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ul. Stanisława Moniuszki 8, Kudowa-Zdrój
The Chapel of Skulls stands in Czermna, a district of Kudowa-Zdrój in the Kłodzko Valley, between the church of St. Bartholomew and the bell tower. The modest Baroque building hides an ossuary, one of very few such places in Europe and the only one in Poland. It was created at the end of the 18th century on the initiative of the local priest Wacław Tomaszek.
The priest collected the remains of inhabitants of the Kłodzko region who had died in the Silesian wars, in the Thirty Years' War and during epidemics, and whose graves were being exposed in the nearby slopes. The bones were cleaned and arranged on the walls and the vault of the chapel. About three thousand of them are on display, and several times more lie in the crypt below the floor.
The visit is short but leaves a strong impression: the skulls bear traces of gunshot wounds, fractures and disease, and the guide tells the story behind particular remains. The place is not recommended for the youngest children. The chapel lies on the way to Kudowa-Zdrój and the Stołowe Mountains National Park.
