (February 3, 1677 - December 7, 1723), also called Giovanni Santini, was a Czech architect of the baroque. ...

In 1870, František Rint, a woodcarver, was employed by the Schwarzenberg family to put the boneheaps into order. The results of his efforts speak for themselves. Four enormous bell-shaped mounds occupy the corners of the chapel. An enormous chandelier of bones 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. 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A chandelier in the U.S. vice presidents ceremonial office in the White House A chandelier is a ceiling-mounted fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. ... Categories: Stub | Roman Catholic Sacraments and Other Practices ... An ancient Roman altar An altar is any structure upon which sacrifices or other offerings are offered for religious purposes. ... A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short, and occasionally erroneously rendered as crest of arms) is, in European tradition, a set of simple colourful symbols belonging to a particular person and used by him or her in a wide variety of ways. ...

In 1970, the centenary of Rint's contributions, Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer was commissioned to document the ossuary. The result was a 10 minute long frantic-cut nightmare of skeletal images overdubbed with an actual tour-guide's dry narration. Švankmajer later re-edited the film, replacing the narration with a brief spoken introduction and a jazz arrangement by Zdeněk Liška of the poem Comment dessiner le portrait d'un oiseau by Jacques Prévert. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Categories: People stubs | Animators | 1934 births ... Jacques Prévert (February 4, 1900 - April 11, 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. ...

A similar ossuary chapel is Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini in Rome. Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, or Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins, is a church in Rome, Italy, commissioned by Pope Urban VIII, whose brother, Antonio Barberini, was a Capuchin. ...

External links

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Ossuary

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• Official website
• information on Švankmajer's film
• Sedlec ossuary - website with pictures
• Pictures from the ossuary in Sedlec, Kutná Hora, Czech Republic
• Slackertravel Sedlec Ossuary Pictures - 60+ pictures of the chapel
• Chmouel Travel's pictures of Czech Republic