Chapel of Bones Pictures - Capela dos Ossos in Evora, Portugal

Skulls and Femurs on Display at the Igreja de São Francisco

One of the best places to see a display of human bones in Europe just has to be in the Capela dos Ossos in Evora, Portugal (a town with very many other sites to visit as well). In many bone chapels, or catacombs, the bones are strewn around with little purpose. At the Capela dos Ossos, the purpose of the bones is carved into the entryway, "Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos" or "Our bones that are here await yours!" The 16th-century monks who built the Chapel of Bones wanted you to contemplate the rather transient nature of life, and they used a macabre sense of humor in bringing the point home.

The Capela dos Ossos is inside the Igreja de São Francisco in Evora Portugal. There is a small entrance fee to visit the Bones Chapel.

Enjoy our Bone Chapel pictures. Click each picture to see it in all its bone-jaring largeness.