The Eerie Chapel of Bones
Chapel of Bones (Capela dos Ossos) in Évora, Portugal is an eerie
chapel with spine chilling atmosphere. Entire surface of its walls and pillars,
from top to bottom,
are covered and with human skulls and bones held together by plaster. The chapel
was created in 16th century when it was decided to close down 42 monastic
cemeteries so that the land occupied by the cemeteries could be released for
other uses. About 5,000 skeletons from the cemeteries were exhumed and
re-consecrated into a single chapel.
The chapel is formed by three naves, about 18.7 metres (61 ft) long and 11 metres (36 ft)
wide. Its white plastered
roof is supported by 8 pillars fully decorated with bones and it is painted with
allegorical motifs to death.
The entrance to the chapel has a grim warning for
the visitors. An inscription at the entrance says in Portuguese "Nós ossos
que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos" ("We, the bones that are here await yours").
In words of
Evora-Portugal "The Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones) is a fascinating
chapel with a very macabre atmosphere. Ranking as one of Evora’s most visited
sites, this eerie tourist attraction is not for the faint hearted."
Note:
The Chapel of Bones at Evora is not the only chapel decorated with human bones. The
Sedlec Ossuary in Czech Republic covered earlier in this travelogue is
another example. Few more have been listed in
Wikipedia.
Image from Flickr is by Alessandro Grussu
Image from Flickr is by Matt Lancashire
Image from Flickr is by bjaglin
Image from Flickr is by Harvey Barrison
Image from Flickr is by Harvey Barrison
Image from Flickr is by Gaía Passarelli
Image from Flickr is by Alessandro Grussu
Image from Flickr is by Rick Payette
View location in Google Earth / Google Maps
Source of info and more info: Sacred Destinations / Wikipedia
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