Look inside an abandoned 14th-century church that's filled with 'ghosts'
- In the tiny Czech town of Lukova, there is a church that has stood for hundreds of years.
- It's been abandoned since 1968 when the roof fell through during a funeral.
Do you believe in ghosts? If not, you might change your mind after visiting the tiny town of Lukova and its long-abandoned church filled with eerie white figures.
They sit solemnly in the pews, congregate at the altar, and stand at the doorways, as if to beckon you inside.
Keep scrolling to learn more about the ghosts of St. George's and their abandoned home.
St. George's church, which was built in the 14th century, sits atop a hill in the Czech village of Lukova.
Lukova is a small town 2 1/2 hours outside of Prague. It has a population of 708.
St. George's was consecrated in 1352, according to Atlas Obscura.
The church has stood for hundreds of years, but it was abandoned in 1968 after the roof collapsed during a funeral.
This contributed to locals believing the building was haunted or even cursed. The congregation began holding mass outside.
The church was left to rot, until the community decided to try and save it. However, no one could come up with the money.
Understandably, this town of just 700 people did not have the resources to completely refurbish a church from the 14th century.
But in 2012, a local artist had an idea ...
Playing off its haunted history, local artist Jakub Hadrava created 32 life-sized "ghosts" to live inside the church.
Hadrava used his fellow classmates as models, covering them in sheets and creating plaster casts for the eerie effect.
They sit in the pews and other locations around the church, giving the entire space a spooky atmosphere.
At first glance, they could be congregants in shawls.
The statues represent the Sudeten Germans, or German Bohemians, an ethnic group that used to live in the area.
The Sudeten Germans were ethnic Germans expelled from the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia) after World War II. There were believed to be as many as 3 million Sudeten Germans in the Czech Republic and, once expelled, they moved to Germany and Austria.
Visitors from all over the world have come to see the ghosts of St. George's church.
The church's popularity saw a boost in 2013, when a stylized video was uploaded to YouTube. It has over 260,000 views today.
Tourists have donated thousands of dollars to help repair the church's roof.
The church's caretaker, Petr Koukl, told Lonely Planet in September 2018 that tourists had raised more than 600,000 koruna, or almost $26,000, for renovations.
While most visitors are excited to see the ghosts, "we had two or three visitors that refused to enter," said caretaker Petr Koukl.
We can see why.
"They peeked through the door, but didn't enter because they didn't feel well about it."
Messing around with ghostly statues inside an abanoned church does sound like the beginning of a horror movie.
Think you're brave enough to meet the ghosts of St. George's?
The church is open every Sunday for a few hours, though you can always peek through the window to say hello to — and keep your distance from — the ghosts.
READ MORE ARTICLES ON
Popular Right Now
Advertisement