Why not take a trip to Kutná Hora any time of year? Discover fascinating places

Kutná Hora is famous for its historic centre, which perfectly captures the atmosphere of medieval Europe. The town was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on 8 December 1995, with UNESCO representatives citing its historic buildings, particularly St. Barbara’s Church and the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Sedlec.

St. Barbara’s Cathedral: a magnificent piece of late Gothic architecture

St. Barbara’s Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral with five naves and is dedicated to the patron saint of miners, St. Barbara. Its construction lasted until the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and was intended to demonstrate the power and importance of the mining town, which was founded around 1270 by merging mining settlements where silver was mined. The interior features a rare gallery of late Gothic and Renaissance paintings from the 15th century, as well as artistic stonework. In the mid-16th century, when the silver in the Kutná Hora mines was exhausted, construction had to be temporarily halted. The following century brought many renovations and modifications, often in the Baroque style. The current appearance of the cathedral dates from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when it underwent regothicisation and complete renovation. At the beginning of the 20th century, generous donors had most of the windows decorated with stained glass created by the painter František Urban, depicting Christian motifs and significant events of his time. In 2014, a new stained glass window depicting Saint Agnes of Bohemia was added, decorating the last window in the south aisle.

Royal Palace and Mint: Vlašský dvůr

One of the most important sights in Kutná Hora is the royal palace Vlašský dvůr, whose name comes from Italian experts – the Vlachs. Vlašský dvůr has witnessed many important events, including the election of kings. The original fortified building from the end of the 13th century was converted into the central royal mint after the coinage reform of Wenceslas II in 1300, when Prague groschen began to be minted here. At the beginning of the 15th century, it served as the temporary residence of Wenceslas IV, who was fond of Kutná Hora and often stayed here. The Italian Court was adapted to the needs of the royal residence, and a royal residence with private and representative rooms, including the Chapel of St. Wenceslas, was added. Today, the Italian Court offers three tour routes that include interactive elements and will appeal to both children and adults.

Medieval Silver Mine: Czech Silver Museum

A tour of the medieval mine called “The Silver Trail” is part of the second circuit of the museum at Hrádek. The medieval mines in the area between the museum, Hrádek and St. Barbara’s Cathedral were discovered in 1967 during a hydrogeological survey. The area is made up of limestone-containing rocks, so you may encounter phenomena reminiscent of karst caves. Medieval miners worked manually with hammers – iron picks and mallets – and traces of their work can be found on the walls and ceilings. You will also find many small niches in the walls where miners placed their lamps. The tour will take you through the entire process that silver ore had to go through before it was turned into coins. You will see a replica of a mine with the original large horse-powered mining machine, known as a trejv, as well as authentic medieval mines. The guides can provide you with original mining equipment – a lamp, helmet and miner’s smock with a hood, called a perkytlí. You will walk through approximately 250 metres of the original medieval mine, and the tour ends with a scenic exhibition on silver ore processing and coin minting. The tour also includes the “miners’ settlement” in the Hrádek garden.

The oldest church in Kutná Hora: St. James’s Church

St. James’s Church is the oldest church in Kutná Hora. Its construction began after 1330. Until the 17th century, the church was called Vysoký (High) after its tower. From the beginning, St. James’s Church was intended to be the spiritual centre of the entire city. Its location and architecture reflect this, as it is located in the centre of the medieval city: it is approximately equidistant from the other churches, which expresses a sacred relationship to space. The tower of St. James’s Church is visible from afar and serves as an important landmark in the area. The building was completed in 1420, and Parler’s workshop, which was also working on St. Barbara’s Cathedral at the time, participated in its later stages.

The Ossuary in Sedlec: the remains of 40,000 deceased

This unique ossuary is located under the Church of All Saints in the cemetery in Sedlec near Kutná Hora. It was decorated mainly with human bones – a total of 40,000 remains belonging to victims of plague epidemics and the Hussite Wars. The current appearance of the cemetery chapel in Sedlec was created at the end of the 14th century and modified in the Baroque style by J. B. Santini Aichel at the beginning of the 18th century. It is the result of a complete renovation in the second half of the 19th century. This included modifications to the interior decoration of the chapel made from human skeletal remains. For example, you will find a chandelier made of all the large bones of the human body, decorations made of human shoulder blades and hips, pyramids made of bones, and a unique representation of the Schwarzenberg coat of arms, also made of bones. Particularly impressive is the lower right field of the coat of arms (symbolising victory over the Turks), where a raven pecks out the eye sockets of a human skull made of small bones…

Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary: a Gothic gem in Sedlec

This UNESCO World Heritage Site – the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist – was built between 1290 and 1320. It combines northern French Gothic architecture with elements of the German style. After the Hussite attack in the 15th century, the cathedral was left in ruins, yet it was so impressive that in 1681 it was awarded the title of splendissima basilica (most splendid basilica). At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, the cathedral was repaired in the Baroque-Gothic style by Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel. He incorporated unique self-supporting structural elements into the building – a vault called the “Czech pancake” and a spiral staircase. After the Sedlec Monastery was abolished by Emperor Joseph II and tobacco production began on its premises, the cathedral began to function as a Roman Catholic parish church. Inside, there are rare artistic monuments, such as paintings by P. Brandl, M. L. Willmann, J. K. Liška and others. The first attic of the cathedral is open to the public, and you can climb up to the choir loft on the west facade. The cathedral treasury houses one of the most valuable jewels in Central Europe – the original Sedlec monstrance. According to the latest information, it is one of the oldest preserved Gothic monstrances in the world.

Kutná Hora attracts Kingdom Come fans

Kutná Hora is currently experiencing an influx of new tourists and people interested in local history thanks to the second instalment of the computer game Kingdom Come Deliverance. The guide service has prepared new attractions and an interactive route with 30 stops. Visitors will find them in the historic centre and its immediate surroundings. Using an app, they can obtain information and complete tasks for rewards such as themed merchandise. A new costumed tour route for groups is now available, starting at Vlašský dvůr, the attractive mint of the Kingdom of Bohemia, and continuing through the historic streets and other sights such as the Czech Silver Museum at Hrádek, St. Barbara’s Cathedral, the Stone House and the Sankturinovský House on the square.