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| If you have a picture you'd like us to feature a picture in a future quiz, please email it to us at CFitzp@aol.com. If we use it, you will receive a free analysis of your picture. You will also receive a free Forensic Genealogy CD or a 10% discount towards the purchase of the Forensic Genealogy book. |
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| Answers: This version of the Schwarzenberg family crest is found at the Sedlec Ossuary outside Prague. The chandelier includes at least one of each of the bones of the human body. |
| ********** |
| ********** |
| If you enjoy our quizzes, don't forget to order our books! Click here. |
| Quiz #230 Results |
| The Sedlec Ossuary |
The Sedlec Ossuary is a small Roman Catholic
chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All
Saints in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the
Czech Republic. The ossuary contains approximately
40,000-70,000 human skeletons which have been
artistically arranged to form decorations and
furnishings for the chapel. Henry, the abbot of the
Cistercian monastery in Sedlec, was sent to the Holy
Land by King Otakar II of Bohemia in 1278. When
he returned, he brought with him a small amount of
earth he had removed from Golgotha and sprinkled it
over the abbey cemetery. The word of this pious act
soon spread and the cemetery in Sedlec became a
desirable burial site throughout Central Europe.
During the Black Death in the mid 14th century, and
after the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century,
many thousands of people were buried there and the
cemetery had to be greatly enlarged.
chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All
Saints in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the
Czech Republic. The ossuary contains approximately
40,000-70,000 human skeletons which have been
artistically arranged to form decorations and
furnishings for the chapel. Henry, the abbot of the
Cistercian monastery in Sedlec, was sent to the Holy
Land by King Otakar II of Bohemia in 1278. When
he returned, he brought with him a small amount of
earth he had removed from Golgotha and sprinkled it
over the abbey cemetery. The word of this pious act
soon spread and the cemetery in Sedlec became a
desirable burial site throughout Central Europe.
During the Black Death in the mid 14th century, and
after the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century,
many thousands of people were buried there and the
cemetery had to be greatly enlarged.
| F. Rint's signature in the Sedlec Ossuary http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...F. |
| František Rint was a 19th century Czech woodcarver and carpenter. He was employed by the House of Schwarzenberg to organize the human bones interred at the Sedlec Ossuary, a small Christian chapel in Sedlec, in 1870. He used the bones at Sedlec Ossuary to create elaborate, macabre sculptures, including four chandeliers and a copy of the Schwarzenberg coat of arms. According to the signature he left at the Ossuary, Rint was from Ceska Skalice, a small city on the Czech-Polish border. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franti%C5%A1ek_Rint |
| ********** |
| Detail of Swartzenberg coast of arms showing a bird pecking out the eye of a dead Turk www.sterf.be/nggallery/page-5/page/107 |
The chapel on the north side is dedicated to the patrons of
the renewed monastery, The Fourteen Intercessors. Only
these two chapels, plus the chapels on the chancel gallery
have survived from the conventual church's original
Baroque decoration. The high altar was disassembled and
sold after the dissolution of the monastery in 1784, as were
other furnishings.
From the mid-19th century the Sedlec church was
continuously repaired and extended. In the 1880s it received
a Neo-Gothic high altar of Our Lady flanked by Bohemia's
patrons, made after the design of Ludvík Lábler, which,
however, is disproportionate to the dimensions of the
church interior: it is overshadowed by large altars of St.
Bernard and St. Benedict, originally from the Church of SS.
Philip and James.
| The Schwartzenberg family coat of arms in the Sedlec Ossuary in Prague. http://www.traveljournals.net/pictures/65047.html |
Around 1400 a Gothic church was built in the center of the cemetery with a vaulted
upper level and a lower chapel to be used as an ossuary for the mass graves unearthed
during construction, or simply slated for abolition to make room for new burials. After
1511 the task of exhuming skeletons and stacking their bones in the chapel was,
according to legend, given to a half-blind monk of the order.
Between 1703 and 1710 a new entrance was constructed to support the front wall,
which was leaning outward, and the upper chapel was rebuilt. This work, in the Czech
Baroque style, was designed by Jan Santini Aichel.
