The Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic looks very normal on the outside:

Zp / Wikimedia Commons
Zp / Wikimedia Commons

But at the entrance, you can already tell there’s something different about this chapel:

Strider gts / Wikimedia Commons
Strider gts / Wikimedia Commons

Once inside, there are skulls and other bones everywhere:

Pudelek (Marcin Szala) / Wikimedia Commons
Pudelek (Marcin Szala) / Wikimedia Commons

Here’s a closer look at the chandelier made of bones:

Chmouel / Wikimedia Commons
Chmouel / Wikimedia Commons

This is a coat of arms made of bones in the chapel:

word_virus / Wikimedia Commons
word_virus / Wikimedia Commons

And here’s a place where people leave offerings:

misha / Wikimedia Commons
misha / Wikimedia Commons

There are many other similar chapels throughout Europe.

This is the entrance to the Capela dos Ossos in Évora, Portugal. It already gives you a sense of foreboding…

Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

Above the door, it says: “We bones, are here, waiting for yours.”

Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

Inside the chapel (the walls are covered in bones):

Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

This is an ossuary, or a box for bones, which seems a bit strange given how they’ve chosen to decorate…

Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

Yes, that’s a skeleton hanging from a rope:

Wikimedia Commons
Danny Fay / Wikimedia Commons

This is the exterior of St. Bartholomew’s Church in Czermna, Poland. Again, it looks very normal on the outside.

Ondřej Žváček / Wikimedia Commons
Ondřej Žváček / Wikimedia Commons

But the inside is just full of bones:

Merlin / Wikimedia Commons
Merlin / Wikimedia Commons

A closer look at the ceiling:

Merlin / Wikimedia Commons
Merlin / Wikimedia Commons

They even have bones under the floor!

Merlin / Wikimedia Commons
Merlin / Wikimedia Commons

Here’s the altar:

Merlin / Wikimedia Commons
Merlin / Wikimedia Commons

An angel amidst the bones:

Merlin / Wikimedia Commons
Merlin / Wikimedia Commons

Finally, here’s a quick look at a few other “bone churches”…

Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins in Rome, Italy:

Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons

The Basilica of St. Ursula in Cologne, Germany (the mosaic on the wall is made of bones):

Hans Peter Schaefer / Wikimedia Commons
Hans Peter Schaefer / Wikimedia Commons

San Bernardino alle Ossa in Milan, Italy (again, the wall is covered in bones):

Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
Share this post