Do you know what a carner house is? It’s a small medieval structure – a chapel – usually built near a church, with an ossuary located underground. The bones of the deceased from older graves in the former cemetery were placed there. During the tour of the accessible spaces of St. Michael’s Carner House, you can see human bones and part of a skull.
On Mariánske Square, near the Parish Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, you’ll find the only significantly preserved Gothic building in the city, with the exception of the Trenčín Castle complex. It was built in the second third of the 15th century as an ossuary. Its rear wall is connected to the original medieval fortification. At the beginning of the 16th century, the current upper part was added. After a fire destroyed the parish church in 1528, the building temporarily served as a chapel. ⛪
In 1560, due to the threat of Turkish invasions, the charnel house was converted into a city armory. ⚔️ The building later fell into disrepair, but was renovated between 1973 and 1989.
Carner today
Today, it is managed by the Trenčín Museum, which uses it as a satellite exhibition space for sacred art from the Gothic to the Baroque period. The oldest exhibit is a part of the so-called Podlužany Altar – The Descent from the Cross, dating to the first half of the 15th century.
A spiral staircase leads you down to the underground level, where you walk across a lit footbridge. Informational panels about the history of the nearby Parish Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary are mounted on the exposed, cold stone walls. Don’t forget to look carefully around the ossuary. If you’re with kids, play a scavenger hunt to spot human remains. They’re really there! ☠️😱
Opening hours: see website www.muzeumtn.sk
Entrance fee: see website www.muzeumtn.sk
Contact
Trenčianske múzeum
Mierové námestie 47, Trenčín
Tel.: +421 (0)918 498 745
E-mail: office@muzeumtn.sk
Web: www.muzeumtn.sk
Gallery