The Ossuary of Kutna Hora

I was amazed by the Ossuary at Kutna Hora. From the outside the church looked like any normal, small church. Inside was another story however. I was immediately overwhelmed by the interior "decorations"; the Ossuary does not hold the nickname "the bone church" for no reason. Mounds of bones sat in every corner of the church, forming some sort of dome-shaped structure. Human bones of all sorts were arranged to form neat walls. In the center of the church there were pillar-like structures that held human skulls from the bottom to the top. I was overwhelmed by feelings of the sublime; even now it is still difficult to comprehend the feelings I received form the church. It was here that I learned the term "memento mori" which is a reminder that death is inevitable. The entire church stands as a memento mori, and I feel that everyone has different reactions to it. Something that I found interesting while observing the Ossuary was the amount of coins that people had thrown at the bone mounds. I was at first assuming that people had done this in an idea of making a wish, like people often do with fountains; I then thought more about the idea and realized that it is most likely not a wish at all. Though I'm not certain, I feel like people may throw the coins as a way of either warding off, or honoring death. I think that it is possibly a way of respecting the deceased. The sublime nature of Kutna Hora's Ossuary was amazing, and an experience that I will never forget.