Three dark sights in Czech Moravia

This criminally underrated region of central Europe is crammed with colourful Old Towns and lush green scenery. But Czech Moravia also has some intriguing dark sights. Here are three of the most fascinating ones I've seen on my travels.

1. Mummified monks in Brno's Capuchin Crypt

The peach-coloured building conceals curious cadavers... discovering Brno's Capuchin Crypt.
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Unique dry air currents flowing through the belly of Brno's Capuchin Church resulted in the remarkable preservation of monks laid to rest there. You can visit them in person by wending your way through the darkened passageways into the main vault. Two dozen corpses bedecked with rosaries, still wearing their monastic robes, lie exactly where they were placed over a 300-year period (until the 18th century when the practise was outlawed). Brno's macabre sights don't end there: an enormous ossuary was rediscovered in 2001 and opened to visitors during summer 2012.

2. Olomouc's Communist Clock

Communist workers go about their business on Olomouc's clock.
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Astronomical clocks are common in Europe (Prague has one of the most famous). Usually they show clockwork dignitaries, royals or religious figurines to mark the hours. The astronomical clock in Olomouc was no different until the Communists destroyed it in 1945. It was rebuilt to show Communist workers instead: labourers, scientists, farmers and factory workers march out to chime the clock bells. There's a video here where you can see the clock in action.

3. Třebíč's Jewish Cemetery

The tranquil Jewish Cemetery in Třebíč.
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The Jewish quarter in Třebíč might just be the best preserved in all of Europe and is listed as a Unesco heritage sight. The cemetery is also protected, and for good reason. It dates to the 15th century but despite half a millennium of erosion and political turmoil - including the Nazi occupation of  Czechoslovakia - it is one of the best preserved Jewish graveyards I've seen in Europe. 

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The sad stuffed zebras of Poland's Niepołomice Castle

Heard of Marius the Danish giraffe? Worldwide outrage greeted the news that despite protests, this long-legged inhabitant of Copenhagen Zoo had been killed and fed to the lions. Euthanasia isn't uncommon among zoos but Marius' death and dissection were a PR disaster for the zoo.

And no wonder. Modern revulsion over killing exotic animals is well established. We're conscious of our destructive impact on ecosystems and feel intensely squeamish when reminded of how we've driven animal populations towards extinction in the past - especially when it's for frivolous reasons.

So it's unsettling to visit Poland's Niepołomice Castle (www.zamekkrolewski.com.pl/zamek-krolewski; Polish only). This 14th-century castle served as a hunting lodge for game expeditions around Niepołomice forest. In its rebuilt Renaissance form, this lesser-visited sight is well worth a halfday trip from Krakow (it's only 30 minutes' drive away). 

Taking a tour of the rebuilt Niepołomice Castle. Image © Anita Isalska.
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But the hunting display rooms don't half make for uncomfortable viewing. Tours of the castle invite visitors to explore rooms full of exotic game: springbok heads are mounted on walls, entire stuffed zebras jostle for space next to bears and gnu, and mounted moose glower from the gables.

Try not to make eye contact... some of the exotic game in the castle. Image © Anita Isalska.
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At one time, these rooms would have had pride of place. Some are local animals, other shot abroad and brought back to the palace. The trophies were evidence of the hunters' prestige. Being able to hunt for leisure, rather than necessity, demonstrated wealth. The exotic creatures spoke of worldliness and power.

Native Polish wildlife: deer, bears, European elk and grouse. Image © Anita Isalska.
See more on my Travels Darkly Flickr stream. 

But to modern visitors, the rooms represent decadent waste. This is no natural history museum, intending to educate, but the work of hobbyists.

Of course, we're judging them by modern standards. Hunters of centuries past weren't privy to information about declining animal populations and fragile ecosystems. They couldn't predict the revulsion their trophies would rouse in the future. Instead of being pride of place, these sad stuffed zebras are a relic of a past we'd rather guiltily forget.

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