Kutna Hora Day Trip

A big goal I made for myself before I came to Prague was to do some travelling while I was here, so again, jumped at the chance to go to Kutna Hora when the opportunity came up through my host University! 

Kutna Hora is a city just east of Prague, and is less than an hour and a half away by train, I believe the trip cost about €4 return, or something along those lines- nothing too crazy. It’s a very culture- rich city, and there is so much to see and do whilst there!

The history of Kutna Hora, and surrounding areas is predominantly linked to silver mining, apparently mining was very big in the city. Since the beginning of the 60s Kutná Hora has been a part of the National Heritage List, before it was given UNESCO status in the mid- 90s.

Kutná Hora is the only town in the Middle Bohemian Region with this amazing status.

The train journey was about one hour and twenty minutes, and the Kutná Hora train station is on the outskirts of the city. We walked in a little bit and saw the very famous Phillips tobacco company. I found it really interesting to learn that the church actually owns the tobacco company, that’s a bit mad, right?

Our first stop was the very famous Bone Chapel & Ossuary. This dates from near the end of the 14th Century. The Bone Church is decorated completely with human bones, which are said to have been assembled by a half-blind monk.

• 

  The chandelier in the centre of the Bone Church is said to contain every bone in the human body.

• 

• 

  ‘The Coat of Arms’

The Bone Church was so interesting, and listening to the history behind it was truely mesmerizing. From there we went to the St. James’ Church. 

• 

• 

• 

Both the Ossuary and St. James Church are close to the outskirts of Kutná Hora, so we caught the bus to go into the city centre. To me, it is strange to call it a city as it is quite small, and not that busy! There are just over 20,000 people residing in Kutná Hora! We got food in a very medieval styled and traditional Czech restaurant, called Restaurace Dačický. 

• 

• 

As it was a little on the chilly side I decided to opt for a warm wine, which was absolutely amazing.

I’ve never actually ordered mulled/ warm wine before but I can assure you I definitely will be ordering it again- and just in time for the Christmas Markets!

The lunch I ordered was called Sýčkové. If you are following my Instagram I’ll already have explained this, but to put it briefly Sýčkové consisted of the most amazing beef served in a cream sauce (also amazing), along with lemon, cranberry sauce, and whipped cream, served with dumplings. At first, I was taken aback by the actual whipped cream- I don’t know what I expected considering the menu did say ‘whipped cream’, however, the dish was pretty amazing, and a very positive first experience trying proper Czech food!

After lunch we did further exploring in Kutná Hora, it is such a beautiful place! In the bottom of the town there is a piano out in the open, which I think is such a unique idea. Anyone can sit and play, which really added to the atmosphere.

We found the most amazing view on the way to our last stop, St. Barbara’s Cathedral. 
The construction of this UNESCO cathedral dates back to the late 1380s, however, the construction was interrupted more times than you could count and it took more than 500 years for the cathedral to be completed! 

• 

• 

• 

Kutná Hora is truly a fabulous little city, bursting with so much history and so many tourist points to see! There are many more places to see that we didn’t do also!