Ossuary

Bohemia


The crypt of the Church of Sts Peter & Paul houses an ossuary, packed with the bones of around 15,000 people, dug up to make room for 16th-century plague victims. The bones are arranged in the shapes of anchors, hearts and crosses (symbols of faith, love and hope). This crypt is much more visceral and claustrophobic than the Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora; the floor is of beaten earth, and you literally rub shoulders with the bones.