Czech Ossuary Church
The Czech Ossuary Church (Kostelík Vech savtych a kostnicí) is located in Kutna Hora, a small town about 70 kilometers east of Prague. It was built in the 14th century. Its appearance is It looks like a very ordinary Gothic architectural shape, but the interior decorations are all made of human bones, so it is more like a "human bone museum" than a church.
A monastery abbot who had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem spread the soil he brought back on the ground. From then on, prominent families were proud to be buried here. A Black Death in the 14th century and a war in the 15th century caused more than 30,000 graves to appear on this 3,500 square meter open space! In the 16th century, priests began to move bones into the church and pile them into a pyramid shape. Because there were too many bones, some people later simply used the bones as decorative materials, creating the birth of the Bone Church. The ceilings and walls of the church are full of decorations made of human bones. According to statistics, these ornaments used approximately 10,000 corpses. Theologians said that Catholicism regards death as a sacred matter, and dedicating the body to God after death is a symbol of supreme praise, so "human bone decorations" are not worth making a fuss about. The Ossuary is very small and can be completed in two to three minutes. But the unique art of human bones makes people stop and appreciate it. Only 40,000 sterilized and screened bones of the same size were carefully used to build candlesticks, altars, chalices, lintels, arches, pendants and even crosses. The most breathtaking thing is the "human bone chandelier" in the center of the church, which is made of bones from various parts of the human body. The main frame is composed of leg bones, and the mandibles are strung into hanging curtains. The main frame is divided into eight leg bone lamp stands. , supporting pieces of pelvic bones arranged in a circle, each holding a head that serves as a candlestick. They have a unique shape and seem to be attached to the soul of the deceased. They are evil and weird with a bit of heart-stopping magnificence.
There is a wax platform made of more than 120 human bones at the entrance of the church. The ceiling is covered with limb bones. The tapestry on the wall is also decorated with human bones. The altar is made of human bones of different sizes. The pattern is inlaid with ribs. Crosses, crowns, sash and other decorations can be seen everywhere here, all made of bones from various parts. But what is surprising is that these skeletons are all of adult men, and there are traces of nail holes and sword stabbings on them. This "Human Bone Museum" is usually heavily guarded and is only open to the public on Sundays.
The accumulation of so many bones is a gift from the holy soil. In the 13th century, Henry, the Abbot of Sedlec, went to the Holy Land Jerusalem on the orders of King Octavian II of Bohemia. The handful of soil he brought back was spread in the cemetery around the church, thinking that the bones were buried in the Holy Land. The belief that you can go to heaven if you live on soil has attracted people from the Bohemian region, and even wealthy people from Central Europe regard this place as the best place to be blessed after death, and Seldec is famous far and wide. Later, the Black Death and the Hussite Wars caused a large number of deaths, and the size of the cemetery also expanded. In the 15th century, due to the limited capacity of the cemetery, the monastery planned to build an additional chapel to accommodate the remains that had been abandoned for more than a hundred years. This gruesome task was initially assigned to a half-blind monk. During the 1870s, a master woodcarver employed by the Schwarzenberg family, Rint began arranging human bones into various patterns, including the Schwarzenberg family coat of arms and Rint's own signature.
As you walk down the stairs, you are greeted by a super luxurious human bone chandelier and a Baroque altar composed of four small skull spiers. Standing under the headlight and looking up, I saw that the roof was actually decorated with strings of skulls, with each face bone pointing downwards. Visitors have seen it for two centuries, and they have seen it all over the world. of constant change.
There are four stove-like buildings surrounding the palace, which are made of skeletons and large bones. Each of them probably houses thousands of people! Representing many people, no one is qualified to face the crown and throne of God, and there will be no difference until death. The cave was lit with dim candlelight, which shone on the snow-white human bones, as if a gloomy and miserable cold wind was blowing... There were also curtains, crosses, pope's crowns, etc. arranged with bones.
Intellectually Solving the Mystery of the Bone Church
The following is a novel, originating from (December 2005 "Overseas Edition" article/Ziwei Zhujin)
2000 At the end of 2004, many missing persons cases occurred in the Czech city of Kunahara. However, it was not until Halloween, November 19, 2004, that an American college student mysteriously disappeared from the famous local Santa Barbara Ossuary, which attracted the attention of the police. Notice. According to local legend, Bone Demon Rat will go out to search for bones to add new decorative materials to this human bone church during the week before and after November 20th every year. Have these missing people become new victims of the Bone Demon? The city of Kunahara fell into panic...
On November 19, 2004, because it was the eve of Ghost Festival, the Bone Church attracted many tourists. Two American college students, Hal and Willy, Also come here to visit. The sun is shining brightly on this day, and the sunlight shines into the room through the glass windows. You can clearly see the spectacular large chandeliers on the ceiling, the exquisite sash and even the letters on the wall. These bones exude the breath of death in the gloomy weather. It actually became brighter in the soft light, giving people a sense of brightness and solemnity in heaven.
After following the guide around, Hal and Willy were still unsatisfied. Willy thought that the night here would be scarier, but Hal laughed and said that even late at night, these bones would Can't fly and dance by itself. As they talked, the two started arguing, and finally Hal and Willy made a bet. Willy offered to let Hal stay in the church for one night. If he was scared, he could call the hotel where they were staying and ask Willy to find someone to rescue him. If Hal could hold on until the church opened the next morning, Then Hal won, betting $100.
At closing time in the evening, Hal found a dark corner to hide, and Willy left the church after wishing him good luck. Willie didn't receive a call during the night, and he rushed to church early the next morning. But after waiting for a long time, he didn't see Hal come out. Willy ran into the church and looked for Hal everywhere. It was not yet completely bright, and the dark church was cast in a strange color. Hal disappeared as if he had evaporated. In desperation, Willy called the police.
Since the missing person was a foreign tourist, the police station paid special attention to it after receiving the alarm. Sheriff Feringer immediately led the police to surround the Bone Church and conduct a comprehensive search. In less than half an hour, the police searched the church. Due to the sudden incident, the church has stopped being open to the public, and tourists who had entered earlier were also persuaded to leave. At this time, there was no one in the church except the police and staff.
Ferringer believed that Hal most likely left the church on his own and failed to contact his companion Willy for some unknown reason. So he planned to close the team, contact the city bureau, and issue a missing person notice throughout the city. Assistant Anton also agreed with Feilinger's decision. At this time, he was standing in front of the altar. As he waved forcefully to signal the police to stop the team, the talkie came off his belt and flew over the wooden railing into the altar. The heavy talkie smashed into the altar. When he reached the edge of the altar, he smashed the ends of several leg bones, and the gray-white fragments suddenly fell to the ground.
Anton turned pale. These bones from the 14th century are all cultural relics. Before he could think about it carefully, he ducked through the railing. The staff ran over after noticing the abnormality, and ordered Anton, who picked up the intercom, to come out of the railing immediately. At this time, Anton touched the damaged leg bones casually, wondering if they were just damaged at the bone ends. His hand was stuck for a while. He raised his hand and found that it was a little greasy. When he touched it again, he actually pulled it out. A leg bone.
The police and staff screamed. Will the altar collapse? Anton calmly showed the leg bone in front of them: "This is a fresh human bone. The oil in the bone slowly seeps out, forming greasy on the surface. And whether it is color or weight, it is the same as the church." There is a big difference between bones that are nearly 700 years old.”
What Anton said is correct. According to forensic analysis, the leg bone he extracted was estimated to have been out of the human body for two to three years, which is absolutely true. It couldn't be the original bones of the church, but it couldn't be the bones of Hal who had just disappeared.
After obtaining permission from the relevant authorities, the police conducted a comprehensive search of all bones in the church. Four days later, the police found 61 fresh bones, including skulls, limb bones and other bones from different parts, belonging to 5 people, all of whom were adult men, aged between 20 and 50. But through DNA testing, these did not match the DNA of the dander and hair on Hal's razor provided by Wiley.
However, these bones do not leave the human body for a long time, the shortest is only a few days, and the longest is no more than 5 years. Based on forensic identification, Anton even speculated that the bones were taken out year by year within five years, one person per year, and the bones were placed in the ossuary church.
