Wednesday, 10 SEPTEMBER 2014 [Full Day Tour to outside Praha - Kutná Hora]
On this day was a much anticipated trip to a medieval town in central Bohemia, Kutná Hora, which is about 1 hour 15 minutes east of Praha by car. My guide was again the trusty and knowledgeable Nina and, David. We departed Parkhotel Praha at 8:15am.
But before the main attraction, I requested a little detour to a village, called Tismice, also eastward of Praha. Let's see why.
Tismice
It is a village and municipality in Kolín District with a population of no more than 400 people. The structure that attracted me to this place is the Romanesque type church in the village, Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie (Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary). It was built in the 12th century and its outward structure is said to have been preserved almost in its original form. The interior though, has been reconstructed over the ages in an amalgamation of Gothic and Baroque style with some Romanesque elements remaining - but mostly Baroque. We did not get to enter as the church was closed that morning. Major repairs were carried out a few years ago and some minor repairs are ongoing.
The existence of a church of this type is considered a mystery as there do not seem to be any important historical figures connected to the village nor was it an important place in the Middle Ages. Speculation is that it could have been ordered built by the then king Vladislas II or the then Praha Bishop. Historians consider this an interesting structure displaying a developed form of a Romanesque church (Viewers familiar with Romanesque style churches in Spain, Germany et al may not see much in this, but in this part of Europe, is rare indeed).
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| Western facade |
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| View from Southeast |
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| Tismice: Clean, quiet village |
From Tismice, David drove us through country roads to Kutná Hora, which took about 30 minutes.
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora is considered established in the year 1142 with the founding of the Cistercian monastery in Sedlec. From the 13th to the 16th centuries, it was an important silver mining centre, which contributed immensely to its wealth and growth
, and making it second only to Praha in terms of economic and political importance. Silver mining can be traced back to the 10th century as evidenced by silver coins from that century. However, the first records of mining and processing of silver ore date back to the 13th century and there was even a silver rush, documented as "rush to
Kutná" mainly by Germans from across the border. These German miners called the place Kutten-berg. The term Kutten could have originated from the German word for monks' cowls (a hooded garment)
Kutten or, the old Czech word for mining,
Kutání.
Early mining of silver ore was haphazard and scattered, but in 1300 with the issue of a royal mining code Ius Regale Montanorum by King Wenceslas II, specifying the administrative and technical requirements in mining, such activity was made more efficient and perhaps consolidation of the many small mines occurred? Thus, sparked the rapid growth of Kutná Hora, and it was even made the central mint (i.e. financial centre) of Bohemia with the location at what is now known as the Italian Court. As the town grew, so did the confidence of its administrators and also conflicts with the Cistercian monastery. Thus, the decision to break away from the monastery and the building of the Cathedral of St Barbara beginning in 1388.
Prosperity continued until the Hussite Wars starting in 1420, and during which the famous Hussite general Jan Žižka captured the town. Hard times followed and mining activities were severely affected until they were restored in 1469 and the town flourished again. By the 16th century, amidst the wealth, it gradually dawned on the populace that the silver ores were getting harder to retrieve and miners had to dig really deep. In 1543, the largest mine was closed. Nonetheless, prosperity continued into the 17th century but life was severely disrupted post the Battle at Bílá Hora (Protestants vs. Catholics) and the Thirty Years War (during which the town was sacked twice).
While some recovery was made after the wars - there was some growth of crafts and trade - the town never regained its heyday and by the 18th century, silver mining was effectively finished. The Industrial Revolution generally bypassed the town with cotton and tobacco plants set up here. From here on, the town would remain largely a cultural centre and major issues centred around restoration of historical structures (e.g. Church of St Barbara and the Italian Court) and construction of new structures that did not compromise the historical ones. Even the formation of a new republic of Czechoslovakia in 1918 and post WWII years did not result in modernisation of the town.
Kutná Hora was placed on the UNESCO World Cultural and Heritage list in 1995.
The first stop was the information centre to acquire tickets for entry into the two cathedrals and the ossuary (at a reduced rate of 160 Czk compared to much higher for separate tickets) and I also acquired postcards and souvenirs from here. Very helpful and cheerful counter staff here!
Then next to the Kostnice v Sedlci (Ossuary in Sedlec). Sedlec was previously a separate village but is now virtually a suburb of Kutná Hora. Walking along Zámecká street towards the ossuary, we found a smallish Česká pošta (Kutná Hora 3) and did the essential stop there, mailing out half a dozen postcards.
The Sedlec Ossuary lies beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints and contains the bones of an estimated 40,000 people who died in the plague (Black Death) and Hussite Wars in the 14th and 15th centuries respectively. These bones are arranged artistically, and include a huge chandelier, wall decor and a coat of arms. In the 15th century after the above events, the cemetery had to be expanded and old graves were exhumed to make way for new (this was a favoured cemetery for burials owing to it having sprinklings of soil from the Holy Land..). Rather than dispose of the bones, it was decided to store them beneath the church. The ossuary decorations as we see it today were commissioned by the aristorcatic family Schwazenbergs, in 1870, and a Czech woodcarver František Rint was engaged to design it.
