Kutná Hora: A Czech architectural, beer, food and more beer paradise

By: Dario A. Gutierrez

Bone mound

Bone chandelier

Bone crucifix

Skull with war wound

Bone chapel decorations

In my fourth visit to Prague, yes, I love this city mainly because of great beer and amazing food, I decided to finally break the cycle, try something new and find another Czech destination that I could enjoy as much as Prague. Although, I probably chose the second-most touristic destination in the Czech republic, the number of tour buses full of people following a guide with an open umbrella (the most common site in Prague) was reduced to just a tiny fraction in Kutná Hora.  I will describe my trip in the exact chronological order, which definitely makes the most sense when visiting this town. Woke up early at 6 AM in Prague, which meant that there was no Lokal and/or Roxy visit the night before (these are my favorite spots to first get original check beer and then dance the night off with mainly locals). After walking to the ugliest and most run-down train station for a capital city in Europe, I am sure you agree with me on this one if you have ever visited, I took a train in the direction to Brno for about 150 crowns round trip, and I arrived in Kutná Hora, 1.5 hours later. The main train station for this town is about a 50 minute walk to the town, so this is also not very attractive for most tourists; however, just 10 minutes into the walk you run into the most bizarre thing that I have ever seen: the Sedlec Ossuary. This is a small chapel inside a cemetery where someone in the 16^th century decided to take about 40,000 skeletons from people that died during the Hussite wars in the 15^th century, and use all the bones to decorate the chapel, from chandeliers to the coat of arms of the family that funded all this, and large femur- and cranium-composed mounds (see the pictures). Although the information leaflet mentioned that these bones were cleaned and bleached, there was a very strong pungent smell that made me start to feel a bit sick, so I had to get out of there after about 20 minutes. 

Bone coat of arms

View of St. Barbara Cathedral from St. James church

The Hussite wars are very important for the history of this town and the Czech republic, so I’ll tell you what I know about them, although I am not an expert. The Hussite wars were for the Czech people (Bohemia and Moravia at that point) like a pre-Thirty year war, which would take place in all of Europe the following century, a war between Protestants and Catholics that almost destroyed Europe. Jan Huss was the Martin Luther of the Czech people; he denounced the Clergy of charging money to absolve sins and was against preaching solely in the Latin language, he decided to denounce these people and start a new more spiritual anti-materialistic Christianity. The catholic clergy did not like this and they decided to kill him, making him a martyr for his followers that called themselves the Hussites. The Hussites then decided to take it out on the Catholics and started a war that lasted many years were they ransacked and destroyed all catholic cities and especially cathedrals in the kingdom, that included Kutná Hora, which has around 6 catholic cathedrals/churches. Of course the Catholics defended themselves, and I am not so sure but I think at the end they won the war. Well the bones at this chapel all came from people fighting this religious war and as you can see some of the skulls show wounds of how these people were killed.

Skull with war wound

Steak in cranberry sauce with bread dumplings

Just a five-minute walk from the bone chapel you get to see the Cathedral of Our Lady, this was for me just like any other Gothic cathedral in Europe and thus not very impressive. A 40-minute walk from there finally brings you to this picturesque town. The food here is so good, that I ended up eating lunch twice, despite the fact that I was not hungry the second time.  My favorite Czech dish, by far, is a slow-cooked steak in an amazing pumpkin and cranberry sauce served with traditional Czech bread dumplings (see pic), this dish is really good in Prague but in Kutná Hora it was splendid; of course you always wash everything down with a few 0.5L of Pívo. My favorite Czech beers are Kozel and Gambrinus, yes ok the famous Pilsner Urquell is good, but only if poured the right way and served fresh like in Lokal.  I should point out that in Kutná Hora a half a liter of beer is between 19-23 crowns, about 0.70 cents euro. I guess the Czech people would start a revolution if the price of beer was ever changed, they are the highest consumers of beer in the world at 170 Liters per person per year. Somewhere in Prague, I am not sure where, I read the Czech proverb: “There is no better beer than beer”, I think it says a lot about the Czech love of beer.

1515 "the last supper"

After the meat and beer dream-like experience I walked to the cathedral of St James which although from the outside, again looks like any other European cathedral, when going inside you run into some amazing hidden gems consisting of sculptures, altars and paintings, all dating from the 15^th and 16^th century, like this last supper painting from 1515, which I think is quite contrasting to how Leonardo Da Vinci depicted the same event, see for yourself and let me know your thoughts. The highlight of this town, however, was what I could see next from the courtyard of St James Cathedral, the St. Barbara Cathedral. I have now traveled pretty much all over Europe and this is by far the most architecturally beautiful cathedral I have ever seen (check out the pictures). As I was standing there taking pictures I heard a Czech guide tell some tourist that this is by consensus of all the Czechs the most beautiful sight of their country, and I agree 100%. The gothic cathedral, with its splendid unique roof, sits next to a large Baroque building on top of a hill planted with a vineyard, and besides a forested mountain with a creek going through the middle of both mountains. The contrast between all these elements made it one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever experienced, and not just in the Czech Republic. I then walked to the cathedral, took more than enough pictures, drank young/new wine from this vineyard (for 5 crowns a cup), and finally took photos of the town from the cathedral.

In front of St. Barbara Cathedral

I should point out at the end that Kutná Hora was an important silver mining town that made it be very influential in the kingdom of Bohemia. It was an arduous competitor against Prague to become the capital of Bohemia, and was at numerous points in history the most important city in this kingdom. My day ended with more amazing food and beer before returning to Prague. If you are ever in Prague or Europe, you have to go see this place.