What to see / 16.03.2024

From Prague to Kutna Hora. Sights of the ancient city of Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora: attractions and self-guided tour route District center Kutna Hora attractions

Friends, greetings! When visiting the town of Kutná Hora on your own, how to get there from Prague becomes a pressing issue. Kutná Hora is one of those cities that are located very close to Prague. And since there are a lot of attractions there, it is natural for travelers, while in Prague, to find an opportunity to go to Kutná Hora. In any case, many are interested in how to get to the ossuary, and this famous chapel is located in this town.

This photo shows exactly the train that will take you in 50 minutes from Prague to Kutná Hora. Fast? Yes, much faster!..

The town is located approximately 80 km east of Prague and belongs to the Central Bohemian region. In order for your trip to take place and you to be able to get to Kutna Hora on your own, you need to:

Purchase tickets and board the appropriate train
Arrive at Kutna Hora station
Get from the train station into the city and immerse yourself in sightseeing

Purchasing tickets and seating in the carriage

Train tickets can be purchased both online and at the railway station ticket office. A convenient time to start traveling to Kutna Hora is 8 a.m. You can arrive at the main station in advance and purchase tickets there. For example, there is a train that leaves at 8.06. There is no point in going earlier, since museums and churches will still be closed. I recommend buying round-trip tickets immediately so that you know what time you have for excursions and so you don’t have to worry about them anymore.

So, the tickets (riddenki in Czech) are in your hands. Now let's determine where the train is. The ticket indicates the departure and arrival stations, as well as the train number. But, since passing trains pass through Kutna Hora, you will not see your station on the board - the final station along the route is indicated there. I'll give you a hint: you need trains going to Brno:

Check the train number, see which platform is indicated on the board and follow the signs. Don't worry about not knowing where to go. There are very clear signs everywhere:

Trains in the Czech Republic may consist of as few as three carriages, but on this route there are slightly more. There are also electronic displays on the platform; just in case, check to see if your train departs from this platform. Suddenly you came running too early))

You choose the carriage at your own discretion. Conductors check tickets not during boarding, but during the journey. The carriages on Czech trains vary in layout, but they are all clean, convenient and comfortable. In this train, on the example of which I compiled this mini-instruction for you, the cars look like this:

When we traveled independently from Prague by train to the popular town of the royal castle, the carriages were completely different, two-story.

The train cars heading to Kutna Hora consist of several compartments. Agree, it’s very comfortable to drive in such conditions:

The main thing is not to oversleep your stop, relaxing in your chair in the morning)) Let me remind you that the travel time to the station you need is 50 minutes. Stops, of course, are announced. But I don’t know how you perceive the Czech language by ear. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to check the time. Transport in the Czech Republic is punctual; you can rely on the arrival time indicated on the ticket.

How to get from Kutna Hora station to the city's attractions

As soon as you get out of the car and head along the passage to the station, pay attention to the map with attractions posted on the wall:

The map will tell you a lot. Look at the right edge, where the train sign is depicted - this is where you are now. The town, like a fluttering scarf, moves away from the railway station.

You have probably noticed that the map shows several attractions very close to your location, and a more populated place is located a little further. That’s right - Kutná Hora consists of the Sedlec district adjacent to the railway station and the town itself, which arose around the silver mines. Both areas need to be examined.

In Sedlec there is a famous ossuary, and to the mint and to you you need to walk through the entire city.

Another quick way to get to the city center is to take a bus that runs between the station and the center. See the sign in the photo above? So he tells you where the bus stop is. And public transport stops on the other side of the railway station, next to the entrance:

But if you have no complaints about walking, then it is best to go to the sights on foot. The path is generously marked with signs, so you can safely go forward:

You will walk along the bridge for some time and then through the city. The road is completely straight. And in 15-20 minutes you will reach the territory of the monastery in Sedlec, where the oldest Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in the Czech Republic is located - a UNESCO site. This is a view of the Cistercian monastery:

There is a tobacco museum at the monastery, which is also interesting to visit. It turns out that tobacco production has been established in the Sedlec Monastery since 1812.

