The most macabre tourist attraction of Portugal

I was just a little girl when my grandmother first told me about a chapel in Portugal where the walls were all covered by human bones and skulls.  The name of this place is Capela dos Ossos - The Bones Chapel and later on, I found out that this place really existed and to my surprise, not only one capela is there to be seen, but many!   In 2009 I visited the Bones Chapel in Faro, which was already very scary and I could not wait to visit the big one, in Évora!


The most important and famous Bones Chapel is located in the city of Évora, in the Alentejo region of Portugal and this past Christmas  I went there to see one of the most macabre sacred-place-turned-into"tourist attraction" in Portugal.  


The official Capela dos Ossos website explains that back in the 16th century the local monastic cemeteries (42 in total) were getting crowded more and more and the  Franciscan monks decided on a practical solution for the situation: they moved all the bones to one chapel and (here comes the philosophical twist) decided to display them prominently thinking this was an opportunity to contemplate and communicate the inevitability of death.  


At the entrance, leading to the inside of the sacred chapel, the warning:  "we bones that lie here, for yours await" -  see photo  Not bad for a warm welcome, eh?   

"Inside, human bones and skulls completely cover the chapel's walls and pillars - the number of skeletons has been estimated at 5,000. Legend has it the bones come from soldiers of a major battle or plague victims, but in reality they are people from all walks of life who were buried in Evora's medieval cemeteries. " 

(source: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/)  

There are some conspiracy theories saying that the bones used to form the walls in the chapel belonged to people killed during inquisition (Centuries XVI and XVII) but this is obviously unconfirmed.  The chapel was built between the same centuries though.  


Below I have added some photos I took but I apologise for the poor quality of the ones taken inside the Chapel.  You can find more information about the Chapel and the beautiful city of Évora in this website.

Lateral view of Igreja São Francisco and the Bones Chapel

Entrance to the Bones Chapel

Main entrance for the Bones  Chapel with inscription:  "We bones that lie here, for yours await."

Inside the Bones Chapel.  

The visitors can't get too close to the bones and there are information desks with poems written to celebrate and contemplate death.  

Detail of the one of the walls.  

Corridor leading to the Chapel.   

Igreja São Franscisco.