About 20 minutes’ drive north of Prague lies the small town of Melnik. Its tall church belfry squatting on the top of the hill, overlooking a wide range of Bohemian countryside.

The church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul and is one of the oldest churches in Bohemia. Despite being zapped by lightning, part of the original ninth century building still exists.

The belfry is open as an observation tower. If you brave the narrow winding staircase, the view from above is magnificent. If you look down you can also see the confluence of the Danube and the Vltava rivers.

Below the church is where things take a slightly more morbid turn.

During the many plagues that hit in the middle ages, the church cemetery became overwhelmed. Faced with the need for space, the church stored old bones in the crypt until 1775. In the late nineteenth century, the crypt was re-opened. After studying the remains, scientists arranged the bones to clear the area and allow visitors in.

The more famous bone church in Kutna Hora is south of Prague.

Expecting visitors to peruse the 10,000 odd skeletons seems a little macabre.

Local anthropologist Jindrich Matiegka was the man behind this idea. He used human skulls to spell out the words “Ecce Mors” (Latin: Behold death). He also fashioned a crucifix out of bones and used remaining skeleton parts to create a heart-shaped symbol in the middle of the room.

The crypt is small and the effect of all those bones makes it seem even smaller. I have to confess that the large number of remains made it seem artificial; as if these were plastic replicas not real human remains. Around me, the sunken eye sockets of toothless skulls stared at me. I half expected one of them to blink if I looked long enough.

Between this oddness and the creepy organ music from the church service upstairs, I did shiver a little before making my way out.

Address

St Peter and Paul Church
Na Vyhlídce 18
276 01 MĚLNÍK

Have you ever visited a genuine chapel of bones?