Kutna Hora was vacant. Or at least it seemed to be so. The main streets in town were deserted, as were the back streets, alleys, and lanes. It was mid-afternoon. A door opened. A father and his very young daughter ran out for an instant, laughing, chasing each other, then they immediately went back through the door, closing it behind them.

A stucco covered brick wall meets hewn stone. But the border along the foundation remains constant across both. The door? Who knows where it leads? The steps leading into it are sloped from centuries of wear, from many feet using them to come and go. Tufts of spring grass poke through stones.

Kutna Hora was settled in 1260, in what might be called a ’silver rush’ when veins of silver were found on property owned by the Cistercian Monastery of Sedlec. Sedlec and Kutna Hora are so close together that they do not seem like two separate towns. Kutna Hora is now a World Heritage City, and has curious back streets like the one pictured above.

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