The Ossuary, or Church of All Saints, is located to the right of the highway. After sightseeing in Sedlec, you will have the same transition to the city center of Kutná Hora. It’s even a little longer to walk – about half an hour. By the way, then set aside an hour to return from the city center to the train, so that you can go back to Prague without haste and fuss.

There are a lot of attractions in Kutna Hora, check out the main ones in. Externally, you will examine them, but you will only have time to visit a few. Therefore, it is better to immediately, at the first of the objects of interest, buy a combined ticket to visit three or four of them.

Depending on which selection of attractions interests you, a combined ticket will cost you 150-300 CZK.

I also want to emphasize that Kutna Hora is an independent city. It is not part of Prague! It seems to us, accustomed to distances, that a distance of 70-80 km is almost the outskirts of the city. For the Czech Republic this is quite a serious distance. Kutná Hora is the administrative center of the region, which in the old days even rivaled Prague in importance.

Friends, you have now thoroughly figured out how to get from Prague to Kutna Hora. I wish you to visit this unique town in the near future. I will be waiting for your feedback about the trip.

Your euro guide Tatyana

Sights of Kutna Hora. The most important and interesting sights of Kutna Hora - photos and videos, descriptions and reviews, location, websites.

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Zhleby

Central Bohemian Region, Zleby, Zamecka, 1

The Czech medieval castle of Žleby is located near the town of Kutna Hora, 110 km from Prague. Zhleby has an excellent location - on the banks of the Dubrava River. That is why the castle got its name: from the Czech word “zlaba”, which means “mouth of the river”.

the most unesco

Ossuary in the Czech Republic

What is primarily known about the suburb of the once financial center of the Czech Republic Kutna Hora - Sedlec? That's right, the famous church Kostnice v Sedlci. In the Czech word “kostnice” one can easily guess the common root with the Russian “bones”; this, in general, is a chapel in which human remains are kept.

The main attraction, which annually attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists to Kutna Hora, remains the Ossuary, the Sedlec Ossuary in the cemetery chapel of All Saints. It is a frightening and fascinating place: a church whose interior is lined with the bones of tens of thousands of people. First of all, travelers associate Kutna Hora with the Ossuary, but in the city there is something to see besides it - and not so scary.

Kutna Hora owes its growth and prosperity to silver, so tourists should definitely visit the Hradek Silver Museum. This small castle is interesting both in itself and in its museum display. One part of it is dedicated to ancient times before the discovery of silver ore, the second to the rich and prosperous medieval Kutna Hora. The most interesting part of visiting the museum is descending into a real mine.

It is impossible not to mention the Cathedral of St. James on the hill, which is visible even when approaching Kutna Hora thanks to the central tower 85 m high.

Another castle, no longer small, protected the road to the city in the Middle Ages and was famous for its cellars, where mined silver was stored, and those who encroached on it were imprisoned and punished. In the fortress there is the Vlassky (or Italian) court, a former mint: it was here, after the monetary reform, that Prague groschen, uniform for the entire country, were first minted. Today, the castle houses a museum of coinage, and in the dungeon there is a museum of medieval history.

It will be very interesting to visit the beautiful Stone House, the private mansion of a relatively wealthy city dweller. Having become rich, he richly decorated his home with carved stone details in the Gothic style. Inside the Stone House you can see an exhibition of applied art from the Middle Ages. There is also a Stone Fountain in Kutna Hora, an ornate Gothic structure 4 m high in the shape of a washer. Today it does not work as a fountain, but as an architectural monument of the 15th century it deserves attention. Finally, it is worth passing by the Plague Pillar, erected in the city at a time when the Black Death was raging in Europe.

The beautiful Gothic churches of Kutna Hora are definitely worth visiting. The Church of St. Barbara, for example, took many centuries to build and eventually acquired a peculiar eclectic appearance. Nevertheless, it is an amazing and impressive structure with several domes, decorated with many Gothic figures and peaks. The Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God is included in the UNESCO List, which is strikingly different from the aforementioned in its simplicity, but at the same time with an abundance of natural light and air inside: under the high arches it seems that you are in some kind of unreal palace. The other Church of Our Lady is much more modest and smaller, but is notable for its clock tower and creation history. It stands on a former market square, where silver dust was swept for many years and eventually accumulated enough to pay for the construction of the church.

