Ossuary / The Charnel House of St. Michael (Karner)

St. Michael´s Ossuary was established in the first third of the XV century. As the very name suggests, it was used to store human remains from the older graves from the former cemetery near the parish church. Today‘s above-ground part of the ossuary was built in the early XVI century and after the fire in 1528 it was used as a chapel. In 1560, in connection with the Turkish threat, the Ossuary was used as the town armoury with metal casting facility in the basement. After a reconstruction and historical research, the building fell under the administration of Trenčín Museum and since 2007 it houses a permanent exposition.

Artworks exhibited in St. Michael´s Ossuary represent a small collection of sacral art in the collections of the Trenčín Museum. Gothic sculptures complement the sculptural and painting works from the Baroque period.