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Kutna Hora is a city in Bohemia (Czech Republic) which is home to a stunning ossuary (store of bones)

Henry, the abbot of the Cistercian monastery, was sent to the Holy Land in 1278. When he returned, he brought with him earth he had removed from Golgotha and sprinkled it over the cemetery. The word of this spread and the cemetery became a desirable burial site throughout Central Europe. During the Black Death in the mid 14th century, and after the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century, many thousands of people were buried there.

Around 1400 a Gothic church was built in the center of the cemetery with a chapel to be used as an ossuary for the mass graves.

In 1870, a woodcarver was employed to put the bone heaps into order. The macabre result of his effort speaks for itself. Four enormous bell-shaped mounds occupy the corners of the chapel. An enormous chandelier of bones, which contains at least one of every bone in the human body, hangs from the center of the nave with garlands of skulls draping the vaults.

I have been there and seen these amazing constructions of human bones. I was wondering if there are any other examples out there of human bones being used in such a way

(text copied from wikipedia
Sedlec Ossuary

Capuchin crypt was one I remembered offhand. No time to google more right now. :)

http://www.answers.com/topic/capuchin-crypt

yes the capuchin crypt is just one of many know tombs out there .and is anouther very interesting place . its on the wrong side of the world for me to visit but would love to go there someday. i think its kinda creepy to make such art work if you call it outta human bones.... but thats just me.

i know the oreint has places were bones are displayed but iam not sure if its done in an art form like many of the outher tombs are....

Here are 3 inside images of this remarkable place:

Great pictures. I can't say I would be comfortable if I were to worship there.

The outside is beautiful in a 'normal' way. Would be different inside with skulls staring at you and think of the energy inside there. Like in the catacombs to walk past so many.

Craig that is amazeing stuff.... i knew this history of the Hussite Wars but never knew about this church..... i'm jealous you have been to see it... you little devil :)

thanks for shareing this......

I wanna go see it......it looks intresting.

*Glares at Craig* Why didn't you take BFD and me with you? *lol*

that sounds very cool. i'd love to do that, except I don't really want to kill people. Maybe just fake ones? lol.

they have use thing like that in ann rice book to decribe a room to show honor to the dead. that all i know about this one.

Have you searched online for other places such as this particular Ossuary? The catacombs under Rome and Paris (and other threads on here) has bones/skulls arranged in many different ways, not to the ornateness of this place, but unique.

Craig, that sounds like the perfect place to have a few drinks and then party all night.
Bohemia has alot of cool places.

Something to be said for cities hundreds of years and thousands of years old - full of human history that the U.S. just does not have.

Beautiful artwork... very creepy though....

Old bones have been used in so many different ways. I know Indian tribes used them in many ways. Both in rituals and in tools. But bones as art? That is something new to me.

Even in the catacombs under Paris and Rome, the bones have been rearranged in artistic ways... a bit disconcerting, but utterly fascinating.

What beautiful works... in a macabre kind of way. I wonder if the worshippers were even able to concentrate with the skulls hanging all over the place.

Now that's respect!

Excellent find Craig, very nice. Makes me wish wehad the time to go out there!

I shall encourage Alex to sort out his passport and go out for some time when the Hussites go over again! Afterall he speaks a goodly chunk of the language these days!

WOW that is very interrsting and the pictures *shivers* kinda creepy I dont know if I could worship there but i gues if you were used to it you could

I have good news. I'm supposed to arrive in Prague, Czech Republic, on Sunday. However, due to *grits teeth* unforeseen passport complications, I'll be there in 4-5 weeks.
I've heard of this fantastic bone thing, among many other amazing things there, and will be sure to take lots of photos for you all.

Looking forward to those, CA. Now you will be able to learn more about this place as well as so many other unique locations there.

That's rather disturbing when you think about it. However, I know of no such other structures, rather than just mass graves and the like I do know of.

I have seen the images of this church before. It was actually shown on a popular travel show here in Australia. I found it ghoulish, but I think it would be fascinating to visit.

As for worshipping there.. I doubt I could lol. It would feel too creepy for me.

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, and how! About 70 kilometres east of the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, lies a small town called Sedlec. It might have been an ordinary enough town, if not for its extraordinary church. The inside of this church is decorated with artworks made of human bones.

The story begins in 1218, when a certain abbot Henry made a pilgrimage to the holy land and brought back a jar full of soil, which he spread over the Church's cemetery. As a result the cemetery came to be regarded as sacred and turned into a popular burial spot.

By 1318, more than 30,000 bodies were buried there and by 1511, it had become necessary to remove the older bones to make place for the new ones. These later became the material for the macabre creations. In 1870 a local woodcarver was hired by the Duke of Shwartzenberg to decorate the inside of the church with the human remains (approximately 40,000 sets of bones).

i could imagine worshipping there....oh, the energies...hopefully all good.....

so amazing.

This is incredibly beautiful art, in a macabre sort of way. LOL I've googled, but haven't found any other comparable site. Thanks for sharing this...it's added to my ever-growing list of places across the known world I'd like to visit. Where IS my trust fund... ;)

capt crypt is the only one that came to my mind as well...but I love the workings...i find them beautiful.

The Schwarzenberg family commissioned the bone art - interestingly enough, from this family also came the Vampire Princess Eleonore who inspired the poet Burger, a key influence of Bram Stoker.

Günther von Hagens is a German anatomist that also uses death as a means of expression and art. His splayed open corpses, some in full makeup, some even up to six months pregnant, are posed and set up as a display or exhibition. Many have a hard time viewing this as art, some see it simply as morbid, or as disrespectful despite the permission that he had been given by the donors for the use of their corpses.

However, how do you define art?

I can't help but feel something from the images I've seen of these exhibitions just as I do with these churches that are being discussed for their usuage of death as art, and decoration. Art, for me, creates a feeling, can impact you emotionally - which these most surely do for me. I'd post some of the photos, but I am unsure if that is something that can be posted publically, due to their content and the affect it could have on some people.

Either way, it is profound in it's expression.

i find this place to be a wonderfull work of art i seen a tour of this place done on tv iam sure that the TV tour did not do its true beauty justice but i know i would love to see it up close and personal and cherryA my friend cant wait to see what you bring back from your trip

all the info i have read about bohemia is just to cool, its so intresting.

sounds awesome,I can't really think of any just yet but I shall try to look up some more fore for you.