A mystical underground sanctuary
St. James Church (Kostnice u sv. Jakuba) was estabilished with a graveyard in the 13th century. The Church was granted parochial rights. Before the 11th century deceased was layed in wooden boards and burying into the ground based on their belief their body shall be preserved for the after life. Only privileged welthier persons was buried in wooden coffins. This practice got common only from the 15th century. Due to the Thirty Year’s War, the subsequent epidemics (plague and cholera) and the needs of the growing city, a special burial system had to be introduced. 10-12 years after the burial, the graves were opened and the remains were removed to make room for other bodies.
These remains were placed in the underground chapel. It was called a bone chamber or an ossuary. It is a small chapel-like building in which the bones found in the consecrated ground of the cemetery were placed during the digging of new graves in the Middle Ages. Over the years, the ossuary slowly fell into oblivion. When the restoration of the church began, the chambers 4 meters below street level were rediscovered. The chambers were filled with skeletal remains from floor to ceiling. It was estimated that the number of bodies buried here could exceed fifty thousand. Only 10-15% of the bones and skulls was returned and placed into a gabion-like structure. The rest was buried in the Central Cemetery. Only one chamber (what is behind the glass) remained as it was originally. After Paris, the Brno Ossuary is the second largest in Europe.
“Our landscapes connect us to our history; they are the source of our character as a people, as well as our health, our safety, and our prosperity. Natural resources enrich us economically, yes. But they also enrich us aesthetically and recreationally and culturally and spiritually.”
– Robert Kennedy, Jr.