Wandering Brno

Bones, mummies, and even a castle! Check out the amazing Czech city of Brno!

*Warning-This post contains images of skeletonized/mummified human remains.*

 

Why Brno? Well, obviously, because of the above warning. I do have a fascination with cemeteries after all. I also wanted to go somewhere else in Czechia than just Prague. Brno was on the way to Prague from Bratislava, so I considered stopping there. Then I found out there were catacombs. Decision made.

Brno is the former capital of Moravia, which was normally a smaller kingdom within a larger empire of some sort. It has a cathedral, a castle and catacombs, all my favorite things. The city center is remarkably preserved and adorable.

Náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square. Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

First stop, Náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square) and there’s Brno’s plague column.

Náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square. Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

I just really like this building. That Student Agency is weird. I bought some train tickets through them and I’m not even a student.

Náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square. Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

It’s really a nice square. A lot of Brno’s town center is mostly pedestrian only, but you will still find tram tracks and a few random taxis on the roads.

Svatého Tomáše (St. Thomas) and the old Governor's Palace which now hosts the Moravian Gallery.. Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Svatého Tomáše (St. Thomas) and the old Governor’s Palace which now hosts the Moravian Gallery.

Brno has two sets of catacombs. Kostnice u sv. Jakuba (Ossuary at the Church of St. James) is the second largest ossuary in Europe. (The largest is the Catacombs in Paris, which is technically an ossuary.) An estimated 50,000 people are buried here. Tombs in churchyards are only temporary. After the body decomposes, the bones are removed and placed in an ossuary. This ossuary was mostly used in the 17th and 18th centuries. There might be more to the ossuary than what is currently open. Plus, the bodies were not laid out in a decorative fashion until 2012. You could probably fit a lot of bodies down there if there was no need to walk around.

Kostnice u sv. Jakuba (Ossuary at the Church of St. James). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

I love a good tunnel.

Kostnice u sv. Jakuba (Ossuary at the Church of St. James). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Walls lined with bones with some weird modern art in between.

Kostnice u sv. Jakuba (Ossuary at the Church of St. James). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

There is some sort of pattern going on here.

Kostnice u sv. Jakuba (Ossuary at the Church of St. James). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Interesting door. There was no explanation.

Kostnice u sv. Jakuba (Ossuary at the Church of St. James). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

This is the main vault area. Imagine this almost completely full with bones.

Kostnice u sv. Jakuba (Ossuary at the Church of St. James). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

These bones haven’t been rearranged. They actually tried to arrange them back in the day in some sort of fashion. A wooden partition held the bones in place.

Kostnice u sv. Jakuba (Ossuary at the Church of St. James). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

I’m just as confused as you are.

Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie (Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Back above ground now. I found a pretty church, Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie (Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary).

Loreto Chapel. Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Two churches literally next door to each other, the on the left is a chapel, the Loreto Chapel and the one on the right is the official church, svatých Janů (St. John).

Loreto Chapel. Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

The chapel had a really cool door.

svatých Janů (St. John). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

I was able to go into the church. It was stunning.

Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Brno is quite colorful.

Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

And adorable.

Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Town markets are held here in this plaza. Heading toward those steeples.

Stará radnice (Old Town Hall). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Detour to see the Stará radnice (Old Town Hall). You can climb the tower if you want. I didn’t want.

Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Very cute.

Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

More cute.

svatého Michala (St. Michael). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Another detour to svatého Michala (St. Michael).

Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

The crypt is under the church on the right.

On my way to the cathedral I stopped at the second catacomb, which is kind of weird. More like a crypt, the Kapucínská krypta (Capuchin Crypt) has some bodies of Capuchin monks in actual caskets (although some are see through). There is, however, a room with just Capuchin mummies. The monks had taken a poverty vow and they considered coffins an unnecessary luxury. Capuchin crypts get really weird. This one was fairly tame. There weren’t any mummies hanging from a wall in this one. (Check out this photo of a Capuchin crypt in Rome.)

Kapucínská krypta (Capuchin Crypt). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Just a row of see-through coffins.

Kapucínská krypta (Capuchin Crypt). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

The dry air in the crypt naturally mummified the monks.

decorative gate. Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Now back above ground and I almost tripped on this really cute grate.

weird samurai. Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Sorry for the bad photo but there is a random samurai on a roof near the cathedral. No idea why.

Katedrála svatých Petra a Pavla (Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

The gorgeous Katedrála svatých Petra a Pavla (Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul). The cathedral is completely ringed by buildings. There is no good way to get a photo of this place.

Katedrála svatých Petra a Pavla (Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

This 13th century cathedral has been fixed up a bit.

Hrad Špilberk (Špilberk Castle). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

The castle, my next destination.

Hrad Špilberk (Špilberk Castle). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Hrad Špilberk (Špilberk Castle) was first constructed in the 13th century and has served as fortress, a military prison, a Nazi barracks and now, the Brno Museum.

Hrad Špilberk (Špilberk Castle). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

I didn’t have time to check out the museum, but luckily the open-air areas are free.

Hrad Špilberk (Špilberk Castle). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

Tunnel to another courtyard.

Hrad Špilberk (Špilberk Castle). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

It’s a very hodge-podgey castle.

view of cathedral from Hrad Špilberk (Špilberk Castle). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

The best view of the cathedral.

Hrad Špilberk (Špilberk Castle). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

The inner part of the castle.

Hrad Špilberk (Špilberk Castle). Brno, CzechiaJana Irving

The inner courtyard inside the inner part of the castle. So many courtyards.

 

Brno was absolutely fantastic. I could have used another day just to check out the rest of the museums. The city was adorable. I am so glad I decided to visit.

 

Check out my next update where I explore Prague!

or

Start at the beginning of this adventure in Zurich!

 

About Wandering Jana

Traveling the world to discover the past.
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