We started the day off with an hour and 30 minute bus ride to Kutná Hora and visited the Ossuary which is a church of bones. There were several graves surrounding the church with the name “Rodina” representing different familys buried together. There were mainly skulls in the church but there were also arrangements of variety of bones stacked on top of each other. One that I found was interesting was the arrangement into the coat of arms. The tour of the Cathedral of Assumption and Cathedral of St. Barbara were fascinating especially from the outside. I like the gothic/baroque exterior. Looking inside, there are a lot of significant paintings on the walls along with glass windows. The St. Barbara church displays images of wealth obtained from the silver mines back in the ages. I thought that sculpture of a miner displayed on the wall was a good representation of that, wearing a white gown and carrying a lamp. I think that the church was a good introduction into the history of mining in Czech Republic before being able to see the actual mines ourselves.
Finally, the best for last, the Silver Mine Tour. We had to wear a white uniform and a helmet with a flashlight. Then we proceeded through the tunnels that became narrower as you keep going so it required a good amount of ducking. The outfits along with the tour gave a feel of how miners worked back the Medieval times and the struggles they had to face when it came to being subjected to complete darkness.
Overall, I learned a good amount about the history of mining and the creation of silver in Czech Republic specifically all around the town of beautiful town of Kutná Hora.
Swanson School of Engineering 