In 1870, František Rint, a woodcarver, was employed by the Schwarzenberg family to
put the bone heaps into order. The macabre result of his effort speaks for itself. Four
enormous bell-shaped mounds occupy the corners of the chapel. An enormous
chandelier of bones, which contains at least one of every bone in the human body,
hangs from the center of the nave with garlands of skulls draping the vaults. Other
works include piers and monstrances flanking the altar, a large Schwarzenberg coat-of-
arms, and the signature of Master Rint, also executed in bone, on the wall near the
entrance.
http://www.sterf.be/nggallery/page-5/page/107
| The Chandelier in the Sedlec Ossuary includes every bone in the human body. www.tripsource.com/stories/... |
| ********** |
The cathedral above the Sedlec Ossuary
was built between 1282/3 and 1320.
Unlike urban churches, this temple was
not meant to dazzle the congregation by
the splendour of colours and shapes, to
epitomize authority and wealth. It was an
unpretentious, functional building, erected
by the hands of the friars. It served for
contemplative prayer and meditation. It
was built between 1282/3 and 1320.
Unlike urban churches, this temple was
not meant to dazzle the congregation by
the splendour of colours and shapes, to
epitomize authority and wealth. It was an
unpretentious, functional building, erected
by the hands of the friars. It served for
contemplative prayer and meditation. It
worshipped by God by the purity and perfection of its form.
After the church was set on fire and pillaged in 1421 by the Hussites, all that remained
were its outer walls. Subsequently, from 1554, it received repeated provisional repairs.
A truly substantial renovation, however, was initiated only under Abbot Jindřich
Snopek, from 1700 - 1706.
All of the chuch's original furnishings perished in the 1421 fire. From the Second half
of the 15th century, when the church was at least partly restored, a wooden statue of
Our Lady of Sedlec has survived at the rear of the transept side chapel. It must have
replaced an earlier sculpture as the church's principal cult statue. In the early 18th
century it underwent substantial re-carving, was enlarged and received new
polychrome paint, in consonance with the new concept of the church's Baroque
furnishings. It was then installed at the rear of the double chapel in the south section of
the transcept. The chapel was dedicated to Our Lady of Sedlec.
After the church was set on fire and pillaged in 1421 by the Hussites, all that remained
were its outer walls. Subsequently, from 1554, it received repeated provisional repairs.
A truly substantial renovation, however, was initiated only under Abbot Jindřich
Snopek, from 1700 - 1706.
All of the chuch's original furnishings perished in the 1421 fire. From the Second half
of the 15th century, when the church was at least partly restored, a wooden statue of
Our Lady of Sedlec has survived at the rear of the transept side chapel. It must have
replaced an earlier sculpture as the church's principal cult statue. In the early 18th
century it underwent substantial re-carving, was enlarged and received new
polychrome paint, in consonance with the new concept of the church's Baroque
furnishings. It was then installed at the rear of the double chapel in the south section of
the transcept. The chapel was dedicated to Our Lady of Sedlec.
| The exterior of the cathedral. |
| ********** |
| Comments from Our Readers |
BTW I can't figure out why there is a crown as part of the coat of arms. The
Schwarzenberg family may have been minor royalty but do they really qualify for a
crown? Milene Rawlinson
N. B. Maybe not, but are you going to be the one to break the news to them?
*****
The funny thing is even before the picture loaded I knew what it would be about from
the questions...having seen it in Ripley's Believe it or Not several times before.
Carl Blessing
N. B. Well this is the week for ominous premonitions, isn't it?
*****
(This is SO gross - good job!) Debbie Johnson
N. B. Thanks for the compliment...I think....
*****
ACTION - Google "coat of arms" bones.
RESULTS - Flickr: Schwarzenberg coat of arms, rendered in human bones
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdelargy/2888517714/
Tamura Jones
*****
And I thought that "Fungus the Bogeyman" was weird! Mike Swierczewski
N. B. Not unless he's buried in the Sedlec Ossuary.
*****
This was a fantastic quiz! I want to go there! www.sterf.be/photos/sedlec-ossuary
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdelargy/2887684013/in/photostream/ Just incredible!!!
