Czech Republic: June 21

 Today we left town and caught a 7:15 a.m. train to Kutna Hora, SE of Prague.  For about 250 years, Kutna Hora, or Kuttenberg, as it was called, was one of the most important towns in Bohemia, second only to Prague, thanks to the silver deposits in the area.  German miners were invited to work the seams, and around 1330 Vaclav II founded the Royal mint here, importing Italian craftsmen to run it. At the end of the 14th c. its population was equal to that of  London's, it's shantytown suburbs straggling across what are now green fields, and it's ambitious building projects rivaled those of the capital itself.   However, when the price of silver collapsed during the 16th c. and the mines began to dry up, Kutna Hora's wealth and importance came to an end.  Today, Kutna Hora is a town with a population of just over 20,000.  Walking around the town, we saw some lovely house facades that gave an idea of the town's former glory.  We also toured the Italian Court, originally conceived as a palace by Vaclav II, and for three centuries it was the source of the town's bottomless purse.  It was here that Florentine minters produced the Prager Groschen, a silver coin widely used throughout Central Europe.  During the 30-minute tour we learned about the process of making the coin, and we ended the tour with a look at the main council room and the beautiful Royal chapel which features a superb 15th c. altarpiece depicting the death of Mary, and which was later redecorated in 1904 with Art Nouveau murals.  After the tour, we were fortunate enough to witness a parade in honor of Kutna Hora's silver mining status, with the populace dressed in Renaissance garb, cutting through all social classes, riding horses, wielding spears, bearing falcons, and juggling.  After the parade we headed towards the magnificent Cathedral of St. Barbara.  It is arguably the most spectacular and moving ecclesiastical building in Central Europe.  The miners in Kutna Hora began financing the construction  of a  great Gothic cathedral dedicated to St. Barbara, the patron saint of miners and gunners.  The foundation was probably laid in the 1380s, but work was interrupted by the Hussite Wars, and the church remained unfinished until the late 19th c., in spite of being worked on in the intervening centuries by several artists.  The approach road to the cathedral is lined with a parade of Baroque saints and cherubs which rival the sculptures on the Charles Bridge in Prague.  On the right hand is the palatial 17th c. former Jesuit College.  The cathedral is elaborate with pinnacles, finials, and flying buttresses that support a roof of three tent like towers, added in the 16th c.  Inside, light streams through the windows.  There is a lofty nave and ribbed vaulting, which form branches and petals stamped with the coats of arms of Vaclav and the miners' guilds.  The five-aisles nave is impressive, as are the beautiful choir stalls.  The medieval frescoes in the southernmost chapels are still very recognizable, and, as I walked up to the uppermost vaults (100+ steps), I got a closer look at the wonderful chorus of angels in the vaulting painting instruments.  A truly astounding church!  After that we walked to a fine Czech restaurant in town called Harmonia, which serves up traditional Czech food.  Dempsey had trout; Alexandra had chicken with chanterelle mushrooms, and I had baked chicken, salted potatoes, and a cucumber salad.  A fine meal, and we ate it outside.  Then we walked a little more, and finally took a taxi to our next venue on the other side of town: the ossuary, featuring the bones of the populace draped in decorative fashion all over the underground crypt.  A truly bizarre collection and not a particularly comforting memento mori.  After a quick tour, we walked around the graveyard surrounding the ossuary and eventually found our way to the train stop, waiting  for the next train back to Kutna Hora's main train station and a switch to the train to Prague.  We returned at about 6:00, bought a few things at the grocery store, and are settling with good cups of honey-laced tea.  Dinner next--though a light one after our indulgence at lunch!  Great day!