Of course, it is impossible not to mention the Cathedral of St. James on the hill, which is visible even when approaching Kutna Hora thanks to the central tower 85 m high. Also worth attention is the Gothic Chapel of Corpus Christi, unremarkable from the outside, but with interesting internal vaults and amazing acoustics.

Among the little-known attractions of Kutna Hora, we can mention the Alchemy Museum in the Santurin House. It is located in the basement, where a real alchemical laboratory has been reconstructed.

Well, if you have an extra day in the city, you can explore its surroundings. In particular, go to Kachina, an empire-style small castle surrounded by a green park. There is a museum of rural life in the park. Another pleasant route is the premises of the Žleby castle, which is 25 km from the city. This is a real late medieval castle, reminiscent of the best French examples, and it also has a museum exhibition.

Kutná Hora is a city in Bohemia, which is called the treasury and jewel of the Czech Republic. Thanks to silver mining in these parts, the Czech kingdom stood on a pedestal of strength and power. The city has an unusual monument in the form of a church full of bones.

Kutna Hora, photo by Libor Maly

Kutná Hora is an ancient city with a rich, centuries-old history, 60 kilometers east of Prague.

City `s history

The name of the city, Kutná Hora, translated means “Mountain of the old monastic robe.” According to legend, one monk fell asleep on a hill and saw silver bars in his dream. When he woke up, he actually found them in the place indicated in the dream and covered the ingots with his robe. Subsequently, a mine was formed on this site, and shacks, taverns, baths, shops, etc. appeared around. The first “silver rush” in Europe began. The scattered villages united, and Kutna Hora gained the privileges of a royal city.

The city was founded in the first half of the 13th century. The Royal Mint was located in Kutná Hora, where the European currency, the Prague groschen, was minted. Thanks to its wealth, the city rivaled the Czech capital and was called “Prague in miniature.”

Kutna Hora, the silver city, has rightfully received the name “treasury of the country.” His wealth helped the development of the Czech Kingdom. But during the Hussite wars the city was severely destroyed, and by the middle of the 16th century, due to the depletion of ores, it fell into decay.

Kutna Hora has retained its unique medieval appearance to this day. Take a day trip from Prague to this magnificent city to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of antiquity. The city center, due to its historical significance and architectural masterpieces, was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.

Attractions Kutna Hora

Chapel of All Saints with ossuary in Sedlec

Ossuary

One of the attractions of the city, which is located on the outskirts in the town of Sedlec, is the Kostnice in the Cemetery Church of All Saints (Hřbitovní kostel Všech svatých) with a depressing interior, where the decoration material was human bones. You will see an altar, images of coats of arms, chandeliers... all made of human bones and skulls. If you are not a thrill-seeker, it is better to go to explore more peaceful architectural masterpieces.

Cathedral of St. Barbara

The Cathedral of St. Barbara (Chrám svaté Barbory), the patroness of miners, deserves special attention - a unique structure in the late Gothic style, the construction of which began at the end of the 14th century. The temple attracts with Gothic frescoes and beautiful stained glass windows. Nearby there is a small observation deck with a magnificent view of the city.

Hrádek Silver Museum and Medieval Silver Mine

Hradek, photo by pavel helge

If you're in Kutna Hora, visit Hrádek - a medieval fortress turned into a luxurious palace. Nowadays the Czech Silver Museum (České muzeum stříbra) is located within its walls. An integral part of the museum tour is a visit to a medieval silver mine in special miners' equipment. To descend into a mine to a depth of 50 meters and feel like an ancient miner - this opportunity does not present itself every day!

Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist (Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a svatého Jana Křtitele) deserves attention due to the complexity of its architectural solutions. It is included in the UNESCO list. This is the first cathedral-type building in Bohemia in the spirit of Central European Gothic. The interior decoration of the church is modest, mostly gravitating towards the Baroque style. It is worth noting the wooden carved interior items: figures of angels and saints, a confessional, benches for parishioners. Numerous large windows through which sunlight streams, combined with a delicate cream finish, make the cathedral room surprisingly delicate.

