Capela dos Ossos translates literally as "The Chapel of Bones" and human bones are exactly what you'll find inside. Thousands of them, in fact, stacked high from floor to ceiling along every wall of this small chapel.
The chapel dates back to the 16th century, when local church elders were faced with a dilemma. Nearby cemeteries were getting full and taking up valuable land close to the city, and something needed to be done. In the end, the decision was taken to close the cemeteries and relocate the bones of the deceased to a dedicated chapel.
Never ones to forgo a teachable moment, the monks decided to place those bones on public display rather than hide them away. In this way, it was hoped, visitors would be forced to reflect on their own mortality, and modify their behavior accordingly while still alive.
In case the message wasn't quite clear enough for medieval visitors, the message "Nós ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos" ("we, the bones that are here, await yours") was inscribed above the entrance, and remains there even now.
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When I visited Evora in 2018, this was the most unusual and at the same time, the most eerie tourist attraction I have ever seen. So when I saw that 
I have told you about it in this post written in 2019, all in black and white but I had a few more unpublished shots to share and I tried a more "mystical" edit too :)
You can follow the link and tell me which ones do you prefer!
I don't know if medieval visitors did modify their behaviour after entering this place but the modern visitors that I saw didn't seem like having a life-changing experience and I'll include myself too. I imagine that a few centuries ago the impact must have been so much stronger. But now we are constantly exposured in violence through the movies, the video games or the tv, we even watch actual wars taking place in front of our eyes while we eat our dinner so we are kind of insentient. I know that this is a very generic thing to say and it is probably unjust to mankind but it is a thought I made and I wanted to share it with you.
I wonder would you visit this chapel and can you guess the feelings it would trigger to yourself, if you do?
All the pictures and the words are mine.
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