Mary South
N. B. Well a lot people never planned to go there, but they wound up there anyway.
You should be so lucky.
*****
Colleen- Where did you get this one! Betty Chambers
N.B. Oh, I did something like this for my science fair project years ago...
*****
I never cease to be amazed at the eccentric and bizarrely difficult cultural anomalies
there are to be found in our world. Often the most non-sensical seem to somehow ber
related to religion too. Dig up your ancestor's bones to make a coat of arms? In a
church? I don't get it... What was the thought process of the person who first came
up with this idea? Dave Town
N. B. František Rint was not only known for his fantastic work on the Sedlec
Ossuary, he was also very popular to invite over for Thanksgiving dinner. You should
have seen what he did with the turkey carcass...
*****
[Regarding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW_gZ83fnVU], Bach is always
outstanding, of course, but I really would have thought Grateful Dead...Perhaps even
better, Bonerama. It's a New Orleans rock/funk/jazz band that's a bunch of trombones,
a Sousaphone, drums and guitar. They'd make that ol' ossuary dance. Peter Norton
*****
At first sight, it did not click that the stick-like objects were bones, and the whole coat
of arms was constructed with them. The skulls are most obvious and a search for
“skull coat of arms” readily resulted in finding the answer to the quiz. After reading
about the chapel I wondered what it smelled like inside.
The other half of the coat of arms proved even more interesting - especially the bird
pecking at the eye of a skull. I was fascinated to learn that it actually depicts the original
“coat” about which I read - “After the conquest of Raab, the Turkish fortress, the
emblem was enlarged in 1599 by Adolf zu Schwarzenberg with head of a Turk, his
eyes being pecked out by a raven.” It reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 movie
“The Birds” based on a short story by Daphne Dumaurier. On the coat of arms the
raven’s pecking would be in disdain; in the movie the birds seemed ravenous and bent
on scaring the daylights out of the town’s residents and as a result, the viewer.
Don Draper
*****
This was the easiest quiz I've ever solved. I just Googled: Coat of Arms made from
Bones and the hit was at the top. Jim Kiser
*****
I found photos on Flickr from someone's vacation to Prague, which helped narrow the
search. They shot the chandelier, and so chandelier of bones was a pretty narrow
field... Ended up here:
http://www.artgraphica.net/art-shop/prague-kutna-hora-bone-church.htm
Was a Bubonic Plague quiz too well timed as we worry about Swine Flu this
Halloween? ; ) Joe Ruffner
****
I found it with a Google search for "skull bones coat of arms", which brought up this
full sized photo from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdelargy/2888517714/ The
magic words are squeamish ossifrage. Edward Vielmetti
*****
Gruesome! I suppose that in some older countries, they have just simply run out of
room to bury the dead. Perhaps some cultures just don't have the hangups that we
have with the dead! Enjoyed the Halloween quiz! Evan Hindman
*****
Ah.... it's the one that copies the one in Rome, according to Wikipedia. Nice music.
[See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW_gZ83fnVU.] This decor leaves much to
be desired. It looks like the skulls are eating their own bones... nasty. Rome's version
is much more aesthetically pleasing, if that is possible. Gruesome comes to mind. It is
a more appropriately disgusting display for the subject of the quiz...the witches holy
day. :-) Suzan Farris
*****
That is so interesting - my whole family would love to tour that place (my husband is a
mortician and my kids spent their early years living above the funeral home)! When I
first saw the photoquiz and the coat of arms it made me think right away of the episode
of "Bones" where a death metal band had used a human skeleton as the backdrop for
their stage. I am going to pass that video on to friends for Halloween, I think they will
like it too. Happy Halloween! Nicole Blank
*****
Now this is my kind of place! We plan to visit Slovakia next year - Allan's ancestral
home, and I want to go see this. But I do have a question, how do they preserve these
bones? I know from personal experience they disintegrate after they dry out.
