The Ghosts of St. George's Church in the Czech Republic

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One of the more well known haunted places in the Czech Republic are the spooky ghosts sitting inside of the abandoned and decaying St. George’s Church. But for what reason did the locals make them?

For those who love exploring the supernatural and the mysterious, St. George’s Church in the Czech Republic is a must-visit destination and perhaps the most eerie and scary place in the country.

St. George’s Church, or Sv. Jiří in Czech is located in the picturesque town of Lukova, in the Czech Republic, over two hours from Prague. The small village is found in the Manětín-regionen with its deep and somewhat dark forests.

The church is over 700 years old, and it has a rich and complex history that is intertwined with the history of the town itself.

**The Church of Ghosts:** St. George’s Church in the small village of Lukova has been left to decay for decades after an accident. There have been not enough funds to restore it and rumours about it being haunted made people stay away from it.//Source: Zdeňka Bušková/Wikimedia

The church was originally built in the early 14th century, consecrated in 1352, and it was dedicated to St. George, the patron saint of soldiers. Over the centuries, the church underwent several renovations and restorations, and it played an important role in the religious and cultural life of the town.

The Haunted and Cursed St. George’s Church

However, tragedy struck in 1968, when the roof of the church collapsed during a funeral service. This led to the locals believing that the church was haunted or possibly cursed and started to hold mass outside of the building. The congregation was devastated, and the church was left abandoned for over 30 years.

**The Praying Ghosts:** The little village is today most known for being the home of many statues of ghosts as an art project. // Source: MiroRosa/Wikimedia

But it wasn’t really what was behind the haunted legends that made the church famous as it was first when they tried to raise money in a unique way that it became known as one of the most haunted places in Europe.

The 32 Ghosts in the Church

During that time, the church fell into disrepair and decay, and it became a symbol of the town’s decline. But in the early 2000s, a group of local artists decided to take matters into their own hands, and they began a restoration project that would transform the abandoned church into a hauntingly beautiful work of art.

The artist Jakub Hadrava made 32 life-sized ghost statues that are now living inside of the haunted church as part of his bachelor in art in 2012.

They are supposed to represent the Sudeten Germans, or German Bohemians, an ethnic group that lived in the area a long time ago. They were all expelled from the country after World War 2.

**Raising Money for Restauration:** The church installed the ghosts in part to raise money to restore their old church. Many people have visited to experience the eerie sight of the statues.// Source: MiroRosa/Wikimedia

The stunt helped to get the attention of the church, and the congregation who once didn’t have money to repair the roof, have now raised more than 600 000 koruna.

St. George’s Church is a truly unique and haunting destination, steeped in history, legend, and mystery and a place where art meet the legends and perhaps even fuels them.