description Sedlec Abbey Overview
Sedlec Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in the Sedlec district of Kutná Hora, Czech Republic, founded in 1142 as the first Cistercian house in Bohemia. The abbey grounds include the Sedlec Ossuary, a small chapel beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints whose interior decorations, fashioned from the arranged skeletal remains of an estimated 40,000 individuals, date largely from the 19th-century work of woodcarver František Rint. The main abbey church, the Cathedral of the Assumption, is an early Gothic structure with later Baroque modifications. The site is part of the Kutná Hora UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Sedlec Abbey ranks #57 of 271 in the Abbey ranking, behind Vadstena Abbey, ahead of Solesmes Abbey.
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Where is Sedlec Abbey located?
Sedlec Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery located in the Sedlec district of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. It holds the distinction of being the very first Cistercian house founded in the historical region of Bohemia.
When was Sedlec Abbey founded?
The monastery was originally founded in 1142, making it an incredibly old and historically significant religious site in Central Europe. It was established as the foundational Cistercian community in Bohemia.
What famous attraction is located on the grounds of Sedlec Abbey?
The abbey grounds contain the famous Sedlec Ossuary, which is a small chapel located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints. This ossuary is world-renowned because its interior decorations are entirely constructed from human bones.
Why does the Sedlec Ossuary use human bones for decoration?
During the Black Death in the 14th century and the Hussite Wars, the abbey's cemetery became massively overcrowded. A half-blind monk was later tasked with exhuming the bones and stacking them in the ossuary, which were eventually artistically arranged into chandeliers and coats of arms.
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