St. Barbara is the patron saint of miners, and there is a local legend about three miners who were led out of the mine by St. Barbara, and how one of them founded this church. The first church on that site dates back to the 14th century, but it has undergone continuous evolution and renovation, with subsequent rebuilding. The miners were exposed to multiple risks, including losing their way in the mines, being suffocated, falling into the cracks, and so on. And even without accidents, their health would deteriorate rapidly due to exposure to hazardous gases, high moisture, insufficient light, and other factors. The miners worked every day except Sunday, with no time off. It would take them about an hour and a half to get down to the mine, then they worked for six or seven hours, and it took them another hour and a half to get on the surface. With a life like this, they definitely needed the church full of light!
We also walked to the Bones Chapel, which is considered to be a must-see, but we were not really impressed. It is located literally on the opposite side of town, and I think we didn’t really understand the concept 🙂 You can read about it here, and also see some pictures – they do not allow photography there. It was pretty hot, especially when you need to walk in the sun, and halfway there, I suggested to Boris that we turn back, but he said we should at least achieve the goal. At the end of the day, he was right; otherwise, I would think I missed out on something important!
Hettie's Reflections 