Issues with the site? Please let us know. About Us Work with Us Sign up / sign in Places prev next Stockholm, Sweden Entreprenörskyrkan 04 Sep 2015 München, Germany Georg Elser Plaque 04 Sep 2015 Boston, Massachusetts Old Franklin Park Zoo Bear Pens 04 Sep 2015 Grímsnes , Iceland Kerid Crater Lake 04 Sep 2015 Articles prev next The American Media's Awkward Fawning Over Hitler's Taste in Home Decor 04 Sep 2015 Fleeting Wonders: Those Wacky MIT Kids Built A Roller Coaster 04 Sep 2015 The New York Prison that Doubled as a Clubhouse For Alimony Cheats 04 Sep 2015 FOUND: A Very Special Sarcophagus 04 Sep 2015 Events prev next Obscura Society LA: The 100-inch Hooker Telescope September 5, 2015 Obscura Society DC: The Capitol Stones September 6, 2015 Obscura Society NY: Cookery September 10, 2015 Obscura Society LA: Sea Turtle Trek September 12, 2015 Send a tip Sign in or Sign up to add a place, save your favorite entries, create a map of places you've visited, and more! Random Place Close your eyes and spin the globe. what: near: Faro, Portugal Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel This small chapel is built of human bones and decorated with a golden skeleton ossuaries 27 95 Walls built of femurs Photo by gustavo/Flickr Exterior of the main church Photo by Wikimedia More monk bones Photo by gustavo/Flickr Photo by Sasha Jackson Photo by Sasha Jackson Photo by Sasha Jackson Photo by Sasha Jackson Photo by Sasha Jackson Full screen Contributor: Annetta Black (Admin) Edit this place With its big windows and light-filled sanctuary, the ossuary in Faro may be one of the cheeriest buildings made of human bones you'll encounter. The inscription over the door reads: “Stop here and think of the fate that will befall you – 1816,” a helpful reminder put in place by the Carmelite monks who built the chapel that year on the grounds of the larger church dating to 1719. It is not merely decorated with bones — the walls are constructed from femurs with mortar. Skulls and other bones are placed on the interior at regular intervals, including grinning down from the barrel-vaulted ceiling, giving the place a pleasing, yet spooky, symmetry. The highlight of the ossuary is a complete skeleton covered in gold that hangs at the front of the chapel. The practice of moving bones from cemetery plots into ossuaries after a period of time in the ground (usually seven to ten years) was common throughout Catholic Europe until recently. The bones in this ossuary are the remains of 1,245 monks whose bones were displaced when the ossuary was built. There are several other bone chapels in Portugal, the most famous being in Evora. Edited by: zackofalltrades (Editor), Dylan (Admin), Allison (Admin), sashajackson Share Pin This The Ossuary of Bicocca Novara, Italy Convento de San Francisco Ossuary Lima, Peru Brno Ossuary Brno, Czech Republic See 76 more places filed under ossuaries, and 30 more places filed under Portugal. Hours October to April open Mon-Fri 10am-1pm, and 3pm-5pm, May-Sept open until 6pm. Sat-Sun open 10am-1pm. Website Address PT Largo do Carmo, Igreja do Carmo (aka. Nossa Senhora do Carmo), Faro, 8000, Portugal Cost See an error? Know more? Edit this place. Sources http://lloydi.com/travel-writing/port... http://portugal-travel.suite101.com/a... http://gourmet-escapes.com/index.php?... p.111-114 p.111-114 http://www.thamesandhudson.... Map/Directions Refresh results in this map Open in Google Maps Go to the rear of the church to find the Capela dos Ossos Users Who've Been Here 27 dfmorvan, angieatha, hanssterkendries, bertrenap, grauls, RabidSloth, madmike, egotistus, AserHapi, rbsanz1, entropy69, illaberec, jazzkitty73, anasofiamarta, anasofiamarta, sashajackson, ehwiley, FloraHmd, paulbettencourt329, OdioCubico, sammyjohp, spike, alecchalmers, Tre (Admin), Lechance (Author), robthurnan, kkcanary Users Who Like This Place 95 asdonkar, andrewdfine, nscriv1, danielrthorne, janae970, Ana Cerdeira, duartesaraiva, arvoredeperas, PollyAllen, geesawyer, Zedell, essjess, aramisthemusketeer, paulyarnall, Ettegoom, eosstar, ravenwermut, filipasaramago, poolrugs, samanthapfleger, Earlyearlyearly, romuloff, necrogerbil, cptnxanarchy, screamloud, iamsohoppy, moogwol, mchael, 100indecisions, warja, susanne, neelyohara, cephy, alepidote, moon521, Dylan (Admin), roepkees, werewolf, katem, heretik77, marianafeijo, mick, frautod, helelooo, lelesp, dorischikatilo, natalien, melodml, C Schwartz, julio21f, joanaoliveira95, Dorian Heinous, samstelnicki, nifercritter, rubinia, annaraffaella, sg495, 4242564, urbanwonder, alexforshaw, LanaHughes, songbirdsof, hollylupien, Vrielinkie, tmongan, ameliakimball7, katielfreeland, TheeEmmyKay, BaibaStrode, toobydoo, Clemencia, supershinynickel, mratomic, kaitlin744, Zoso, thelibyandesert, graknil, nddavis47, pato1695, dmc2795, egotistus, zackofalltrades (Editor), Gotta23Skidoo, Isabelrodriguez962, dskreds, melagagu, andyhartsmith, Miau, jazzkitty73, Gisela Monteiro, MissMacabre, richelieu jr, Cachemier, legnaprz Want to go on an adventure? Sign up to hear about our events! Go Near Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel Rio Tinto (Red River) Palos de la Frontera, Spain Igreja de Vera Cruz de Marmelar Portugal Electricity Pylons of Cadiz Cádiz, Spain Solar Power Tower Sanlúcar la Mayor, Spain Related Places Capuchin Monastery Catacombs Palermo, Italy Catacombes de Paris Paris, France Sedlec Ossuary "Bone Church" Kutna Hora, Czech Republic Portugal's Chapel of Bones Évora, Portugal You've Been Here! Nice! Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel has been added to your profile map, showing all the amazing places you've been. Share this wonder with the world! Share on Facebook Tweet about this place Have photos of Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel to share? Upload Now Saved for Later! Excellent! Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel has been saved to your profile as a place you want to go. Invite some friends on the adventure! Share on Facebook Pin This Place Like Us on Facebook X See Our Collection of Curious Facts Share: Tweet Refresh This is what we believe: 01. There is something new under the sun, every day, all over the world. 02. Around the corner is something that will surprise the hell out of you. 03. Atlas Obscura is for people who still believe in discovery. Popular Countries Australia Canada China India Italy Japan Thailand United States Popular States Alaska California Florida Hawaii Illinois Michigan New York Texas Popular Cities Amsterdam Madrid Bangkok New York Barcelona Paris Berlin Rome Chicago San Francisco Hong Kong Shanghai Las Vegas Vancouver London Venice Home About / Contact FAQ Join our team / Internships Terms of Use Privacy Policy © 2015 Atlas Obscura. All rights reserved. View Mobile Site close Sign In or Sign Up Sign in with Facebook or Email Password Forgot your password? Remember me close Sign Up already have an account? Sign In Sign up with Facebook or Email Password How many tentacles does an octopus have? × Get Our Weekly Wonders in Your Inbox Strange, unusual and wondrous tales and locales, handpicked by our editors, straight to your inbox. Guaranteed to awe and amaze. × Get Our Weekly Wonders in Your Inbox Strange, unusual and wondrous tales and locales, handpicked by our editors, straight to your inbox. Guaranteed to awe and amaze.