Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec

Kutná Hora is a medieval Central Bohemian town whose growth was driven by silver mining from the 13th century; it contains major Gothic ecclesiastical monuments and a well-preserved urban core.

The town centre preserves a compact medieval street network with merchant houses and civic buildings clustered around former administrative and market areas. The Church of St Barbara is a large late Gothic church with a vaulted interior and multiple chapels that reflect the town’s mining patrons. In the Sedlec suburb visitors encounter a former Cistercian monastery complex that includes the small Cemetery Church and the well-known Sedlec Ossuary, a chapel decorated with arranged human bones.

Kutná Hora expanded rapidly from the 13th century after rich silver veins were exploited; civic institutions, guilds and royal administration followed the mining boom and funded major constructions. St Barbara’s Church and many civic buildings date to the late medieval and early modern periods and the Sedlec monastic complex dates back to the medieval era, later becoming noted for its ossuary decoration.

The town sits in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, east of Prague by road and rail. The historic core and Sedlec suburb are both within a short drive of each other, set on a gently rolling inland landscape.

• Medieval silver economy: The town developed from extensive silver mining from the 13th century, which made it one of the most important urban centres in medieval Bohemia.
• Sedlec Ossuary note: The Sedlec Ossuary is a compact chapel decorated with human skeletal remains arranged as chandeliers and sculptural motifs; interior space is small and visits are brief.
• St Barbara construction: St Barbara's Church was constructed in phases from the 14th to the 16th century and reflects the wealth of mining patrons in its scale and decoration.

What to See #

• Historic Town Centre: Forms the core medieval centre with its network of streets, merchant houses and mining-related buildings that grew up around the town's silver mines from the 13th century onward.
• Church of St Barbara: A late Gothic parish church begun in the 14th century, noted for its high vaulted interior and multiple chapels dedicated to mining patrons and guilds.
• Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec / Sedlec Ossuary: Located in the Sedlec suburb, this former monastery complex includes the Cemetery Church and the Sedlec Ossuary, a small chapel decorated with human bones.