Explore the Jeweled Skeletons of Germany!

When it comes to Germany, nothing will stop to amaze me every day. Everything is weird, such as its bureaucracy or even the grammar rules (for the love of God, why?!). But despite all of that, I still find Germany a very nice place to live, and it is not because they have the best variety of beers. When I first saw the beautiful jeweled skeletons, I knew that only Germans can do that (and normalize it) in a most beautiful, perfect way. So, If you want to dig this story a little :), prepare your inner freak to learn more about Germany's jeweled skeletons!

In Waldsassen, Germany, there is a basilica named the Waldsassen Basilica which has halls covered with jeweled skeletons of Christian martyrs as decoration. Those “Holy Bodies" dressed in elaborate 18th-century garb and covered in jewels, exhumed from the catacombs of Rome in the 17th Century. Every year this church celebrates a Holy Bodies Fest but not only that, the church is also famous for its armless Christ statue because his arms were broken off by a soldier. The statue was kept as a symbol of forgiveness and reconciliation and today it is a popular stop for pilgrimages.

You can find Munich's oldest church, St. Peter’s Church, or “Alter Peter”, the right side of the famous Glockenspiel in Munich's Marienplatz. This early Baroque-style church is not only famous for the lantern-dome tower but also it has a glass coffin bearing the skeleton of beautiful Saint Munditia. Her remains transferred from the Roman catacombs in 1675 and today, she rests with her glass eyes and her body covered with gold and jewels. She also holds a glass container filled with dried blood, a relic of her martyrdom. It is known that she was beheaded with a hatchet. Every year on November 17th, a feast takes place in her honor with a High Mass and candle procession.

In Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany, you can find two early Christian saints full-on skeletons, crowned in gold and jewels in the Church of the Assumption. Not very far from Munich, you will come across this breathtakingly beautiful church with gilded altars, tapestries, amazing carvings, paintings and Saint Hyacinth of Caesarea and Saint Clemens remains covered with gold and jewels, resting in peace.

Again not very far away from Munich, there is a town named Rott am Inn where you can find an 11th Century monastery. Inside this monastery, you will see two skeletons of unknown provenance that is believed that they flooded Europe during the Counter-Reformation of the 1500s, and today they are resting most extravagantly.

Lol sorry, that is just me chilling on Sunday because I am dead inside and the next time I open up to someone will be my autopsy. :)

But wait, there is more! In Roggenburg, Bavaria, there is a unique festival held every year by the monastery in Roggenburg on August 15th. On this day, the four catacomb saints who have been covered with jewels and gold, bring out for everyone. Which makes this skeletons more interesting than others is; their faces are reconstructed with wax or papier mache! After the parade, don't forget to enjoy a nice meal and Kloster beer with live brass music!

If you want to see the most beautiful way to be dead, find your inspiration on itinari now!