Forty thousand skeletons arranged in chandeliers and coats of arms, a Gothic chapel beneath Bohemian soil
Hand-picked by our editors — only the best 4 experiences from 11 reviewed
Verified partners for Sedlec Ossuary tours, free cancellation where available, and instant confirmation on every booking.
6 hr
Journey to a medieval silver-mining town and its famous ossuary adorned with 40,000 human bones
Reserve
6 hr
Half-day trip to a medieval mining town featuring a chapel adorned with human skeletons and soaring Gothic architecture
Reserve
6 hr
Journey to a medieval silver mining town and explore its haunting ossuary adorned with human remains
ReservePrices from verified partners. Availability updates in real time at checkout. Free cancellation policies apply where shown.
The landmarks, rooms, and views travelers on Sedlec Ossuary tours remember — all visible on a single visit.
This centerpiece is said to contain at least one of every bone in the human body.
A stunning piece of bone art crafted by Frantisek Rint in 1870.
The primary ossuary area houses the remains of 40,000 to 70,000 individuals.
A 14th-century Gothic building serving as the outer shell of the ossuary.
Every Sedlec Ossuary tour side-by-side — duration, what's included, how you redeem.
| Experience | Duration | Rating | Skip-the-line | Guide | Small group | Free cancel. | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Guided Experience Most popular
Kutná Hora Day Trip with Bone Chapel & St. Barbara's Cathedral
|
6 hr | ★ 4.6 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | $79 | Book → |
|
Guided Experience
Kutná Hora: Bone Church & St. Barbara's Cathedral Tour
|
6 hr | ★ 4.4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | $67 | Book → |
|
Guided Experience
Kutná Hora Day Trip: Gothic Cathedral & Bone Chapel
|
6 hr | ★ 4.2 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | $88 | Book → |
All prices from verified partners. Availability and exact terms confirmed at checkout.
The Sedlec Ossuary and the Capuchin Crypt provide distinct experiences, with the former serving as an artistic masterpiece of human remains and the latter offering a somber, monastic reflection on mortality.
| Feature | Top pick Sedlec Ossuary | Capuchin Crypt, Rome |
|---|---|---|
Atmosphere |
Theatrical and artistic | Somber and monastic |
Bone Arrangement Complexity |
Intricate chandeliers and garlands | Six separate themed chapels |
Historical Context |
14th-century plague and war victims | 17th-century friar remains |
Visitor Accessibility |
Ground level access | Located beneath church level |
Crowd Density |
High during peak hours | Moderate throughout the year |
Regional Significance |
Czech Republic landmark | Rome religious heritage |
| See tickets → |
Verdict: Choose the Sedlec Ossuary tour if you prefer large-scale installations, or the Capuchin Crypt if you seek an intimate historical encounter with the remnants of religious orders.
Choose your ticket, select your date, and reserve in under two minutes. Secure checkout handled by our verified partner.
Instant confirmation by email, with a mobile voucher you can save offline. No printing, no queuing at a collection desk.
Arrive at the entrance, show your voucher on your phone, and walk in. Most tickets include priority or skip-the-line access.
Practical details for Sedlec Ossuary tickets straight from our verified partners — hours, access, rules, and how to get there.
Zámecká 279, 284 03 Kutná Hora
Check in here before visiting the ossuary.
Open in Google MapsTake a train from Prague to Kutná Hora hl.n., then a short local train or walk to Sedlec.
Respectable clothing is required, meaning appropriate length for sleeves and trouser legs. Eccentric clothing or costumes that do not match the sacred character of the site are prohibited.
Large bags and luggage are prohibited inside the Cemetery Church. Please avoid bringing unnecessary items as storage facilities are limited.
Photography is strictly prohibited inside the Cemetery Church and ossuary to maintain the site's sanctity. Commercial photography requires a permit requested three days in advance.
The Cemetery Church and the ossuary level feature pathways for visitors, though some areas involve navigating stairs. Wheelchair access is available in designated parts of the complex.
Mobile phones should be silenced before entering the chapel. Their use for photography or video is strictly prohibited to preserve the piety of the space.
Children are welcome, but please ensure they remain respectful of the solemn environment. The ossuary may be unsettling for younger children due to the nature of the displays.
Eating and drinking are strictly prohibited in the Cemetery Church and the surrounding cemetery grounds. Please dispose of any waste in bins located outside the site entrance.
Animals are not permitted inside the cemetery or the Church of All Saints. Please leave pets at home as they cannot accompany you during your visit.
The ossuary visit is typically limited to 30 minutes inside the lower chapel. Please arrive at the meeting point 5 minutes before your scheduled entry time.
Zámecká 279, 284 03 Kutná Hora
Check in here before visiting the ossuary.
Get directionsBest time to go, insider tips, nearby landmarks, and the cancellation fine print — flip through to skim what matters to you.
How crowds, weather, and events shift across the year.
The autumn weather is cool and ideal for walking between local Kutna Hora landmarks without the heat of peak summer crowds.
Small details that turn a good visit into a great one.
Arrive between 09:00–10:30 to avoid peak times.
