Chrám Sv. Barbory

Chrám Sv. Barbory, or St. Barbara's Cathedral, is the major cathedral of Kutná Hora.  It is a fair walk up mountains (at least compared to the Netherlands) to get to it. and there is a very pretty approach.  It was a gorgeous view, even though it was gray and misty.  I can't even guess what it would be like if it was a clear sunny day out.  St. Barbara's is the spiky spire-filled building.  The white building is the old Jesuit College.

If you notice the terracing beside the cathedral (see, I told you it was on a mountain) that is all set up with grape vines and, if I understood them correctly, they make local wines here.  It makes it mighty picturesque place to walk around.

These are pictures of the vineyard and the valley from the St. Barbara Cathedral.

The walk up to the cathedral is lined with lots and lots of giant stone statutes.  It is impressive looking.

 

Some of the statues are more ghoulish than others. 

Front view of St. Barbara's Cathedral

There are some pretty impressive stained glass windows in the cathedral.  I don't know what the technique used was (and you probably can't really see it) but there is some pretty impressive shading and detail on the glass that make it look more like a painting than like a stained glass design.

The statue on the left is of a miner as the area was full of silver mines.  The backwards apron  is specifically so that the miner can use it as a sled to slide down into the mine.  Can you image what the climb out, at the end of the day must be like if the best way down in the morning is to sled down on special leather aprons?

The pulpit below is pretty elaborate.

        





I liked the Cathedral ceiling.  It looks kind of like an antique modified double wedding ring quilt with appliques.