Bones! Happy Halloween from the Bone Church

On our recent trip to Kutna Hora in the Czeck Republic, Cliff and I visited the Bone Church, officially known as the Sedlec Ossuary. Soil was brought to the graveyard from the Holy Land in the thirteenth century, and the Sedlec Ossuary became the preferred burial spot for 40,000 souls. That’s a lot of bodies, meaning soon enough, that’s a lot of bones.

In 1870, a woodcarver named František Rint was hired to arrange the bones artistically. Talk about a ghoulish liturgical challenge.

I had no clue what to expect as our group approached the church. Bring on the creepy music!

The church is dimly lit, but those bones are white (or close to white). They show up. And they’re everywhere!

Crosses, pillars, garlands, stacks, and sculptures.

You wonder what this cherub thinks, spending his or her days among the decorating dead.

The intended message for those who visited this sacred place was: Watch your step on Earth because soon you will die and meet your maker.

One member of our group found the place to be disrespectful. She eyed those dry bones and left pretty quickly. Fair enough.

But I was enchanted. In fact, I was  so enchanted that I bought a t-shirt. My shirt reminds me to appreciate my days. Memento mori. Remember you will die.

And on October 31, while I’m remembering, I’m going to indulge in a few of the Snickers bars and KitKats that Cliff bought for trick-or-treaters. You indulge too. Life is short.

Happy Halloween!

May your bones be rattled with spooky fun.

To read more about the Bone Church, click here.

Don’t miss this link to 13 of the Scariest Places on Earth (including the Bone Church).

And to bring this spooky post back to menopause, check out menopause expert Ellen Dolgen’s latest article on bone health.