Today we went east of Prague, Kutná Hora. Our first stop was the Ossuary Sedlec and the Cathedral of Assumption. The Ossuary is a church that is decorated with skeletons of the ones who previously lived there. It started many years ago when the cemetery became overcrowded after the Black Plague and the Hussite Wars caused thousands of deaths in the region. Instead of removing the bodies, the bones were preserved and saved since there weren’t enough cemeteries. Then, they were used to decorate the chapel.
After, we went to St. Barbara Cathedral and to a Silver Mine. One engineering challenge we learned about the creation and maintenance of St. Barbara’s Cathedral was supporting the weight of the Gothic ceilings and arches while keeping the structure stable over centuries. During the Middle Ages, many people could not read, so churches used stained glass windows, paintings, sculptures, and carvings to teach Bible stories, moral lessons, and religious ideas visually. Engineering is not just creating something but adding value to the ones who will use it.
Swanson School of Engineering 