There were two options for today:  free time in Prague or an optional trip to the town of Kutna Hora. I had seen an article that said Kutna Hora was really worth visiting so we signed up for that option, along with Bruce and Jan and our new friends met on the trip, Jim and Joan Mancini.  About half of the 42 people on this trip extension also joined us. Kutna Hora is about an hour outside of Prague and was an important city in the Middle Ages, as it was the site of significant silver mines.

Our first stop was at Sedlec, a suburb of Kutna Hora to visit a unique, bizarre site called the Sedlec Ossuary. Most people, including myself, are not familiar with ossuaries as they are not very common in the USA. In Europe however, they are more common. What they are, are a location where human bones are stored. In medieval times it was common to dig up the remains of burials to retrieve the bones which were then stored in ossuaries, to free up the land for more burials. I have seen examples in the underground catacombs in Paris and Rome but nothing like what is here. What makes the Sedlec Ossuary so unique is that the bones have been arranged to create works of art. This ossuary is located in a chapel beneath the Church of All Saints and contains the bones of some 40,000-70,000 people. It is truly bizarre, yet enthralling. Although the ossuary is a major Czechia tourist attraction it is still in use as a chapel where services are held.

From here we went to Kutna Hora itself to view its sights and hear about its place in history. It dates back to 1142 with the creation of the Sedlec Abbey and by 1240 silver was being mined here. From the 13th to 16th centuries, the city competed with Prague culturally and politically. The silver mines in the area were the largest in the world. The miners wanted to build a church as important as the cathedral in Prague and so the gothic St Barbara’s Church (patron saint of miners) was planned and started in 1388. Because the mining of silver eventually was abandoned in the 18th century the church was not completed until 1905 and even then it was only 1/3 of its planned length. Still it is a pretty dramatic structure given where it is.

The last site we visited in Kutna Hora was the “Italian Court” the name given to the building complex where the silver was refined and made into coins and acted as a palace for royalty. Originally, it was the seat of the Central Mint of Prague and was named after the Italian experts who were at the forefront of the minting reform. The main area of the mint consisted of coin-makers-workshops, or Smithies, which were located around the courtyard, and the minting chamber where the Prague “goschen” were struck. After its reconstruction at the end of the 14th century, it became a part time palace for the king when he came to check up on his silver mines. We were given a short tour of the facility and were shown how the coins were made.

After the tour we were given time to seek out lunch and shop before returning to our hotel in Prague.

Tonight was our last night on the tour and we were hosted at a champagne reception and dinner. People will be leaving for home in the morning and we are headed back to Seattle.