Since I am in Prague for a business trip, I made use of the weekends to do some exploring. If you're interested to read more my adventure in Prague, check out my older travel post on my Prague trip in 2014. I'll be updating a new blog post on my current Prague trip when I return to Singapore (which will be in 2017).
Kutna Hora is a historic town located an hour train ride from Prague. Kutna Hora is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site, home to some of the most magnificent churches. Kutna Hora also sits on a silver mine.
Kutna Hora is an hour train ride from Prague. To get to Kutna Hora, buy your train ticket either online or at the Prague main train station (Praha Hln). The train will take you to Kutna Hora Hln and you'll have to switch to a connecting train to get to the town center, Kutna Hora Meso station. So make sure your ticket brings you to Kutna Hora Meso instead of Kutna Hora Hln. The return ticket will cost 209czk. The train comes at an interval of 2hours in the morning so make sure you check the timings, especially on your way back.
I alighted at Kutna Hora Meso and walked to the town center. It was winter, and one of the coldest days, so nobody was on the streets. The shops were all closed too so I highly recommend not to come in winter.
The first stop is to the Church of St Barbara.
It's such an amazing sight just walking to the church. I took a rather long way, winding some alleys, because I got kind of lost and I was refusing to take off my gloves to navigate the map on my phone because it was freezing.
Church of St Barbara is a gothic style cathedral that began construction in 1388 but was only completed in 1905.
The entrance fee for the church is 60czk and you can actually get a bundle ticket which will include the other main attractions in Kutna Hora.
To be honest, I did not do much research before going over so I had no expectations and idea of what the main attractions looked like. Neither did i know that there's an entrance fee. So I went in on a Sunday when there was service and managed to sneak in for free. I only realised that there was an entrance fee when I was buying tickets at the other attractions and they were showing the bundle package which included Church of St Barbara.
Before leaving, there's this hidden gem with a great view of Kutna Hora just next to the cathedral.
This is the Stone Fountain in Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora Stone House is around the corner and unfortunately, it's closed in winter. During warmer days, you can actually go on a tour into the silver mines.
As mentioned earlier, it's winter and not a single shop was open. So at the sight of an opened store, I went in immediately. The chocolate museum serves chocolates made in Czech and they allowed tasting. So I kind of left the store with a little more chocolates than expected.
Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is the other attraction in Kutna Hora. While the Church of St Barbara is located at the Kutna Hora Meso station, the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is closer to the Kutna Hora Sedlec station.
It takes 30 minutes to walk from the town center to the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. Would not really recommend it so it's better to take the train.
While the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist has a gothic style, the interior of the church has a clean look with the minimalistic style.
But the key attraction of Kutna Hora has to be the Sedlec Ossuary. My colleagues, who recommended me to visit Kutna Hora, was raving about the bone church where they used bones to decorate the interior.
It's a little unusual to use bones to decorate a place but it's definitely an interesting sight. There's piles and piles of bones lined up as decorations.
To be honest, I felt Kutna Hora to be a little underwhelming in the winter with the empty streets and closed shops. But it was definitely worth the escape from Prague to visit somewhere less crowded. If you have extra time on your hands, do drop by Kutna Hora.
Will be updating the blog again real soon as I will be clearing some of my backlogs from my other previous travel adventures.
Till then!
Kutna Hora is a historic town located an hour train ride from Prague. Kutna Hora is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site, home to some of the most magnificent churches. Kutna Hora also sits on a silver mine.
Kutna Hora is an hour train ride from Prague. To get to Kutna Hora, buy your train ticket either online or at the Prague main train station (Praha Hln). The train will take you to Kutna Hora Hln and you'll have to switch to a connecting train to get to the town center, Kutna Hora Meso station. So make sure your ticket brings you to Kutna Hora Meso instead of Kutna Hora Hln. The return ticket will cost 209czk. The train comes at an interval of 2hours in the morning so make sure you check the timings, especially on your way back.
I alighted at Kutna Hora Meso and walked to the town center. It was winter, and one of the coldest days, so nobody was on the streets. The shops were all closed too so I highly recommend not to come in winter.
The first stop is to the Church of St Barbara.
It's such an amazing sight just walking to the church. I took a rather long way, winding some alleys, because I got kind of lost and I was refusing to take off my gloves to navigate the map on my phone because it was freezing.
Church of St Barbara is a gothic style cathedral that began construction in 1388 but was only completed in 1905.
The entrance fee for the church is 60czk and you can actually get a bundle ticket which will include the other main attractions in Kutna Hora.
To be honest, I did not do much research before going over so I had no expectations and idea of what the main attractions looked like. Neither did i know that there's an entrance fee. So I went in on a Sunday when there was service and managed to sneak in for free. I only realised that there was an entrance fee when I was buying tickets at the other attractions and they were showing the bundle package which included Church of St Barbara.
Before leaving, there's this hidden gem with a great view of Kutna Hora just next to the cathedral.
This is the Stone Fountain in Kutna Hora. Kutna Hora Stone House is around the corner and unfortunately, it's closed in winter. During warmer days, you can actually go on a tour into the silver mines.
As mentioned earlier, it's winter and not a single shop was open. So at the sight of an opened store, I went in immediately. The chocolate museum serves chocolates made in Czech and they allowed tasting. So I kind of left the store with a little more chocolates than expected.
Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is the other attraction in Kutna Hora. While the Church of St Barbara is located at the Kutna Hora Meso station, the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist is closer to the Kutna Hora Sedlec station.
It takes 30 minutes to walk from the town center to the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. Would not really recommend it so it's better to take the train.
While the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist has a gothic style, the interior of the church has a clean look with the minimalistic style.
But the key attraction of Kutna Hora has to be the Sedlec Ossuary. My colleagues, who recommended me to visit Kutna Hora, was raving about the bone church where they used bones to decorate the interior.
It's a little unusual to use bones to decorate a place but it's definitely an interesting sight. There's piles and piles of bones lined up as decorations.
To be honest, I felt Kutna Hora to be a little underwhelming in the winter with the empty streets and closed shops. But it was definitely worth the escape from Prague to visit somewhere less crowded. If you have extra time on your hands, do drop by Kutna Hora.
Will be updating the blog again real soon as I will be clearing some of my backlogs from my other previous travel adventures.
Till then!
