Trip to Bohemia

Bones decoration

This past week we visited a few small towns in Bohemia region of Czech Republic. This was our last trip together as a group! I cannot believe this study abroad semester is over. It went insanely fast; seems like we arrived to Czech Republic just yesterday and now we have to leave. I feel like this trip to Bohemia was a good stopping point to our journey. We saw the other side of this beautiful country - the hidden gems of Czech Republic. One of the most unique places we have visited, in my opinion, was the Roman Catholic chapel, located by the cemetery in Kutna Hora.  What was so special about this church is that all decorations and furnishings over there were made out of human bones. The church contains skeletons of somewhere between 40,000 to 60,000 people. The decoration that I found to be the most extraordinary was a huge chandelier of bones, which was hanging right in the middle of the church, and which contains at least one of every bone in the human body. I have never seen anything like it in my life and I was absolutely astonished by this little chapel. 

St. Barbora church

Another interesting church that we visited in Kutna Hora was the Roman Catholic church of Saint Barbara. It is an enormous, magnificent building, which looks more like a cathedral rather than church. St. Barbara was the patron saint of miners, which makes perfect sense as Kutna Hora was a town of silver mines and its wealth was entirely based on it. Speaking about silver mines; as part of our program we were lucky to visit the real silver mine. I was really excited about this tour even when the guides warned us that you should not do it if you are claustrophobic. Oh man, were they right! The mines were so narrow and low that sometimes you almost had to crawl on your knees. My heart was beating so fast, it was hard to breathe, and sometime I felt like I was going to pass out. There was a moment when everybody turned off the flashlights and it got so dark that you were not able to see your own hand. The guide told us that human eyes would never be able to adjust to this kind of darkness. I cannot imagine how the mines were able to work in such conditions. I only spent about fifteen minutes there and was absolutely exhausted. It was so great to finally get out of there and see the sun light again! You will never appreciate sun light as much until you visit the mines. It was a terrifying and yet fascinating experience! 

Our group at the silver mines tour

The last town that we stopped in was Cesky Krumlov, which I have to say, is now my favorite place in Czech Republic. This little, cute town with red roofed houses, magnificent castles, and beautiful nature, reminded me of a place you could read about in fairy-tales. It is a magical town which can tell you many legends and tales. The one legend that I remembered was related to the Cesky Krumlov Castle, which we got a change to visit. This castle was built back in 1240 by the Rosenberg family. Perchta von Rosenberg was married against her will to a powerful lord, who was very violent and treated her badly. She was unhappy in her marriage, it was a hell on earth. When her husband died she was finally able to return to her parent’s castle in Cesky Krumlov. She was a very pale lady with a sad look on her face; and people called her the white lady. When she died her soul never left the castle. Even to these days people can see a ghost of white lady flying in the castle. It is believed that if the ghost is wearing black gloves it is a sign of death or disaster while white gloves is a sign of good luck and happiness. This town is full of ghost stories and mysteries. In fact, entire Czech Republic is a very mysterious country. It will not stop amaze you anywhere you go. I will definitely miss this place and most certainly be back someday.

Beautiful view of Cesky Krumlov