Debbie Sterbinsky
*****
WOW - What a weird little place - but interesting! Elaine C. Hebert
*****
That is one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. Sharon Martin
*****
Totally awesome, macabre quiz!! More, more! I did find a website called The Skeleton
Factory in case you just have to have your own bone chandelier:
http://www.skeleton-factory.com/Categories.bok?keyword=chandelier&x=0&y=0
Beth Long
*****
At first, I thought of the Chapel of bones at Portugal. After checking out the photos, I
realized it is not the right one. I found the list of the dead(s) on display at http://www.
sacred-destinations.com/sacred-sites/dead-on-display.htm and that is where I found the
correct one: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/czech-republic/sedlec-ossuary
Christine Bates
*****
I gave this quiz-with a little help from me-to Jonni 'cause she's my punk rock type
student...actually mom has decorated her room with the punk rock stuff....Jonni is
bedridden; can't talk; has a trake and loves weid music..so when I showed her the skull
pictures she broke out in big smiles. Mr. Rick and QuizMistress Jonni
Schwarzenberg family may have been minor royalty but do they really qualify for a
crown? Milene Rawlinson
N. B. Maybe not, but are you going to be the one to break the news to them?
*****
The funny thing is even before the picture loaded I knew what it would be about from
the questions...having seen it in Ripley's Believe it or Not several times before.
Carl Blessing
N. B. Well this is the week for ominous premonitions, isn't it?
*****
(This is SO gross - good job!) Debbie Johnson
N. B. Thanks for the compliment...I think....
*****
ACTION - Google "coat of arms" bones.
RESULTS - Flickr: Schwarzenberg coat of arms, rendered in human bones
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdelargy/2888517714/
Tamura Jones
*****
And I thought that "Fungus the Bogeyman" was weird! Mike Swierczewski
N. B. Not unless he's buried in the Sedlec Ossuary.
*****
This was a fantastic quiz! I want to go there! www.sterf.be/photos/sedlec-ossuary
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdelargy/2887684013/in/photostream/ Just incredible!!!
Mary South
N. B. Well a lot people never planned to go there, but they wound up there anyway.
You should be so lucky.
*****
Colleen- Where did you get this one! Betty Chambers
N.B. Oh, I did something like this for my science fair project years ago...
*****
I never cease to be amazed at the eccentric and bizarrely difficult cultural anomalies
there are to be found in our world. Often the most non-sensical seem to somehow ber
related to religion too. Dig up your ancestor's bones to make a coat of arms? In a
church? I don't get it... What was the thought process of the person who first came
up with this idea? Dave Town
N. B. František Rint was not only known for his fantastic work on the Sedlec
Ossuary, he was also very popular to invite over for Thanksgiving dinner. You should
have seen what he did with the turkey carcass...
*****
[Regarding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW_gZ83fnVU], Bach is always
outstanding, of course, but I really would have thought Grateful Dead...Perhaps even
better, Bonerama. It's a New Orleans rock/funk/jazz band that's a bunch of trombones,
a Sousaphone, drums and guitar. They'd make that ol' ossuary dance. Peter Norton
*****
At first sight, it did not click that the stick-like objects were bones, and the whole coat
of arms was constructed with them. The skulls are most obvious and a search for
“skull coat of arms” readily resulted in finding the answer to the quiz. After reading
about the chapel I wondered what it smelled like inside.
The other half of the coat of arms proved even more interesting - especially the bird
pecking at the eye of a skull. I was fascinated to learn that it actually depicts the original
“coat” about which I read - “After the conquest of Raab, the Turkish fortress, the
emblem was enlarged in 1599 by Adolf zu Schwarzenberg with head of a Turk, his
eyes being pecked out by a raven.” It reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 movie
“The Birds” based on a short story by Daphne Dumaurier. On the coat of arms the
raven’s pecking would be in disdain; in the movie the birds seemed ravenous and bent
on scaring the daylights out of the town’s residents and as a result, the viewer.
