Kutná Hora: Silver, Bones and Cathedrals in the City That Rivaled Prague

The city that once matched Prague

In the 14th century, Kutná Hora was the second most important city in the Kingdom of Bohemia, and the reason lay underfoot: silver. The local mines produced a third of Europe's output of the metal, funding kings and cathedrals. When the silver ran out, the city froze — and that has been its fortune. Today Kutná Hora is a Gothic time capsule an hour by train from Prague, with a cathedral that rivals St Vitus's and an ossuary that has become one of the most unusual attractions in Europe.

What to see in Kutná Hora

The Cathedral of St Barbara

Dedicated to the patron saint of miners, the Cathedral of St Barbara is a masterpiece of late Gothic, built between 1388 and 1905 (yes, five centuries). The exterior, with its flying buttresses and pinnacles silhouetted against the sky, recalls Notre-Dame. The interior is light-filled and soaring, with net vaulting and unique frescoes depicting not saints and angels, but miners at work, coin minters and scenes of medieval economic life. It is the only cathedral in Europe where manual labor holds the same dignity as prayer.

The Sedlec Ossuary

On the outskirts of Kutná Hora, beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints in Sedlec, lies one of the most unsettling and fascinating spaces on the continent. The Sedlec Ossuary contains the bones of roughly 40,000 people, arranged into decorative compositions by František Rint in 1870: skull chandeliers, heraldic crests of bones, pyramids and garlands. It is not macabre for the sake of it: it is a Baroque memento mori that transforms death into art.

The Italian Court and the Mint

The Italian Court (Vlašský dvůr) was the royal mint where the Prague groschen — the most stable currency in medieval Europe — was struck. Today it is a museum: you can visit the king's audience hall, the chapel, and watch coining demonstrations. The name "Italian" derives from the expert moneyers brought in from Italy to set up production.

The old town

Between the cathedral and the Italian Court stretches a network of medieval streets with Gothic and Baroque houses, the Jesuit College (a long building skirting the terrace toward the cathedral), the Gothic Stone Fountain and the Church of St James with its tower rising above the rooftops.

What to eat

- Kulajda — creamy potato soup with mushrooms, sour cream and a poached egg, a Bohemian classic

- Bramboráky — crispy potato pancakes with garlic and marjoram, perfect with a beer

- Vepřové koleno — oven-roasted pork knuckle, crackling outside and tender within, served with mustard and horseradish

- Medovník — layered honey cake, a traditional Czech sweet

The Dačický restaurant, in a medieval cellar in the center, serves traditional Czech dishes with beer from its own brewery.

How to get there

Kutná Hora is 80 km from Prague, connected by direct trains (1 hour, departing from Prague's main station). The Kutná Hora hlavní nádraží station is linked to the town center by a local shuttle train. By car, about 1 hour from Prague via the D1 motorway. It makes a perfect day trip from Prague, but merits an overnight stay to enjoy the town at leisure once the tour groups have departed.

When to go

April to October. The best months are May, June and September: mild weather, few tourists, all attractions open. In summer the city hosts music festivals in the cathedral. Winter is cold but the cathedral and ossuary are open year-round.