There are a lot of spooky places all over the world, from places that have been abandoned and left to nature or places that had to be abandoned due to a natural disaster. No matter the reason of the abandonment, it seems like these places eventually become very spooky and rumors of being haunted start to run rampant. That’s what brings us to a church in the Czech Republic called St. George’s Church. It was built in the 1300s and has a lot of history within those walls. That’s what makes this story even better!
St. George’s Church can be found in the Czech Republic in a village named Lukova. It was built in 1352 and remained in use until 1968 when the ceiling collapsed during a funeral service.
Church Manager, Petr Koukl, 59, says, “Foreigners are particularly interested in the church and there have been many visitors from Germany, the UK, Australia, and even Brazil. It is a beautiful building with original pillars from the 14th century.”
When the ceiling came crashing down, residents of Lukova decided this was an omen, and decided to abandon the building completely.
They continued to do their sermons and ceremonies outside, but the church was not to be used because of the condition.
That’s where Czech artist Jakup Hadrava comes into play, four decades later. He was asked to help remodel this church to help attract visitors. Part of their goal was for Hadrava to help when it came to increasing the donations as well.
Hadrava focused on the pews and aisles, as he felt this would attract the most visitors.
He started by adding creepy art that showcases hooded ghostly figures, sitting throughout the pews and standing inside of the room.
Hadrava said, “I wanted to make the church more attractive for visitors and try to raise some money for renovation work.”
He continues, “The figures represent the ghosts of Sudeten Germans who lived in Lukova before World War II and who came to pray at this church every Sunday.
“I hope to show the world that this place had a past and it was a normal part of everyday life, but that fate was a huge influence in our lives,” Hadrava finishes.
He constructed each ghost from plaster and displays them throughout the room.
Now that the art has been added to the building, the amount of visitors they have receive has increased. There are thousands of people who visit each year, and because of this they have been able to raise money to get a lot of repair work done inside St. George’s Church.
One visitor named Radomir Sedlacek said, “It’s certainly hair-raising, lets hope it will continue to be cash-raising too.” It’s amazing the impact that a little bit of art can have on not only a building, but a community as well.
Check out the video below for an inside look into St. George’s Church.
Thousands of people visit St. George’s Church each and every year, and while there they donate to the renovation of this beautiful church that is almost 700 years old! It’s incredible that this place is even still standing, let alone in the kind of shape where it can be renovated. And what a creative way to bring people back inside this church; who would have thought plaster ghosts would be the way to attract tourists.