Don Draper
*****
This was the easiest quiz I've ever solved. I just Googled: Coat of Arms made from
Bones and the hit was at the top. Jim Kiser
*****
I found photos on Flickr from someone's vacation to Prague, which helped narrow the
search. They shot the chandelier, and so chandelier of bones was a pretty narrow
field... Ended up here:
http://www.artgraphica.net/art-shop/prague-kutna-hora-bone-church.htm
Was a Bubonic Plague quiz too well timed as we worry about Swine Flu this
Halloween? ; ) Joe Ruffner
****
I found it with a Google search for "skull bones coat of arms", which brought up this
full sized photo from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gdelargy/2888517714/ The
magic words are squeamish ossifrage. Edward Vielmetti
*****
Gruesome! I suppose that in some older countries, they have just simply run out of
room to bury the dead. Perhaps some cultures just don't have the hangups that we
have with the dead! Enjoyed the Halloween quiz! Evan Hindman
*****
Ah.... it's the one that copies the one in Rome, according to Wikipedia. Nice music.
[See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW_gZ83fnVU.] This decor leaves much to
be desired. It looks like the skulls are eating their own bones... nasty. Rome's version
is much more aesthetically pleasing, if that is possible. Gruesome comes to mind. It is
a more appropriately disgusting display for the subject of the quiz...the witches holy
day. :-) Suzan Farris
*****
That is so interesting - my whole family would love to tour that place (my husband is a
mortician and my kids spent their early years living above the funeral home)! When I
first saw the photoquiz and the coat of arms it made me think right away of the episode
of "Bones" where a death metal band had used a human skeleton as the backdrop for
their stage. I am going to pass that video on to friends for Halloween, I think they will
like it too. Happy Halloween! Nicole Blank
*****
Now this is my kind of place! We plan to visit Slovakia next year - Allan's ancestral
home, and I want to go see this. But I do have a question, how do they preserve these
bones? I know from personal experience they disintegrate after they dry out.
Debbie Sterbinsky
*****
WOW - What a weird little place - but interesting! Elaine C. Hebert
*****
That is one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. Sharon Martin
*****
Totally awesome, macabre quiz!! More, more! I did find a website called The Skeleton
Factory in case you just have to have your own bone chandelier:
http://www.skeleton-factory.com/Categories.bok?keyword=chandelier&x=0&y=0
Beth Long
*****
At first, I thought of the Chapel of bones at Portugal. After checking out the photos, I
realized it is not the right one. I found the list of the dead(s) on display at http://www.
sacred-destinations.com/sacred-sites/dead-on-display.htm and that is where I found the
correct one: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/czech-republic/sedlec-ossuary
Christine Bates
*****
I gave this quiz-with a little help from me-to Jonni 'cause she's my punk rock type
student...actually mom has decorated her room with the punk rock stuff....Jonni is
bedridden; can't talk; has a trake and loves weid music..so when I showed her the skull
pictures she broke out in big smiles. Mr. Rick and QuizMistress Jonni
| Bone Chalice Sedlec Ossuary Prague www.sterf.be/nggallery/page-5/page/107 |
| ********** |
| Answer to Quiz #230 October 25, 2009 |
| ********** |
| Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady and St. John the Baptist http://www.kostnice.cz/ |
| The House of Schwartzenberg Coast of Arms www.ckrumlov.info/docs/en/mesto_histor_schzna.xml |
| Dem Bones. Dem Bones, Dem Dry Bones…. (Weldow Johnson 1876 - 1938) Schwarzenberg Coat of Arms is shown, In the Ossarary at Kutna Hora-Sedlec, there, Presenting a rendition by Frantiser Rint, the Carver, In an Art Work of human bones, most rare. An unusual Chandlier is also displayed, Containing all of the bones of the human body, Casting light on all of the boney artistic items, Creating a presentation that's not too shoddy. Robert Edward McKenna Quiz Poet Laureate ***** Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini "What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be." Memento Mori Appointment in Shiraz A man in a market in Tehran one day Was startled by Death staring his way. He made a plan of escape – to Shiraz he would flee To leave that same day, and immediately! His wife, so surprised, went to the bazaar Confronted Old Death, to ask him what was? Death said he was shocked to have him in sight, He was appointed to meet him in Shiraz that same night. Colleen Fitzpatrick Understudy to Quiz Poet Laureate Robert Edward McKenna |
The German noble family of Schwarzenbergs was
originally called the Lords of Seinsheim and their proper
emblem was a shield with silver and blue stripes. After
the conquest of Raab, the Turkish fortress, the emblem
was enlarged in 1599 by Adolf zu Schwarzenberg with
head of a Turk, his eyes being pecked out by a raven. In
1688, there was another modification of the
coat-of-arms which was improved by the symbols of
other dominions. Three red spikes in a green field
symbolise the Schultz dominion which was annexed to
the dominion by Ferdinand zu Schwarzenberg after the
marriage with Marie Anna von Schultz. A burning twig
symbolises the Brandis dominion. In the heart shield of
the coat-of-arms there are emblems of the
Schwarzenberg dominions - a tower on a black hill and
originally called the Lords of Seinsheim and their proper
emblem was a shield with silver and blue stripes. After
the conquest of Raab, the Turkish fortress, the emblem
was enlarged in 1599 by Adolf zu Schwarzenberg with
head of a Turk, his eyes being pecked out by a raven. In
1688, there was another modification of the
coat-of-arms which was improved by the symbols of
other dominions. Three red spikes in a green field
symbolise the Schultz dominion which was annexed to
the dominion by Ferdinand zu Schwarzenberg after the
marriage with Marie Anna von Schultz. A burning twig
symbolises the Brandis dominion. In the heart shield of
the coat-of-arms there are emblems of the
Schwarzenberg dominions - a tower on a black hill and
| ********** |
| ********** |
| Thanks to long time Quizmaster Marilyn Hamill for suggesting this quiz. |
| Entrance to the Sedlec Ossuary /www.flickr.com/photo.... |
| ********** |
| Congratulations to Our Winners! Count Rick McKinney and his Minion Quizmistress Jonni! Milene Rawlinson Kitty Huddleston Diane Burkett Laurel Fletchner Sherry Marshall Anne Alves Carl Blessing Tamura Jones Mike Swierczewski Gary Sterne John Chulick Beth Long Jacqueline Wyatt Teresa Yu Debbie Sterbinsky Don Draper Jim Kiser Joe Ruffner Nicole Blank Edward Vielmetti Joshua Kreitzer Karen Kay Bunting Peter Norton Evan Hindman Gine Hudson Karen Petrus and Marcie Bradshaw, Sister-in-Law Quiz Team Stan Read Brian Kemp Daniel E. Jolley M. Diane Rogers Carolyn Cornelius Elaine C. Hebert Dennis Brann Betty Chambers JoLynn Pfeiffer Wayne Douglas Gerald Vanlandingham Margaret Paxton Alan Lemm Carol Darrow Linda Williams Christine Bates Mike Dalton Robert W. Steinmann, Jr. Mary Mauldin Venita Wilson Robert Edward McKenna, Quiz Poet Laureate |
| 1. Whose coat of arms is this? 2. Where would you find this rendition of it? 3. What is so unusual about the nearby chandelier? (Not shown in picture) |
| Halloween Quiz #1 of 2. |
Kleggau -three golden sheaves. Two golden lions occassionally appear as
shield-bearers. The prince's crown above the coat-of-arms symbolises the prince's title.
shield-bearers. The prince's crown above the coat-of-arms symbolises the prince's title.
| Alternate form of Schwartzenberg coat of arms /upload.wikimedia.org/wiki.. |
| Other Ossuarys atlasobscura.com/categories/memento-mori/ossuaries |
| ********** |
This modern French ossuary contains the jumbled bones of
130,000 WWI soldiers.
130,000 WWI soldiers.
| Douamont Monastery atlasobscura.com/places/douaumont-ossuary |
| ***** |
| Santa Maria della Concezione atlasobscura.com/places/santa-maria-della-concezione |
The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of
over 4000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises"
over 4000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises"
Mummified monks and the accidentally interred, in a
17th-century crypt
17th-century crypt
This modern French ossuary contains the jumbled bones of
130,000 WWI soldiers.
130,000 WWI soldiers.
| ***** |
| Czech Capuchin Crypt atlasobscura.com/places/czechs-capuchin-crypt |
