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Undisputed gem of the region east of Prague and UNESCO World Heritage site is KUTNA HORA (Kuttenberg), 60km from the capital and once one of the most important towns in this neck of the Habsburg Empire. In 1308 Vaclav II founded the royal mint here, and the town's sudden wealth allowed it to underwrite the construction of one of the most magnificent churches in central Europe, plus a number of other prestigious monuments. By the late Middle Ages its population was equal to that of London, its shantytown suburbs straggling across what are now green fields. When the silver mines dried up at the end of the sixteenth century, Kutna Hora's importance came to an abrupt end. The easiest way to get here from Prague is by bus, as the main train station is several kilometres from the centre, whereas the buses stop just across the ring road. The small houses which line the town's medieval lanes give little idea of its former glories, and the same goes for Palackeho namesti , nominally the main square though it's no showpiece. A narrow alleyway on the south side of the square leads to the leafy Havlickovo namesti, off of which is the Italian Court (Vlassky dvur), where Florentine workers produced Prague's silver Groschen , a coin used throughout central Europe until the nineteenth century. The building itself has been mucked about over the centuries, though the short guided tour (daily 9/10am-4/5/6pm) is interesting enough. Better still, head for the Mining Museum (April-Oct Tues-Sun 9am-5/6pm), the other side of sv Jakub, the town's oldest church. Here, you can visit some of the medieval mines that were discovered beneath an old fort in the 1960s. The Jesuits arrived too late to exploit the town's silver stocks, but with their own funds they built a Jesuit College on the ridge to the southwest of town. With its gallery of saints and holy men, it was a crude attempt to eclipse the astounding achievement of the neighbouring Gothic Cathedral of sv Barbora (Tues-Sun: May-Sept 9am-5.30pm; Oct-April 9am-11.30am & 1/2-3.30pm). Not to be outdone by the St Vitus Cathedral in Prague, the miners of Kutna Hora financed the construction of a great cathedral of their own, dedicated to Barbara, the patron saint of miners and gunners. The foundations were probably laid by Peter Parler himself in the 1380s, but work was interrupted by the Hussite wars, and the church remained unfinished until the late 1800s. From the outside it's an incredible sight, bristling with pinnacles, finials and flying buttresses supporting a roof of three tent-like towers and unequal needle-sharp spires. Inside, cold light streams through the plain glass, lighting up a vaulted nave whose ribs form branches and petals stamped with coats of arms belonging to Vaclav II and the miners' guilds. While you're in Kutna Hora, don't miss the weird subterranean kostnice or ossuary (daily: 8/9am-noon & 1-4/5pm), overflowing with 40,000 complete sets of bones, moulded into sculptures and decorations by Frantisek Rint in the nineteenth century. To get there, take bus #1 or #4 to the giant tobacco factory; you'll find the ossuary behind a Baroque church. The tourist office at Palackeho namesti 377 (Mon-Fri 9am-6.30pm; April-Oct also Sat & Sun 9am-5pm; tel 0327/51 55 56, www.kutnahora.cz ) can arrange accommodation in private rooms. Follow signs to the turisticka ubytovna or hostel (tel 0327/51 34 63; under GBP5/$8/?9) for the cheapest accommodation in town; reception is open only 5-6pm. There are numerous pensions: the U hrncire , Barborska 24 (tel 0327/51 21 13; GBP5-10/$8-16/?9-18), and the comfortable U vlasskeho dvora , just off Palackeho namesti on 28 rijna (tel 0327/51 46 18; GBP10-15/$16-24/?18-27) are both good. The nearest campsite is the unlikely sounding Santa Barbara on Ceska (April-Oct, tel 0327/51 20 51, 800m from the cathedral, with hot showers and a restaurant).
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