Tanec Smrti is a website dedicated to the Dance of Death in the Czechlands. In Czech, Tanec (pronounced tahnets) = Dance; Smrt, Death. For most people, the term "Dance of Death" (Totentanz, Dance Macabre) implies a medieval painting or series of paintings in churches or mortuaries wherein Death (usually represented as a skeleton) informs various members of society that their time is coming, or leads them away. Although this type of painting never reached the popularity in the Czechlands that it did in other Catholic areas of Europe, there are a couple of good examples of this theme to be found here. More common though, is the simple use of "Vanitas", or "Death's Head" on monuments and gravestones, which serves the same basic (if more symbolic) purpose of leading viewers to think on their own mortality. And the Czech Republic is probably unique in all of Europe for its highly bizarre Church of All Saints' ossuary, decorated with human bones.

And why are there so few examples of Death Dances in the Czechlands (and all Slavic countries for that matter)? From a socio-linguistic perspective, the Czech language (and other Slavic tongues as well) gives Death a feminine gender, and the Czechs traditionally saw Death as She. In stories and legends, Death was presented more as an old woman - an archetypal grandmother, or babicka. An example of this perspective is the story of Godmother Death, which you can read on the page of Midnight Tales and Legends.

In Dances of Death in Western Europe however, Death was presented as a masculine figure. Here, Death is He - King, Warrior, Thief, Gambler, Reaper; all traditionally (or at least symbolically) masculine figures. He has a masculine aggression, going out with His scythe or sword and cutting people down. Grandmothers, on the other hand, rarely take part in this sort of thing. Of course, after centuries of German influence in the Czechlands, the concept of death became "masculinized", and Death began to appear in a masculine form in Czech art. For example, the story of Darbuján and Pandrhola (see the Film & Literature page) portrays Death as a man, and gives him the name Smrtak, which is a masculine form of the word Smrt.

From a philosophical perspective, Czech views of life were traditionally fatalistic. The stories of Godmother Death, besides presenting Death in a feminine form, present Death as an inevitable part of our existance, which we must accept if the rest of life is to progress as it should. The traditional Dance of Death, however, presents Death as something unwanted and unexpected - He is sneaky and conniving, or perhaps triumphant and mocking, but very rarely friendly. In this respect, the Dance of Death expressed people's bitterness, resentment, and perhaps sometimes even defiance, at what they perceived to be an intruder on their happiness and pleasure.

The Czechs, stoic and fatalistic, also didn't much like Death intruding on their happiness, but then they didn't like taxes either, and we all have to pay those too.

Below you'll find a brief summary of what is to be found on each page of this website.

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The Ossuary, Church of All Saints, Sedlec

The Ossuary beneath the Church of All Saints, in Sedlec by Kutná Hora, is a masterpiece of morbidity by a little-known Czech woodcutter. In 1870, František Rint collected the bones of the ossuary, from some 40 000 souls, and arranged them more artistically. Besides four pyramids of skulls, there are a chandelier, chalices and monstrances made from human bones.

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Dance Of Death

There are a few good examples of the traditional Dance of Death to be found in Bohemia:

St. Christopher's Church is a small wooden church located near Liberec in northern Bohemia. The mortuary in the churchyard was decorated with 8 panels depicting a series of Dance of Death pictures. They have been removed, however, and today are stored in the repository of the North Bohemian Museum.

Kuks Hospital. When mineral water springs were discovered at the village of Kuks, in northeastern Bohemia around 1694, Count František Spork had a complex of buildings constructed there. Based on these mineral springs, this complex was intended to preserve the physical and spiritual health of people, with a church, hospital, bathouses and several other buildings. The hospital, a big, grey monstrosity, once housed a series of Dance of Death pictures, apparently inspired by Holbein's Dance of Death. Today, only two of these pictures remain. However, there is a crypt under the building, with an excellent rendition of a skeleton and typical inscriptions on the door leading from the chapel.

The Carthusian Monastery in Královo Pole in Brno was founded in 1375 and settled by Carthusian monks from Austria. There is only the one painting of monks in white habits being attacked by dancing skeletons, but it is well preserved. Today the building is home to the Information Technology Faculty of the Brno College of Technology.

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"Bozí Muka", Crosses, Cemeteries, Churches

Bozí Muka Gallery The Czech term "Boží Muka" (pronounced Bozhee Mooka) literally means "God's Sufferings" or "God's Torments", and it is a monument -a cross, statue or small chapel - dedicated to God, Jesus or one of the saints. Often, they were set up by wealthy families in the name of a deceased relative, or as an offering of thanks after surviving some illness or disaster. Many crosses and statues are adorned with several symbols, the most common being that of Vanitas - by which term I mean the image of a skull, with or without the "crossbones", representing mortality. Vanitas  is intended to remind the observer that their time will come one day, and should be prepared.

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Death in Film & Literature

The theme of Death in Czech Literature and Film. Czech writers and film producers have come up with some interesting works about death and the spirit world.

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Mummies, Crypts & Catacombs

Mummies. There are a few good examples of mummified remains in the Czechlands, especially in monasteries.

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Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous representations of Death in other church and sectarian art, and even in nature.

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Customs & Traditions

Customs & Traditions in Czech society regarding Death and the afterlife.

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Tales and Legends

Jedná Panní povidála... Or, in English, "An old woman once told me..." A collection of ghostly,and night-time tales, stories and legends. Some of them may be somewhat off-topic perhaps, but the topics of the Dance of Death and the Otherworld share some elements, and the distinction, for me, is not always so clear.

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About the Author of this website.

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