While some visitors were expected in this ossuary, I did not count on it to be completely filled with large tour groups pouring in one after another, some visitors even blocking exhibits for long periods..!@#! It was almost a complete mood spoiler for me. If you ever visit this place and want some space to yourself while there, try arriving as soon as it opens or in the late evening. I wonder if they will entertain requests for special night visits.
Anyway to the photos... (Note: the place looks almost deserted, but I had to wait ages for people to shove off before getting a good photo or simply take overhead shots. Nina even helped to 'shoo away' some folks for one of my shots. :)
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| This greets you as you descend the stairs from the entrance |
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| 'Signature' of creator of the artsy bone decorations |
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| Bone chandelier that has every bone in the human body |
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| Coat of Arms of the Schwarzenbergs (waited 15 minutes to get this shot...) |
The Schwarzenbergs are a German-Bohemian aristocratic family which has origins dating back to the early 15th century. This ossuary was part of the property in Sedlec which they bought in 1819 and only those involved know for sure why the ossuary was decorated, in the manner we see it today, half a century after the acquisition. Note the bird/raven pecking a skull at bottom right - this is on the Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms and represents a 16th century victory by Count Adolf von Schwarzenberg over the invading Ottomans by recapturing an Ottoman-occupied fort called Raab (Raab = raven in German) in the north-western Hungarian city of Győr. We would visit other ex-Schwarzenberg properties in the following week.
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| There are 4 of such pyramids in the ossuary. No touching or an alarm will go off |
The ossuary is quite small and has windows that allow light in and so is not all that creepy. On a related note, another
bone ossuary in the Czech Rep in the Moravian city of Brno would be much less visited and from photos looks quite spine chilling - a venue that
horror diehards should also consider visiting.
Nonetheless, a visit to this bone ossuary reminds us of the transience of our lives and how apt are the words found in another such similar place (a Capuchin crypt) in Italy ... "What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be"
From the ossuary, we headed to the nearby Katedrála Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a sv. Jana Křtitele (Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist - Sedlec Cathedral for short). The cathedral stands on the site of the former Cistercian monastery that was founded in the 12th century. The cathedral (then a church) was built between 1282 and 1320 but burnt down during the Hussite wars. It was almost 3 centuries later in 1700 before the church was rebuilt and, designed by Jan Blažej Santini with his unique mix of Gothic-Baroque elements (the same one who redesigned the Kladruby church, which I visited a week prior). The interior however, is mostly Baroque.
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| Sedlec Cathedral |
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| Confessional, display only :) |
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| Baroque altar |
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| Up the Spiral staircase |
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| High Gothic arches and patterned rib vaulting |
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| Pipe organ |
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| Altar in Sedlec cathedral. Saint Wenceslas is in the armour. His grandma Saint Ludmila is on the right wearing a crown and with veil around her shoulders |
The cathedral is lightly decorated, which gives it a spacious feel and the high arched vaulting leaves you with a sense of awe. Within its treasury there's a Monstrance (a vessel used in rites by the Catholics) that is considered the oldest Gothic type monstrance and only 1 of 10 that still exists (globally). I don't understand any of the rites or terminology with respect to this religious object, but from an aesthetics point of view the Monstrance is a beauty, resembling the spires of a Gothic type cathedral. No pictures sorry.
Under a 10 minute drive from the Sedlec cathedral is yet another cathedral that is just as compelling to look at, in my view, probably more so than the previous at least in terms of its exterior. This one is Katedrála/Chrám sv. Barbory or Cathedral/Church of Saint Barbara named after the patron saint of miners, geologists, artillerymen... Conflicting information on whether this is a church or cathedral - let's just call it a cathedral for purposes of this post ...
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| Cathedral of Saint Barbara with double-arched flying buttresses |
The cathedral was built as a form of protest against the Cistercian religious authorities with work commencing in 1388. Its first architect was
Jan Parléř, son of
Petr Parléř - the latter being the (second) architect of the Saint Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge and possibly of the Frauenkirche in Nuremberg, Germany (see Day 5, afternoon). With trademark similarities in architecture of the abovenamed churches, it wouldn't be surprising if Petr Parléř had a hand in the initial stages of building of the cathedral. 100 years later in 1489 to 1506, Matyáš Rejsek (designer of the Powder Tower in Praha) made his contribution to the cathedral
design which includes the vaulting and the gargoyles in the exterior. Similar to the Saint Vitus Cathedral in Praha, a span of many centuries
was needed before the cathedral's completion in 1905, about 500 years from start to finish.
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| Gothic rib (fan type?) vaulting. The coat of arms are of miners' guilds |
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| Late 15th century frescoes (third row from top) showing minting of coins of the time, Prague groschen (pražský groš) |
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| Main altar |
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| Fading/disintegrating frescoes depicting mining activity |
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| Statue of a miner |
There are numerous beautiful stained glass windows depicting mining activities and an image of the cathedral.
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| Confessionals |
The Cathedral of Saint Barbara is a unique one indeed with its inclusion of mining and minting activity in its interiors, quite different from other church interiors. As we exited the cathedral, rain clouds were already hovering above and water droplets kept hitting the camera lens... a persistent nuisance during my tours.
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| View of cathedral from the Barborská ulice/street in front of the former Jesuits college |
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| The cathedral would look even more stunning lighted up at night |
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| If you look above the arched windows, you will see a series of gargoyles (sorry, blurred snapshot from videocam) |
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| Statues along Barborská ulice/street |
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| Saint Barbara holding a chalice and a mini tower is on her left (second statue as you head towards the cathedral) |
Having completed a visit to the 2 cathedrals and ossuary, took a leisurely hobble cum stroll through the cobbled streets of Kutná Hora, to be precise mostly along the lengthy Barborská street.
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| Entrance to ex-mining underground - spotted some tourists donning white miners' garbs in readiness for an underground expedition |
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| Cobbled streets |
For nourishment, I had a wild boar goulash with gingerbread dumplings (both absolutely delicious!). Never forget to say
Dobrou Chut when starting a meal, it's an essential custom in the Czech Republic. And for refreshment, I shared a beer degustation of 6 types of beer - including a Gambrinus and a dark beer
Dačický which is specific to the town. "Super-small" glasses of course .. hah!
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| Restaurant was full by the time we left |
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| Interesting wall decor |
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| Hmmm even more interesting wall decor - tale of promiscuous women suffering public humiliation & flogging. |
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| Dačický bar |
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| Interesting lighting |
I would have wild boar goulash and gingerbread dumplings as regular meals for life, but sadly they would be almost impossible to come by back home.
From the restaurant, we resumed our walk through the historic parts of the town.
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| Kamenná kašna (Stone fountain). This was a water storage structure, built in 1497, as inscribed in the wall. Water was brought in with various long 'pipes' from areas around the town |
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| Kamenný dům (Stone house). Gothic style house with history dating to the 14th century. Now part of the national museum |
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| Mariánský sloup (Plague Column of the Virgin Mary Immaculate, Marian Column for short) Raised in 1713 to 1715 to commemorate victims of the early 18th century plague. Various saints are depicted and the lower most statues are of miners with shields. |
These plague columns should serve as a reminder to folks today that bacteria and viruses will always strive to feed off and infect all range of creatures from small to us humans - with the usual disease vectors being rats, farm animals raised in filthy conditions and perhaps certain insects. And back in the medieval days, lack of knowledge on hygiene and cleanliness and poor sanitation led to frequent outbreaks of diseases and plague, killing significant portions of a populace. A lesson that Europe seems to have learnt in the past few centuries but not so in some other parts of the world where good sanitation systems and personal hygiene are a side consideration, if at all. Hence, H5N1 and other avian flu variants, typhoid, ebola etc continue to rear their ugly heads from time to time.
Not far from the Marian column, on Tylova street, is the birthplace of Josef Kajetán Tyl a 19th century writer and prominent member of the Czech Revivalist Movement, who also composed the words to the Czech national anthem. The house is now a museum.
And taking a little break from seeing centuries old buildings - entered a souvenir store and, a pastry shop.
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| Sugar icing-topped pastries, vanilla cream-filled choco rolls, choco lava, cakes. Can't recall the Czech names. Also spotted some Medovnik which I should have tried again |
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| Doughnuts with different fillings, other confectionery |
From a distance, in front of the Church of Saint James, you
can have another excellent view of the Cathedral of Saint Barbara which in part rests on a hill slope. I
filmed this and the surrounding views and, the church organ being played
at Saint James made a most suitable soundtrack indeed. The Church of Saint James itself is worth visiting, with its single tower measuring 86 metres in height. It is a Gothic church built during the 14th and 15th centuries.
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| View of Cathedral and ex-Jesuits college (now a museum) from a distance (videocam snapshot) |
Kutná Hora is a wonderfully quiet and picturesque town with cobbled streets and historic buildings. Must be an absolute delight to wander about at night here, in particular to view the Cathedral of Saint Barbara and perhaps a little scare if the Sedlec Ossuary is open for night visits. Definitely a place to revisit, at a different hour...or any hour.
Ahhh, but the day was not quite finished. We made a second side trip of the day to a chateau which is a 10 minute drive northeast of Kutná Hora - a chateau called Zámek Kačina. This is an empire style chateau and a wee bit reminiscent of the American White House, in particular its central section. It was built in the early 19th century for the Choteks, a Bohemian aristocratic family. The most 'famous' of the Choteks was the Duchess of Hohenberg who was married to the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and both of whom were killed in Sarajevo, Bosnia, just prior to the start of World War I.
The interiors include a beautiful private theatre and library and can be visited. Too bad there was a function that evening, likely a wedding, and it was probably out of bounds to the public. Nonetheless, David drove into the compound in order that I could snap some pics. However, it was anything but picturesque as cars lined the entire front of the chateau, marring the view. Plus, it started to RAIN! A sure signal for us to be on our way back to Praha.
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| The Czech Republic's own "White House" type building |
NEXT: Day 13, day trip to Wroclaw, Poland
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