Klatovské katakomby

Over het museum

The crypts beneath the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and St Ignatius in Klatovy were built as part of the church's construction in 1656–1676. They became the burial place of members of the Jesuit order and of its benefactors from the nobility and the burghers. Between 1676 and 1783 more than two hundred dead were interred here. In 1784 Emperor Joseph II banned burials in the crypts for hygienic reasons.

Thanks to a well-designed ventilation system, the bodies gradually dried out and turned into natural mummies. At the end of the 19th century some rooms were used as storerooms, and in the 1930s the ventilation was disrupted and humidity in the crypts rose. A large part of the mummies disintegrated, and in 1937 the 140 destroyed bodies were buried in the cemetery of St James. From the 1970s conservators have looked after the mummies, and the crypts were divided into a museum section with controlled ventilation and a devotional section with natural air circulation. Today there are 38 mummies and skeletal remains in the catacombs.

The museum section of the exhibition is devoted to the activities of the Society of Jesus in Bohemia and worldwide, and documents life in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Jesuits came to Klatovy in 1636 and remained until the order was dissolved in 1773; they built a large college, a church, a seminary and a grammar school. Besides the catacombs, the Klatovské katakomby association also offers tours of the Jesuit church, the Jesuit college and the archdeanery church.

Hoogtepunten

• crypts with naturally mummified bodies of Jesuits and their benefactors
• museum exhibition on the activities of the Jesuits and life in the 17th and 18th centuries
• guided tours and audio guides in six languages
• tour of the Baroque Jesuit church with illusionistic paintings
• exhibition in the Jesuit college, where Jesuits, dragoons and soldiers were based
• the church with the catacombs is a national cultural monument

Vaste collectie

• Katakomby – krypty a expozice o jezuitech – The tour route leads through the crypts with the mummies and a museum exhibition on the Society of Jesus, with period documents, books, objects and multimedia elements.
• Jezuitská kolej – The exhibition in the 17th-century college building presents its residents, from the Jesuits through the dragoons to the soldiers of the Czechoslovak People's Army (ČSLA), and also leads to the refectory hall.

Beheerder

Klatovské katakomby, z. s.

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

The price given applies to Route I (catacombs). Tickets are bought at the catacombs' ticket office, and discounts are granted upon presentation of a valid card. Further combined tickets are available on the association's website; visitors to the catacombs and to PASK (Glass Pavilion) have a joint reduced admission.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift: geen informatie
• Aangepast toilet: geen informatie
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats: geen informatie
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

Route I (catacombs) and Route III (Jesuit college) are both step-free (details at the ticket office); the churches are reached by shorter staircases. Dogs may enter only if they remain in a carrier for the whole visit; assistance dogs are the exception.

Kinderen & gezin

Children under 6 enter free, and a family ticket is available.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The entrance to the catacombs is from Denisova Street. From the station it is about 2.5 km to the centre.

Service & horeca

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Je bezoek plannen