Kutna Hora - the Medieval silver mining town


Beautiful Czech town of Kutná Hora is possibly the most popular and probably the most rewarding destination for a day trip from Prague. The town is worth a full day’s visit at any time of year. It lies about 80 kilometres east of Prague and it is easy to navigate.


History of Kutna Hora  

Enriched by the silver ore that veined the surrounding hills, the medieval city of Kutná Hora became the seat of royal mint in 1308, producing silver groschen that was then the currency of Central Europe. Kutná Hora rivalled Prague in importance, but by the 16th century the mines began to run dry, and its demise was hastened by the Thirty Years’ War and a devastating fire in 1770. 
The Kutná Hora historical town centre with the Church of St. Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec are part of the UNESCO World Heritage List (from 1996).



Gothic Cathedral of St Barbara and Barborska street

Kutná Hora’s greatest monument is the Gothic Cathedral of St Barbara. Construction was begun in 1380, interrupted during the Hussite Wars and abandoned in 1558. The cathedral was finally completed in neo-Gothic style at the end of the 19th century. 




Its soaring nave culminates in elegant, six-petalled ribbed vaulting, and the ambulatory chapels preserve original decorations.  The cathedral boasting an extravagantly interior with many unusual original 15th-century frescoes featuring mining and minting, along with a mural of the Vision of St. Ignatius. The terrace outside of the church at the eastern offers the finest view in town.



You must walk along beautiful and scenic Barborská street. It runs along the front of the 17th-century former Jesuit College and offers glorious views over the valley below and is decorated with a row of 13 baroque statues of saints, inspired by the statues on Prague’s Charles Bridge. 


Sights of Sedlec district

Sedlec is the site of the Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady and the famous Ossuary. The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is one of one of the oldest examples of the Baroque Gothic style. The church was built first in the Gothic style around 1300 as one of the first High Gothic building in the Kingdom of Bohemia. It was built on the place of an older church and was a part of the Cistercians Sedlec Abbey. The abbey was burnt down by the Hussites in 1421 and the church became a ruin for the next two centuries. At the beginning of the 18th century, the church was reconstructed in Baroque Gothic style. Most impressive works in the church are the amazing vaults and the front wall of the church with its antechamber decorated with the statues.



Sedlec Ossuary is a small Roman Catholic chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints. The remarkable "bone church" is decorated with the bones of up to 40,000 people. The bones have, in many cases, been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel. The ossuary is among the most visited tourist attractions of the Czech Republic - attracting over 200,000 visitors annually.



What else is worth seeing?

There are plenty of other historic sights in Kutna Hora. An interesting activity is to take a tour of the old silver mines, as far as six floors below ground.



Also worth seeing is the Italian Court (Vlassky dvur), home to the old mint - once responsible for producing much of Europe's coinage - and the former residence of Bohemian King Vaclav IV. It was built at the end of the 13th century. The Gothic St. James's Church, with its 86-metre tower, is another prominent building. 



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This post is linked at: 
    The Weekly Postcard

Comments

  1. beautiful pictures. I have been in Czechia at holiday. There are many wonderful churches. A beautiful country.
    best regards
    susa

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  2. Kolejne piękne zdjęcia. Bardzo ciekawe miejsce.

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  3. You had beautiful weather too. The use of lighting on these pictures is gorgeous!

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  4. Such a very beautiful town. I think maybe you should underplay it a little so as to avoid tourism spoilng it. Your photographs are very lovely and so was the day you took them.

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  5. Beautiful pictures of a town I did not know until your interesting post.

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  6. How majestic! I love the architecture and the blue skies help!

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  7. Jarek, you find some gorgeous locations and then work your magic! Very impressive.

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  8. Beautiful pictures... love the clouds!

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  9. Hello what a pretty town. The cathedral is gorgeous, awesome details. I like the pretty clouds and sky in the first photo. Have a good day and weekend ahead!

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  10. What a beautiful town. That first photo is exquisite - the sky is so perfect to go with the great buildings and greenery.

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  11. What fantastic photos! The church spires are a bit spooky with all those decorations! I love all the different architecture styles that are there.

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  12. This is one of those posts where words don't really do it. Just WOW. So much wow.

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  13. Thank you for the lovely tour of this charming town!

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  14. I want to go here so badly!! Your pictures are beautiful!! #wkendtravelinspiration

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  15. Great narrative about what I am sure is a very interesting place to visit.

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  16. So many wonderful shots. Thanks for joining us again this week :-)

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  17. I like the gothic features of the Cathedral of St Barbara. I have been in an ossuary in Portugal and I found it to be a bit eerie.

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  18. It looks very pretty. Hoping to re-visit Prague later this year - I will be adding Kutna-Hora to the list! #theweeklypostcard

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  19. I love the shot of the window... Magnificent. Also the one of St. James. But all were wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

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  20. Beautiful photos! I would love to visit there one day.

    -Soma

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  21. What a gorgeous place! Great shots and I really like those Gothic towers.

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  22. Stunning architecture - you can see this town must have had a wealthy past in the silver mining days as the buildings are so ornate. Beautiful blue skies! It would be interesting to visit the mines even if they don't actually mine there any more. #Wkendtravelinspiration

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  23. Breathtaking!!! Gorgeous photos.

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  24. What a charming town - your photos captured it very well!
    #TheWeeklyPostcard

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  25. We've spent some time in Sedlec but only passing through. We stopped for a visit to the Ossuary--very interesting!--and then continued on our way. But Kutna Hora is only about an hour from our house, so we'll definitely be back! Thanks for sharing with the #wkendtravelinspiration!

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  26. Stunning architecture. I love those gargoyles.

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  27. Beautiful shots. That cathedral is really stunning, especially those stained glass windows!

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  28. It's delightful reading your blog. I always find out about European towns I've never even heard of. Besides, your photos make them look so appealing, that I feel like jumping on a plane and going there. Kutna Hora is one of those examples. #TheWeeklyPostcard

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  29. Love the photos - in the 2nd one is that some sort of well or fountain?

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  30. A richly historic and beautiful town! Thanks for the tour and great photos!!

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  31. Piękne miasto z cennymi zabytkami.., pozdrawiam:)

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  32. they must have been very rich for a while. Many fine artworks all over the place.

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  33. Amazing buildings

    Mollyx

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  34. Great shots yet again. Thanks for sharing these :-)

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  35. Byłam widziałam, wspaniałe miejsce.
    Pozdrawiam:)

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  36. What a beautiful collection of photos! We visited Kutna Hora a few summers ago and your photos brought me down memory lane to our day trip there. We loved walking around its streets and visiting St Barbara Cathedral and of course, the unforgettable visit to the Church of Bones. I agree that this is a such a great day trip for anyone visiting Prague.

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  37. I thoroughly enjoyed your trip report. Kutna Hora looks stunning. I have never heard of it before but it looks like a beautiful place to visit! Thank you for sharing with Thursday Favorite Things - I'll be featuring you on Thursday.

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  38. Superb a wondeful old town & church to visit

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  39. I love in a very modern city with few buildings that are even 100 years old, so seeing massive cathedrals like that just takes my breath away - it's hard to believe that buildings that impressive can be so old!

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  40. Gorgeous photos! My parents visited a few years ago and I've wanted to go ever since, I'm hoping to go back to Prague and take a day trip to Kutna Hora.

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  41. Such ornate architecture. What a delight to visit such a beautiful place #citytripping

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  42. What a beautiful place. The architecture is stunning which you've captured wonderfully. The Gothic spikes on the cathedral are impressive although the bone church sounds a little gruesome. Thanks for linking #citytripping

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