I can feel it in my bones...

After thoroughly enjoying the free walking tour of Prague (see my first blog post), I decided to do the same company's Kutna Hora and Bone Chapel Tour. Seriously, check out Discover Prague Tours! (www.discover-prague.com) Once again, I wasn't disappointed.  

Welcome to the Bone Chapel!

The Bone Chapel is located below the Catholic Church of All Saints, which is surrounded by a cemetery (if it wasn't creepy enough already!).

The thigh bone is connected to the knee bone...

So, where did all of these bones come from? There are three sources. Firstly, people flocked to the cemetery to die, because they believed that it was holy land. It also helped that the church told people that their bodies would decompose within three days, because the soil was so holy. Great if they wanted to be buried with their belongings and not worry about grave-robbers.

Secondly, Protestants were pushed into the bottom of the church and left to die. And lastly, the Black Plague.

The basement of the church was used as an ossuary, until it was decided that a bunch of bones shouldn't just be lying around gathering dust. 

So, who decorated the chapel? 

In 1870, Frantisek Rint, a woodcarver, was ordered to arrange the bones in an artistic manner.

Frantisek Rint's signature on the wall of the Bone Chapel.

 

The crown in this photo is supposed to represent
Jesus Christ, the Key of Death,
because he died and was resurrected. 

This chandelier contains at least one
of EVERY human bone.

 

The coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family.

A bird pecking out the eyes of
an Ottoman or infidel.

Skulls from the Hussite Wars

Arrow (left) and ax (right) wounds. 

Mace to the face (left) and impaled (sword through the mouth) (right).

This poor guy had started healing when he died.

When I was younger, I always wanted to be a CSI. Every week I'd religiously watch the shows on TV (Miami, Las Vegas and New York). I even watched Dexter with my dad. I think that I've always had a dark side and I like that about myself. But I do wonder... Is it socially acceptable to be in total awe of the remains of over 40, 000 people and not even a little bit creeped out? I think that I had to hide the fact that I was so excited.

How are you supposed to act inside a Bone Chapel?

Yay for "Dem Bones".

And the cherry on top of a creepy weekend in Prague; a guy walking his girlfriend on a leather leash. Some real-life 50 Shades of Grey for y'all.