11.03.24: Chapel entrance

I’ve always been a sucker for photos of passageways. When I’m visiting a location and run across an interesting door, archway, window, tunnel or hallway I end up studying the passageway for the best possible photo composition.

The scenes always intrigue me. I don’t know why. And I don’t question it as long as I get interesting photos.

My wife and I were hanging around Prague for a few days before the start of a Viking river cruise from the Czech Republic into Germany when we joined with a group for a day trip to Kutná Hora, a Czech town east of Prague with an interesting history and architecture. 

Kutná Hora began as a town in 1142 after centuries of metals mining in the area. I knew that the center of Kutná Hora had been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 because of its outstanding architecture and its influence on subsequent architectural developments in other Central European city centers, so I thought it would be a good day for photography.

We had spent part of the morning visiting St. Barbara’s Cathedral, a beautiful church build in 1388. The giant archways inside provided interesting subjects for photography but, to be honest, I’ve photographed the interiors of so many European churches that they all start to run together in my memory.

We were milling around outside St. Barbara’s, waiting for the others in our group to leave the church, when I noticed a door on a small building outside the church. The stone exterior architecture looked interesting so I walked over to take a closer look. As I approached I saw the really nice wooden door, with only one side closed. The detail on the door was great so I was hooked.

But when I stood directly in front of the door I saw a stone arch inside and knew the arch would provide depth to the shot. And beyond the arch was a window, with soft light highlighting the textures and colors of a stone floor.

Interesting exterior architecture, a beautiful weathered door and layers of interior detail. I couldn’t have asked for more. There was no work for me to do, no studying for the best composition. All I had to do was stand right in front of the doorway, center it in the camera’s viewfinder and click the shutter.

This doorway enters Corpus Christi Chapel, built in the mid 1300s. According to local history, the two-story cemetery chapel was likely built before St. Barbara’s. The bottom floor was likely an ossuary for the reverent storage of bones, with a second floor to be used as a chapel. But it isn’t known if the second floor was completed as it likely became unnecessary with the construction of the massive St. Barbara’s Cathedral next door.

This shot was one of many really nice scenes I captured before we left Kutná Hora and returned to Prague. 

It was a good day.

A view through an open door to Corpus Christi Chapel adjacent to St. Barbara's Cathedral in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic.