The unique Sedlec Ossuary

The unique Sedlec Ossuary is also known as the Church of Bones.

The Sedlec Ossuary is quite plain on the outside with its medieval Gothic facade but once you enter you soon realise why it is one of the most amazing and unique churches of the world. It is located in Sedlec, in the suburbs of Kutna Hora, in the Czech Republic.

The Sedlec Ossuary is artistically decorated with more than 40.000 human skeletons. Thus it is also known as the Church of Bones or as the Bone Church. One of the most fascinating artistic works inside is the big chandelier of bones that lies in the center of the Church. The immense chandelier contains at least one of every human bone.

Another impressive artwork is the coat of arms of the Schwarzenberg family that is also made of human bones.

How did all these bones end up here? History has it that in 1278 the King of Bohemia sent the Abbot of the monastery to Jerusalem. The abbot returned with a jar of "holy soil" from Golgotha. Post that, everyone wanted to be buried in Sedlec resulting in the expansion of the cemetery. In the 15th century a Gothic church was built near the cemetery and its basement was used as an ossuary. The bones stayed there for centuries till 1870 when a woodcarver named Frantisek Rint was appointed to place the bones in order. The result was impressively shocking.

Contains one bone from every part of the human body!

The coat of arms.

Surprise, surprise! They even had a Hindi translation.

The Gothic facade with the cemetery in the foreground.

World Routes 2011 at Berlin

Routes is an opportunity to network with professionals in the industry as well as to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. In 2011 it was held in the exciting and dynamic city of Berlin. They definitely put on a great show. Some of the highlights in the form of pictures...............

My friends at GMR.

But there was plenty of wine at the various booths.

Etihad even brought their F1 car prototype.

Boğaziçi Jazz Choir who sing without any accompaniment of instruments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkDscMwgHFw

The B-boying world champs put on a show!

The colourful girls.

Old friends and new

The Berlin Bear

Berlin’s coat of arms features a black “bear rampant”, that is standing on his hind legs and facing to the left – you will see it everywhere you go. Indeed you will see all sorts of bears, as this has become a sort of unofficial emblem of the city. There are different theories as to why this is, but the most common suggestion is that it relates to Albrecht I, who was nicknamed "the Bear” and who is considered to have been the conqueror and founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Another rather nice theory is that it relates to the German pronunciation of the first syllable of the city’s name which sounds a bit like "Bär" (bear).

So forget about the elephant parade, here come the bears.............