No More Selfies At The Church of Bones

You may no longer be able to take your Instagram photos at Czech Republic's Sedlec Ossuary
The view of Sedlec Ossuary, also known as the Church of Bones
The view of Sedlec Ossuary, also known as the Church of Bones

45 miles outside of Prague, in the Czech Republic, lies the Sedlec Ossuary chapel, or &lsquoChurch of Bones&rsquo. Located in Kutná Hora, the chapel is famous for its unusual decor.

The church is ornately furnished with chandeliers, chalices, candelabras, pyramids, and candle holders among other design features. The difference, however, is that these are made almost entirely out of bones. 

Roughly 60,000 skeletons were discovered on the site of the chapel, which are now used to make the decorative elements. The centrepiece of the church is an elaborate bone chandelier, which comprises of nearly every single bone in the human body. Needless to say, tourists have flocked this bone church in search of photo-ops.

This practice, however, might soon be a thing of the past. The director of the Sedlec parish, Radka KrejÄí, told Czech reporters that photography is soon to be restricted in the Church of Bones, come 2020.

While photography isn&rsquot completely banned, visitors will need to take permission at least three days in advance in order to be able to bring their cameras in. This step has been taken in order to streamline the flow of tourists to the church, which is currently being renovated.

Furthermore, this partial ban has been put in effect to preserve the sanctity of the building as the number of inappropriate selfies keeps increasing. While the church encourages its visitors to be respectful of the bones as human remains, tourists have often tampered with the installations and put articles of clothing on them, to make for a good Instagram post.

The historic town center of Kutná Hora is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

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