Swanson School of Engineering

Today we visited Kutna Hora and saw probably one of the most beautiful cathedrals (St. Barbara’s). There were likely several challenges related to the construction of St. Barbara’s Cathedral, one of them being the structural support of the tall, rounded Gothic ceilings. To help with the support, flying buttresses were used, and it also gives the cathedral a unique look. Also, because the Cathedral was built on a town that mined a lot of silver, the engineers or architects for the cathedral’s construction and maintenance probably had to consider the vibrations from mining that may cause stresses on the stone walls. A very beautiful cathedral, and I realized I could never be a silver miner.