The Cistercian monastery in Sedlec (Sedlecký klášter) was founded in 1142 as the first monastery of the congregation of St. Bernard in Bohemia. In 1412, during the Hussite wars, it was destroyed and burned. Of the original buildings, the monastery building of the 18th century, the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist and the cemetery Church of All Saints with the Ossuary have been preserved. The abbey, outbuildings, enclosing walls with gates, a sanatorium, and a hospital have not reached us. The monastery is now home to a Philip Morris cigarette factory.

Vlassky yard

Italian Court – former mint, photo Dmitry Shakin

Vlašský dvůr (or Italian) is a palace in the city of Kutna Hora, where the central mint of Prague was located. Initially, at the end of the 13th century, the castle was built as a fortified fort to guard roads and store silver. After the monetary reform of King Wenceslas II, coiners were placed in the Vlassky court and began to mint a single currency, the Prague groschen. Coinmakers' workshops were set up in the courtyard, they were surrounded by forges, and there was a printing press right there. After reconstruction, the Vlaš Courtyard became a royal residence for some time. At the beginning of the 18th century, silver mining in Kutna Hora decreased significantly, and in 1727 the mint was closed. In 1770 there was a fire. After reconstruction, the town hall was located in the castle. Later there was a military hospital, a prison and a school.

Today, the royal chapel and audience hall, the Kutna Hora Historical Museum and the Coinage Museum are open for inspection, and if you're lucky, you can catch a demonstration of coinage.

Church of St. Jacob the Elder

Church of St. Jacob the Elder, photo Maksim

Representatives of the rich families of the city and the owners of the mountain mines decided to build the Church of St. Jacob the Elder (Kostel svatého Jakuba Staršího) at their own expense. The location was chosen on a hill above the mines. In 1420 construction was completed. Due to its impressive size and high location, it is visible from all points of Kutna Hora. Initially the church was planned with two towers. However, due to the enormous size of the temple and its location above the silver mines, one tower had to be abandoned, which made its stone construction lighter. Interestingly, the main tower is slightly inclined to the northwest. Why not the Leaning Tower of Pisa?

The temple is famous for the sculptural decorations of the southern facade, dating back to the courtly art of the time of Vladislav and being the largest and oldest surviving complex of Romanesque sculpture in the Czech Republic with images of the patrons of the Czech lands.

Chapel of Corpus Christi

The Chapel of the Corpus Christi (Kaple Božího těla) was built in the 14th century, shortly before the construction of the Cathedral of St. Barbarians. From the observation deck on the roof of the chapel, a magnificent panorama of Kutna Hora opens up. According to the plan, it was supposed to be a two-story cemetery chapel. The first floor would serve as a ossuary, and the second floor would serve as a chapel for services for the dead. But construction ended on the first floor.

The interior of the chapel is created in the late Gothic style. Initially, the chapel was used by the Jesuits as a ossuary, so the interior of the hall is not decorated. Then the chapel was closed, and the premises changed owners. After restoration it is open to visitors.

Jesuit College

Jesuit College (Jezuitská kolej) is a two-story building in the Baroque style with transverse wings. Construction began in 1667, architect Giovanni Domenico Orsi. The Jesuits called the wide road in front of the college “The Bridge” and decorated it like in Prague. On the eastern side of the building there were sculptures of 12 saints plus a sculpture of St. John of Nepomuk, which appeared later, created by Frantisek Baugut in 1703-1717. In 1773, the Jesuit order was abolished, and the college began to be used for military purposes. Now it houses the Center for Contemporary Art.

The Church of St. John of Nepomuk (Kostel svatého Jana Nepomuckého) in Kutna Hora was built in the late Baroque style with Rococo elements. Construction began on the feast of St. John of Nepomuk, May 16, 1734, designed by the court architect Frantisek Maximilian Kanka. In the interior of the church, a stylistic unity can be traced: statues of patrons of the Czech Republic, the work of different masters; polychrome carved altar (1754) with imitation marble, the work of the workshop of F.I. Platzer. The plot of the ceiling frescoes is dedicated to the legend of St. John of Nepomuk. They were created in 1752 by F. K. Palko and J. J. Redelmayer.

