Things to do
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Czech Museum of Silver
Inside a Gothic town fort called Hrádek, displays on medieval mining lead to a guided walk through a mine gallery cut by hand deep underground. The mine route comes with a helmet, a white miner's coat and a lamp, and its passages are narrow, low and wet. Summer slots fill, so booking ahead helps. Tours run from April to November and close on Mondays.
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Italian Court
Royal minting moved into this fortified courtyard around 1300, and the Prague groschen struck here circulated across Central Europe. Rooms now show the minting process, a Gothic chapel with Art Nouveau paintings and the royal audience hall. Visits are by guided tour, with English tours at set hours. A terrace above the Vrchlice valley lies a few minutes from the main square.
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Jesuit College
Facing St. Barbara's Church across a terrace of saints, this long baroque college now houses GASK, the regional gallery of modern and contemporary art. Exhibitions change through the year and fill both floors of the former school. A balustrade in front, lined with 13 statues, frames the classic view of the church buttresses. The gallery closes on Mondays.
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Sedlec Cathedral
Pale walls and a tall white nave fill this abbey church, rebuilt by Jan Santini Aichel after Hussite troops left it a burnt shell. His mix of Gothic ribs and baroque light became known as Baroque Gothic. The church shares a combined ticket with the ossuary nearby. Hours are shorter in winter, and it closes on Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Christmas Day.
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Sedlec Ossuary
Beneath a small Gothic chapel in the Sedlec suburb, the bones of tens of thousands of medieval dead are stacked into pyramids, garlands and a chandelier. A woodcarver, František Rint, arranged them in 1870 and signed his work in bone on the wall. Entry is by timed ticket, best bought online in summer. A combined ticket also covers the Sedlec cathedral a short walk away.
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St. Barbara's Church
Tent shaped spires and a forest of flying buttresses crown this church, paid for by the silver miners on a spur at the edge of the old town. Frescoes inside show miners underground and coin makers at the presses. The approach along Barborská street passes a row of baroque statues above the valley. Entry is ticketed and the church opens daily, with shorter hours in winter.
