No, I am not advocating we should start upcycling human bones into chandeliers – that would be VERY bad taste. However, Halloween provided an excuse to share something a bit more macabre than usual…
The Sedlec Ossuary in Prague is said to contain the skeletons of 40,000 – 70,000 people. During the black death in the mid-14th century and Hussite wars in the early 15th century, thousands were buried there and the cemetery had to be enlarged. When the Gothic church was built in around 1400, the lower chapel was to be used as an ossuary for the mass graves unearthed during construction.
In 1870 woodcarver, František Rint was commissioned to put the bone heaps in order by the Schwarzenberg family, resulting in a chapel literally furnished in human bones. Garlands of skulls drape the vaults and a chandelier of bones contains at least one of every bone in the human body… Frightening but fascinating, I’m sure you’ll agree! Image via Wikipedia
Very creative structures and designs. Just a reminder of our mortality which is a good thing every once in a while.