After reconstruction in 1980, the building is open to the public and serves for cultural events, primarily concerts. The church is a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

Address: Husova 121/43, 284 01 Kutná Hora. Website: kutnahora.cz.
Opening hours: daily April-October 10:30 – 16:30; November-March upon request.
Entrance fee: adult – 40 CZK; children's – 20.

Residents of Kutno Hora specifically removed the letter “s” from the word square (náměstí) and named the church after the Mother of God on Namneti (Kostel Panny Marie Na Náměti). Namneti is a place where people sweep. The temple is located in a square where there used to be a market where miners sold silver ore to traders. After it closed, in the evening, people swept away the silver dust that had fallen to the ground. After some time, they collected so much silver that it was enough to build a church.

Noteworthy is the clock on the church tower, which in the 15th century hung much lower. Residents were unhappy that the clock was hard to see from a distance, so watchmaker Jakub Vladyka had to move it higher, where it remains to this day. A stone pulpit with rich decor (early 16th century) has been preserved inside.

Today, the Church of the Mother of God on Namneti is the oldest stone building in the city, a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. Its construction probably began in 1360. In 1470, there was a fire in the church and reconstruction was carried out. This is exactly the kind of church we see today.

Stone fountain, photo Václav Dvořák

The Late Gothic Stone Fountain (Kamenná kašna) is part of the city water supply system of Kutná Hora. It was built in 1493 according to the design of the architect M. Reisek, and was in use until the 19th century. The height of the fountain is almost 4 m. This huge reservoir is interesting both as an artistic and historical landmark and as a technical monument. Water was supplied to the container through wooden pipes from a well located 4 km away. The fountain was under a canopy. It supplied the city with drinking water.

Address: Rejskova, 284 01 Kutná Hora. Website: kutnahora.cz.

Plague Pillar

After the plague epidemic (1713), it was decided to install a baroque plague column (Morový sloup) over 16 meters high, the sculptor was Frantisek Baugut. On the pillar there is a statue of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, there is an inscription: “To the Mother of God, the immaculately conceived Ever-Virgin - pious and dejected Kutna Hora, by the grace of the Mother of God delivered from the pestilence.” The sum of the numbers in the chronogram (6146) means the total number of plague victims in the city and its environs.

What to see in the area

From Kutná Hora you can go to the resort of Poděbrady.

The city of Caslav, founded around the middle of the 13th century. Czech King Přemysl II Otakar.

Prague is a paradise for Russian tourists: a hundred types of beer, fried sausages, marinated sausages and all this against the backdrop of breathtaking architecture. Getting out of such a comfort zone is a quest for the most desperate.

But we need to see the rest of the Czech Republic. And vacation is a one-time thing. Therefore, we get up, proudly leave the cafe and go on an excursion to Kutna Hora. This charismatic city 66 km east of the capital will be able to surprise you. There is not only a huge ossuary, there is also a silver mine, and much more. You can have a nice walk.

And all sorts of little things, like "How to get there" And “Where should I have lunch?”- has not been a problem for a long time. Now we will organize everything.

Let's open our small guide.

Two words about history: Kutna Hora was also not built right away

First there was the monk Antonius. He lived for himself, did not bother anyone, and worked in the vineyards. But one day he took it and dozed off on one of the hills of what is now Kutna Hora. Some people dream of a table of chemical elements, but ours The monk dreamed of silver. He woke up and went to look for the place he saw in his dream. I found both the place and the hidden silver bars. He left his cassock there and went home.

And a few years later a city grew around that hill, which is now called that "The mountain of the old monastic robe" or... Kutna Hora.

It was in this city that the “silver rush” later happened. So the unofficial name of the city is “the main treasury of the country.”

Silver mining. The work of miners is difficult and important.

How does the former Kuttenberg live today?

The population of the city is 20.5 thousand people. But There are tourists here all the time: ominous Ossuary. In addition, the city center is considered a world heritage site by UNESCO - another reason to visit Kutna Hora.

This city is an introvert's dream. Despite the fact that there are no travelers here, there are never many people on the streets. You can walk for half a day and hardly count 10-20 people around.

A good city, not crowded, calm, UNESCO loves it.

What to see in Kutna Hora? Except bones!

There are definitely enough attractions for a day of active recreation: