This morning, we got on another bus and drove about 1.5 hours out to Kunta Hora. We started our time there at the Sedlec Ossuary, which is found underneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints. It is a collection of about 40,000 human bones artistically arranged. With an influx in deaths due to the Black Plague and ongoing wars, more space was needed, which led to the creation of the Ossuary. While I can’t provide any images of my time because photography is banned, it is definitely worth looking up images of the Ossuary to understand just how captivating the place is. The bones are arranged in many shapes including a chandelier, a coat of arms, and four mounds. Each design is carefully thought out and very intricate.
The Ossuary represents a unique intersection of visual art and engineering. The work needed to determine the best design that would pack the most bones in while creating a stable environment requires excessive planning and patience. Additionally, the creativity and artistic freedom is impressive in its own right. I’m not sure I would have ever come up with the idea to use human bones as art and to create these detailed structures.
However, it is hard to determine whether the Ossuary is ethical or not. It’s a gorgeous reminder of mortality and was a unique way to handle the influx of bodies. However, the bones that were used in the art certainly did not know that this would happen to their remains. Initially, all the bones were buried. Meaning that to create this design, the bodies were exhumed, the remains were disturbed during cleaning, and then put on display. It leaves the viewer wondering what the rights of the deceased are and whether the creators of the display should be more responsible for preserving/respecting the bodies.
After the Ossuary, we viewed went to Barbara Cathedral, which I have included a photo of below! Very, very, VERY impressive architecture! Finally, we got to go to the old Silver Mines! We wandered through the small segment of tunnels available to the public. It was an extremely fun and interesting experience! I definitely could not have been a miner all those years ago…
Swanson School of Engineering 