St. Barbara’s Cathedral in Kutná Hora

I’d been longing to visit Kutná Hora and its St. Barbara’s Cathedral for ages, and finally, during the Easter weekend just gone, my wish came true when my husband suggested we could make it happen. And I can tell you — despite far-from-perfect weather bringing rain and an overcast sky — we had a wonderful time strolling through the town centre and visiting the cathedral.

In 1995, the Gothic St. Barbara’s Cathedral, along with the historic centre of Kutná Hora, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. It richly deserves the recognition, and I imagine the listing also helps secure funding for further maintenance. There are many fascinating historic buildings in the centre, and I was amazed by all the portals that have survived to this day and still function as working entrances to the houses.

The cathedral bears the name of an early Christian martyr who became the patron saint of all those in dangerous occupations — miners above all, since the wealth of Kutná Hora was built entirely upon its silver mines.

The cathedral is vast, and it took me a moment to adjust to the scale of the space. The remaining Gothic frescoes and tall windows adorned with colourful stained glass made me slow my breathing and stare in awe. And if you raise your eyes to the soaring ceiling, you can see it intricately decorated with coats of arms.

What I also loved were the stairs leading up to the inner gallery, from where you can look down over the whole interior. You are level with the organ, so you can see its pipes up close, as well as the statues decorating it. It was rather amusing to discover that the statues so carefully carved and gilded at the front are nothing more than rough, unfinished wood at the back.

In the gallery, there was a small exhibition of photographs taken during events held in the cathedral. To mark the 30th anniversary of the UNESCO listing, a film was even produced — documenting the church not only as a historic monument, but as a living place that connects people and inspires them.

Before leaving, I found myself drawn to a T-shirt, which my husband generously bought me. Among other lovely details, it features a portal on the front, beneath which the words declare that “Gothic style will never go out of fashion.” I loved it at first sight.

Here are a few photographs of and from the cathedral, and of the statue-lined path leading to it — which reminded me, quite unexpectedly and charmingly, of the Charles Bridge in Prague.

Next time I’ll share more photos from the town itself — there is plenty worth seeing.