St Barbara’s Church

St Barbara's Church tickets: which one to buy

A modest ticket is bought at the door, and the combined Kutna Hora pass covering St Barbara's, the Sedlec ossuary and the Cathedral of the Assumption is only slightly more, so take that if you are seeing more than one. Audio guides are available in several languages. Guided tours of the town include the church and cost several times the entry. From Prague the train takes an hour to Kutna Hora hlavni nadrazi, and a local shuttle or a bus carries you the last three kilometres into the town;

the ossuary is beside the main station and St Barbara's at the far end of the old town, which is why most visitors do them in that order. Organised day trips from Prague cost many times the fares and usually add lunch. There is rarely a queue. The Jesuit College terrace leading to the church is free and gives the classic approach view. The Jesuit College beside it houses the regional gallery of contemporary art, on a separate ticket, and its terrace is the best place to photograph the church.

Visiting St Barbara's Church: what to see

Building began in 1388, funded by the silver miners who made Kutna Hora one of the wealthiest towns in Europe, and dedicated to Barbara, the patron saint of anyone who works underground. Johann Parler, son of the architect of Prague's cathedral, drew the first plan, and Matej Rejsek and Benedikt Rejt carried it on; the Hussite wars stopped work for sixty years and the silver ran out before the church reached half its intended length, which is why the west end finishes in a plain wall.

The roof is the signature: three steep tent-like peaks over the nave, visible from the whole valley. Inside, the vault is a net of ribs with the arms of the mining guilds, and late-medieval frescoes in the side chapels show miners at work and a mint striking coins, rare secular scenes in a Gothic church. The flying buttresses outside are doubled and extraordinary. The organ of 1873 is still used for concerts, and the choir stalls carry carved reliefs of the mining trade rather than the usual saints.

St Barbara's Church opening hours and the best time to go

Open daily from morning to evening in summer, with shorter hours from November to March and a later opening on Sundays because of mass. The church stands above a valley on the edge of the town, and the terrace walk to it, lined with baroque statues, is the best approach at any hour and particularly at sunset. Kutna Hora sees a heavy flow of day trippers from Prague between eleven and three; before and after that the town is quiet. The interior is unheated and cold in winter. Dress modestly. Photography without flash is allowed. Allow an hour, and add the silver mining museum with its underground tour if you have the day; it sits between the church and the town centre.