The Perfect Kutna Hora Day Trip

Kutna Hora, a small town about 1 hour from Prague, is famous for its “bone church”, also known as the Sedlec Ossuary. However, this small town actually has so much more to offer than just its famous bone church. This guide goes over all of the essentials for visiting Kutna Hora on a day trip from Prague.

How to Get to Kutna Hora

Kutna Hora can easily be reached by train from Prague on a day trip. Trains leave from the Prague Central Station every two hours, and all of the schedules can be found on Google Maps. Simply put in your current location as the starting point and Kutna Hora as the destination, and Google Maps will show you the exact public transportation route to take.

Once you get to the station, you can easily purchase train tickets from the ticket counter. They are super affordable, with a one way ticket costing around 110 CZK, or a little less than 5 USD.

The sites in Kutna Hora are fairly spread out, with some sites located on the outskirts of the city and others in the city’s old town. The train station in Kutna Hora is located about an hour’s walk away from the old town. However, the Bone Church is only about a 20 minute walk away.

Therefore, I reccomend actually walking from the train station to the sites. This itinerary takes you through the important sites in order, so that you can see all of them along the walk. On the way back, you can use public transportation to get back to the station.

Other Options: Honestly, I reccomend using public transport to get to Kutna Hora, as it is fairly easy and more affordable. However, if you want to avoid the hassle of public transport, you can book this guided tour that takes you from Prague to all of the best sites in Kutna Hora.

The History of Kutna Hora

Kutna Hora was a normal village in Bohemia until around the 10th Century. At this point, a silver mine was found, and the city began to flourish due to the wealth from the silver mine. This led to the development of a number of important religious institutions to develop, and revenue from the mine provided significant financial resources for architectural and cultural development. One of the most important was the establishment of the Sedlec Monastery in the year 1142, which became one of the most important Catholic monasteries in the Bohemian region.

From a historical perspective, the history of silver mining is what sets Kutna Hora apart from other small Bohemian city. The financial riches of the industry allowed for incredible cultural, architectural, and artistic development to occur in the city.

The History of the Kutna Hora Bone Church

Before it was known as the bone church, the Sedlec Ossuary was already an important religious site. In the year 1278, the abbot of Sedlec Monastery was sent on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land by King Ottokar II of Bohemia. On his return, he brought a small amount of dirt with him from Golgotha, the site where Jesus was crucified. The dirt was deposited at the cemetery grounds of the Sedlec Monastery.

For the average European at the time, this was of remarkable religious importance. Very few people could ever dream of visiting the Holy Land, but the depositing of dirt from the Holy Land meant that they could now be buried in a cemetery blessed with the soil of the Holy Land. The cemetery at Sedlec soon became a very popular burial place, as Christians throughout Central Europe desired to be buried there.

After the large-scale death that occurred during the Black Death in the 14th century, there were simply too many people wanting to be buried in the Sedlec Ossuary that the cemetery began to run out of space.

Around the year 1400, the monks began to build a church and ossuary in order to cope with the overflow of bodies. In the late 1400s, they began excavating older burials in order to make room for new deaths. The bones were removed and stacked in piles in the church’s basement ossuary.

However, it wasn’t until 1870 that the church began to organize the bones into the elaborate displays that are in the bone church today. This was done under the patronage of an important noble family, the House of Schwarzenburg, in order to give importance to the bodies that were laid beneath the church.

In total, the church displays the bones of 40,000-70,000 people. It is a truly macabre display that gives an impressive insight into the true scale of death that took place in Central Europe during the 14th and 15th Centuries.

Overview Kutna Hora Day Trip

While Kutna Hora’s Bone Church is undoubtedly the most famous site to see in the city, I actually found so many of the other sites to be even more incredible. Here is an overview of the best things to do on a Kutna Hora Day trip.

• Cathedral of our Lady at Sedlec
• Sedlec Ossuary
• Church of St. James
• Lunch
• Church of St. Barbara

Cathedral of our Lady at Sedlec

The first site after walking from the train station is the Cathedral of our Lady at Sedlec. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is one of the oldest examples of Baroque Gothic style churches in central Europe.

To enter the Cathedral (as well as most other sites in Kutna Hora), a ticket is required. Tickets can be purchased at the visitor information center located directly across the street from the cathedral. You can purchase individual tickets, but I reccomend purchasing a combination ticket that allows you to enter the Cathedral, the Sedlec Ossuary, and the Church of St. Barbara. The price is 360 CZK (US$15.41) for adults, 270 CZK (US$11.56) for students and the elderly, and 80 CZK (US$3.43) for children aged 6 – 15.

Sedlec Ossuary – Kutna Hora Bone Church

A few minutes walk from the Cathedral of our Lady at Sedlec is the site of the famous Bone Church, or Sedlec Ossuary. Photography is prohibited inside the church out of respect for the dead.

After visiting the Sedlec Ossuary, you can continue onto the Old City. It is about a 30 minute walk from the Ossuary to the Old City.

Church of St. James

The Church of St. James is the oldest church in Kutna Hora. It is located in the picturesque Old City and is completely free to enter.

Church of St. Barbara

The Church of St. Barbara is by-far my favorite site in Kutna Hora. It is situated on a hill looking over the city, and its architecture and view of the city is absolutely spectacular. You truly feel like you are stepping back into a grand period of history when visiting. The church took nearly 500 years to complete, so it showcases a variety of art and architecture that spans Czech history.

Where to Eat

After spending a week in the Old City of Prague, the dining scene in Kutna Hora positively surprised us. Here, there are a number of incredible restaurants serving up authentic and affordable Czech cuisine in a picturesque setting.

We personally ate at Staročeská restaurace V Ruthardce. The restaurant has great service and food at affordable prices. However, the highlight of the meal is the incredible garden overlooking the Church of St. Barbara.

Restaurace Dačický is also highly reccomend. It serves traditional Czech food inside a medieval dining room.

Getting Back to Prague

Once you finish at the Church of St. Barbara, you can use Google Maps to find the best public transportation route back to Prague. There are a number of bus stations near the church. The public buses in Kutna Hora cost about 20 CZK ($1) and accept cash.

The best route may be back to the Kutna Hora train station, or it may suggest taking a bus to the nearby city of Kolin, which offers more frequent trains back to Prague. Both are great options, and can be easily reached by bus from the Kutna Hora Old City.

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