Legend has it that in the 19th century, the local prominent Schwarzenberg family hired craftsman Reiter, and all the decorations in the Bone Church were made by Reiter. But it was rumored privately that Rhett killed many people in pursuit of a higher artistic realm and used these fresh bones to replace those rotten bones. But this is just a legend, because Catholics believe that death is sacred and dedicating a body to God is the highest praise, so no one felt sorry for Rhett, but for this reason, he was also called the "Bone Demon". Since the church reappears new human bones in the 21st century, people say that the Bone Demon Reiter is reincarnated and a sacrifice is selected every year to replace the original old bones in the church.
The Xingu incident has greatly stimulated the public. If the case is not solved as soon as possible, social instability will cause great losses. The police began a rigorous investigation.
On November 27, the last day of the week after Ghost Festival, a rumor suddenly appeared before that: because the sacrifice before Ghost Festival was interrupted, Rhett would return to the Bone Church on the night of the 27th, Offer the sacrifice again. The news immediately became household knowledge due to the intense fear among people. Since the Bone Demon specializes in killing adult men, the timid citizens stayed behind closed doors in the afternoon, but the brave ones planned to surround the church and uncover the true identity of this murderous demon. Chief Fehringer led the police officers and persuaded the angry citizens to leave. Fehringer planned to stay alone in the church and wait for Rhett.
At night, 50 police officers were ambushed outside the Ossuary Church, and all entrances and exits were closely guarded and heavily guarded. Sergeant Fehringer rejected the suggestion of his subordinates to join him and stayed alone in the church with his sidearm and a bag of food.
The weather was already extremely cold in December, and the police officers were stamping their feet, waiting for news from the chief. The majestic church during the day becomes as ferocious as a giant beast at night, as if it is a bone demon with its bloody mouth wide open, and it seems that it can swallow everyone in one bite. The police officers were all locals, and many of them were Catholics. The legend of the Bone Demon was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and they couldn't help but be very nervous, and they all grabbed their guns. God knows whether the bone demon will come and go without a trace or it will reveal an extremely terrifying appearance. If a person wants to fight against the demon, even if there are many people, he doesn't know what his chances of winning are.
The church was brightly lit at this time, and Sheriff Fehringer only drank some water occasionally. When the pointer of his luminous watch just pointed to 12 o'clock, all the lights in the church suddenly went out. The police waiting outside were shocked and wanted to rush into the church. However, the door that was originally good was actually locked from the inside, and there was also a sound coming from inside the church. The Sheriff screamed in horror.
At the same time as the lights went out, Sheriff Fehringer suddenly smelled an extremely strong smell of blood, a cold wind swirled around him, and something cold climbed up the back of his neck, like a bone... ... Sheriff Feringer yelled and turned around suddenly. Behind him, there was a dark shadow holding a white bone. Some liquid seemed to be dripping on the bone, which seemed to be blood. "Bone Demon" Rhett is here!
The sergeant took out his pistol and fired a shot at the black shadow. The black shadow was indifferent and sneered sinisterly. The bones in his hand suddenly raised and hit the sergeant... nervously When the police officers waiting outside heard gunshots coming from inside the church, they rushed forward and opened the door with special lockpicking tools. The police officers immediately took the unconscious sergeant to the hospital. Fortunately, the sergeant's injuries were not serious. He woke up when he arrived at the hospital and told the story of the previous encounter.
The police found no blood at the place where the sergeant passed out, and the church had been surrounded by police. It was impossible for someone to sneak into the church to commit murder and then disappear amid the heavily guarded siege. Could it be that what the Sheriff encountered was really not a human being?
But the police once again found fresh human bones at the scene. This was an index finger bone of the right hand, as if to make a gesture of contempt to people. This index finger bone was confirmed to be that of American college student Hal Yes, apparently he was killed!
The attack on the police chief once again proved the weirdness of the Bone Church, and the police officers' mentality was not stable.
Now that Rhett has broken the habit of killing only one person a year, who knows if he will go on a killing spree to replace old bones? The Bone Demon's shadow has shrouded the city of Kunahara. How many more harm will he have to do before he is willing to stop?
