Notes From Underground

The Czech City of Brno Has a Trove of Crypts, Bones and Cold War Remnants

- Joanna Lobo

BONE SEASON

Brno, in the eastern historical region of Moravia, has the second-largest ossuary in Europe, after Paris. Yet as I tour the 330-foot-long repository of bones beneath the Church of St. James, I’m underwhelmed, at first. Then, I take a closer look at the walls and the pillars of the main chamber and two side passages. They’re made up of the skeletal remains of 50,000 people, tinted yellow due to lack of exposure to sunlight. The skulls stare at me, hollow-eyed.

At the entrance is an exhibit of old photos of the church and cemetery. I refer to a pamphlet and several signs in Czech and English, but the sheer volume of the bones does most of the talking. The crypt was built in the 17th century to accommodate remains from St. James’ cemetery and along the passages are tombstones from the original graves. The original crypt’s three sections filled up quickly and had to be expanded for victims of plague, cholera, the Thirty Years’ War, and the Swedish siege of Brno. Once full, the ossuary was covered and lay in oblivion for 200 years.

In 2001, it was discovered as part of a land survey. Researchers spent a decade gathering the remains, and cleaning and rearranging them before the ossuary opened to public in 2012.

In the central chamber is a creepy chapel with a tall cross, pulpit and “walls” of bones; in the far corner is a stained glass mural. Two glass coffins contain the skeletons of a grown man and a 13-year-old. There are glass cases and thin railings shielding the bones but they’re well within reach and some people around me touch them surreptitiously.

At the end of one passage is a pyramid of skulls, some of which still have teeth, making it seem like they’re grinning. A few modern sculptures provide visual relief. The other relief is tonal: sombre, customised music streams over the speakers.