The Bare Bones of It: Sedlec Ossuary n.2 by sandra46

Photography • Atmosphere/Mood • posted on May 07, 2010

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Description

This is the central chandelier in the chapel, with sleepy little angels, which appear a bit too fleshy and plump here... In 1278 the abbot of Sedlec went to the Holy Land. When leaving he took with him a handful of earth from Golgotha which he sprinkled over the cemetery of Sedlec monastery, consequently the cemetery became famous, not only in Bohemia but also throughout Central Europe and many wealthy people desired to be buried here.The burial ground was enlarged during the epidemics of plague in the 14th century, when about 30,000 people were buried here, and also during the Hussite religious wars in the early 15th. century. After 1400 a chapel destined for the deposition of bones from abolished graves was built under the new church. The present arrangement of the bones dates from 1870, and is the work of a Czech wood-carver, Frantisek Rint. One of his most interesting creations is the chandelier in the centre of the nave, containing all the bones of the human body. Thank you for your kind comments.