While the Sheriff was in danger alone, his assistant Anton was involved in a large number of investigations. He conducted individual identification based on DNA testing on the fresh bones collected from the church, and found that they were related to the existing missing persons. The population doesn't even match up. Anton turned his attention to the floating population and discovered that in 2003, a homeless man called the police and reported that his friend Shim was missing, but because Shim was a homeless man, the police did not pay attention. Anton managed to obtain a piece of Shim's hair through a homeless man. After identification, it was indeed consistent with the DNA of a part of the bones found in the church.
Anton asked the homeless man about Sim’s whereabouts before he disappeared. The man recalled it for a long time and recalled that Sim mysteriously told him not long before his disappearance that he had found a good customer and would have no worries about food and clothing in the future. I will introduce him to work together. But this only proves that someone defrauded Shim and then killed him without finding anything more valuable.
In addition, the morning before the Sheriff was attacked, Anton found a pile of newspapers covered on the table as soon as he arrived at the office. He opened the newspaper and found underneath was a white human skull and two cross-tied arm bones. The bones were confirmed to belong to the seventh victim, and the third person to die at the hands of the Bone Demon this year. No one knows how the bones appeared on Anton's desk. Everyone except Anton thinks that no one can do this except Bone Demon Reiter.
But Anton never believes this statement. This is definitely murder and a human behavior! Since the police chief suffered a mild concussion and had to be hospitalized for observation for a few days, Anton was determined to solve the case independently. He imagined and simulated the logic and methods of committing a crime from the murderer's perspective -
The murderer must first obtain the victim's identity He deceived them into his own room and killed them, boiled them to remove their bones, and repeatedly committed crimes under the eyes of the police without any loopholes. Therefore, the murderer may be an adult single man who appears to be of good character but has an extremely abnormal mentality. He owns an independent house not far from the church, is familiar with the internal structure of the human body and criminal knowledge, and must be agile and courageous.
Through reasoning, Anton got a lot of speculations, and he directed the police officers to start a new search. In a circle with a radius of 5 kilometers with the church as the center, the police found such a house. It was at the foot of the mountain less than 4 kilometers away from the church. There were no other houses nearby. Several children who went up the mountain also complained to the police, There's always a disgusting stench there.
The police launched a dragnet search near the house and found a large number of human bone fragments and a small amount of soft tissue. They applied for a search warrant for the place, but unexpectedly found that the owner of the house was actually He was someone they knew very well...
In 1870, Rhett was hired by the Schwarzenberg family to piece together patterns using human bones for the Santa Barbara Church. Rhett developed a fanatical interest in using human bones to piece together patterns at work, even at the expense of killing people to obtain new bones, but no one discovered his crime at the time. In the 21st century, one of his descendants inherited this perverted hobby and once again adopted the method of killing people and removing their bones. From 2000 to 2004, the *** killed 5 homeless people. On November 19, 2004, When he brought the bones of a new victim to the church, they were discovered by an American tourist who had left them in the church. He had to kill the tourist as well. In order to fear that people would find out more details, he spread rumors and let the bone demon Rhett appear on the stage again to cover up his murderous crimes. Finally, in order to strengthen the rumor, he secretly placed the bones in the police station to threaten investigators, even harming himself and creating an incident of wounding in a secret room, in an effort to draw the police's attention to the bone demon's killings again. It's a pity that the police found the villa where he killed people and took the bones. The large amount of physical evidence left no doubt.
At this time, facing Fehringer who looked surprised, Anton said: "It seems that the murderer is you, Chief Fehringer!"
Fehringer calmly said Looking at Anton: "It's true that I regard you as my successor. Since you have even found my villa at the foot of the mountain, I really have nothing to say. Rhett is indeed my ancestor. About him The matter of murder and bone removal was clearly recorded in the diary he left behind. I only tried it once according to his instructions, but I became addicted to it. I admit that I am the murderer.
”
Anton looked at Feilinger awkwardly, but Feilinger said nonchalantly: “Can you help me up?” I didn’t want to lie down and be handcuffed. Anton Yiyan wanted to help Feilinger up, but he pushed him hard and threw him to the door. Feilinger took out the pistol from under the pillow and ended his life with a bang.