Non-bookable sights within a short walk — free to visit, easy to pair.
A magnificent UNESCO site included with your ticket.
Flexible, no hidden fees.
Tickets can be fully cancelled up to 3 days before the scheduled visit for a refund in voucher credit. This voucher remains valid for 12 months for future use.
Hand-picked options within walking distance — pick a district for vibe, or a specific hotel for convenience.
A variety of historic guesthouses and hotels located near the city center.
Forty thousand human skeletons line the walls, ceiling, and altar of the Sedlec Ossuary, a Gothic chapel built atop a cemetery that received its first burials in 1278 after Abbot Heidenreich scattered soil from Golgotha across the monastery grounds.
Pilgrims sought burial in this consecrated earth, and by the fifteenth century the cemetery was overflowing. In 1511, a half-blind Cistercian monk exhumed and stacked the bones inside the chapel, where they remained in six pyramidal ossuaries until 1870, when František Rint, a woodcarver from Česká Skalice, was commissioned by the Schwarzenberg family to arrange the remains into decorative forms. Rint bleached, sorted, and articulated every bone, constructing a chandelier that incorporates at least one of each bone in the human body, four corner pyramids that rise three meters high, and a Schwarzenberg coat of arms rendered entirely in femurs, ribs, and vertebrae.
The Sedlec Ossuary remains a working chapel within the All Saints Cemetery Church, part of the former Sedlec Abbey complex that once rivaled Prague in wealth and influence. Visitors enter through a small Baroque door beneath the twin-spired church, descend stone steps into the vaulted crypt, and emerge into a chamber where chandeliers cast shadows through skeletal garlands. The ossuary's reputation as a macabre curiosity overlooks its function as a memento mori, a Gothic meditation on mortality embedded in Catholic devotional practice. Rint's arrangements are precise rather than grotesque, each skull cleaned and positioned to form geometric patterns that echo the ribbed vaulting overhead.
Kutná Hora, a UNESCO World Heritage site thirteen kilometers southeast of the ossuary, grew rich on silver mines in the fourteenth century and minted the Prague groschen, the medieval currency that financed Charles IV's transformation of Prague. The town's decline after the mines flooded in the sixteenth century preserved its Gothic core, and today the Sedlec Ossuary anchors a cluster of monuments including the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist, a Baroque masterpiece designed by Giovanni Santini-Aichel. Sedlec ossuary tours from Prague typically combine the bone church with Kutná Hora's historic center, though independent visitors arriving early avoid the midday tour bus crowds that compress into the small chapel between eleven and two. The ossuary opens at nine, and the first hour offers quiet passage through Rint's most intricate work, including a monstrance fashioned from pelvic bones and a signature carved from finger bones in the chapel's northeast corner. Conservation efforts funded by the 220 CZK admission fee address humidity damage that threatens the oldest bones, some of which date to plague burials in 1318.
"Rint's arrangements are precise rather than grotesque, each skull cleaned and positioned to form geometric patterns that echo the ribbed vaulting overhead."
A step-by-step walkthrough of Sedlec Ossuary tickets — what you'll see, how long each stage takes, and the details that matter.
You descend stone steps beneath the Cemetery Church's twin spires and push open a small wooden door into the crypt. The air shifts cool and still.
Overhead, a chandelier constructed from every bone in the human skeleton hangs above the nave, femurs radiating outward like petals, ribs forming concentric rings, skulls nested at the center. You step closer and count the vertebrae threading through the lowest tier, each one articulated and bleached bone-white.
To your left, a pyramid of skulls rises three meters against the north wall, stacked in alternating rows with long bones wedged between to stabilize the structure. You circle the nave slowly, pausing at the Schwarzenberg coat of arms mounted on the east wall, where a raven carved from ribs pecks at a Turkish skull, commemorating the family's military service. In the corner nearest the stairs, Rint's signature appears in finger bones, cursive letters spelling his name across a stone tablet.
You exit through the same door and climb back into daylight, the Cemetery Church courtyard empty except for a pair of visitors photographing the Baroque facade. The Cathedral of the Assumption rises a short walk east, its Gothic buttresses visible above the roofline, and the old town center spreads downhill toward the silver mines that funded this entire complex six centuries ago.
The Sedlec Ossuary is open daily from 09:00 to 18:00. Please ensure you arrive during these hours for your visit.
The entrance fee is 220 CZK, which includes access to both the Cemetery Church and the Cathedral.
No, photography is prohibited throughout the entire Church of All Saints to preserve its sanctity.
Yes, the site provides accessible pathways, though the lower ossuary chapel does include stairs.
No, luggage and large bags are strictly prohibited inside the Cemetery Church.
Visitors are expected to wear respectable clothing with covered shoulders and knees appropriate for a church setting.
The best time is between 09:00–10:30 to avoid the largest crowds from daily Prague tours.
No, food and beverages are strictly prohibited in the cemetery and church grounds.
Children are welcome to attend the sedlec ossuary tour, provided they remain respectful.
Tickets can be cancelled up to 3 days before your visit for a refund in voucher credit valid for 12 months.
