Mysterious Czech catacombs in Jihlava favorites. Jihlava
In the southeast of the Czech Republic there is a beautiful town called Jihlava. It is literally crammed with attractions - there are the most beautiful churches, the famous Town Hall, and the Gate of the Mother of God. But the greatest interest among tourists is caused by a mysterious place filled with a huge number of rumors and legends. These are catacombs dug many centuries ago that run through the entire city. Many of the visitors claim that strange phenomena occur in the dungeon.
The mysterious history of the catacombs
In the 1270s, silver ores were discovered in this part of the Czech Republic, silver miners immediately flocked here and, by order of King Otakar II, built a city next to the mines. Very soon it became one of the largest and richest cities in the Czech Republic with developed crafts and trade. After a couple of hundred years, the silver deposits were depleted and the “silver rush” in the city came to an end. It is known that by the 18th-19th centuries Jihlava was settled by the Germans, but after a while they were again replaced by the Czechs.
It has not been established exactly when the first catacombs appeared under the city. According to the latest version of scientists, they were dug at the turn of the 13th–14th centuries.
Most likely, a rich and prosperous city needed large warehouses to store food. According to historians, local residents hid barrels of beer and wine in the catacombs, fruits and vegetables were also stored here, and some rooms were even workshops in which artisans worked.
The underground corridors, dug at a depth of 12 meters, stretch for 25 kilometers and pass through the entire city.
During the Second World War, local residents used these catacombs as a bomb shelter, although the Germans who occupied the city tried to close most of them for their own safety, because they also mastered these underground passages.
Since the second half of the last century, the Jihlava Dungeon attraction has become accessible to tourists. Visitors can explore several kilometers of underground corridors, which were previously reinforced with concrete to ensure safety and prevent destruction.
Every half hour, tour groups depart from the main entrance to the catacombs, located in the courtyard of the Church of St. Ignatius. To add to the mystery, the workers of the “underground museum” at some point turn off the lights for visitors. Fortunately, only for a while. Moving lights add mystery.
For several decades now, the most incredible rumors have been circulating about the Jihlava catacombs. These legends are passed down from mouth to mouth.
Ghost Legend
Since during the construction and subsequent expansion of the catacombs several centuries ago people periodically died under the rubble, there are still rumors among the local population about ghosts wandering through the underground labyrinth.
Some say that these are the souls of the dead, others that they are terrible vampires. And although there is not a single person who has actually seen these ghosts, especially impressionable people still believe in them.
The Legend of the Young Organist
Some visitors to the catacombs claim that they clearly heard the sounds of an organ in the tunnels. The testimony of archaeologists who worked in the catacombs in the 1990s added fuel to the fire. Then the whole expedition stated that they heard organ music in one of the underground corridors. Since the experts who studied their testimony immediately ruled out mass insanity, and there was nowhere to find an organ at a 10-meter depth, no one understood what exactly the archaeologists heard.
But the townspeople immediately found an explanation for these sounds. After all, according to one of the urban legends, five centuries ago in the city there lived a young man who played the organ amazingly beautifully and masterfully. He produced such unearthly sounds on this instrument that the inquisitors considered his talent a “gift” of evil spirits. The musician was walled up alive in one of the underground corridors, and now the spirit of the deceased allegedly continues to make organ sounds, wandering through the labyrinths.
The Legend of the Strange Light
The most mysterious attraction of the Jihlava dungeons is the glowing corridor. This phenomenon was first discovered in the catacombs by amateur speleologists in 1990. This short section of path emits a greenish light even when the electricity is turned off.
For a long time, the cause of this glow was considered to be mystical forces, but later an analysis of the floor and wall coverings showed that it contained phosphorescent substances. Another corridor - which is rumored to glow even brighter than the first - was discovered under the city library building, but tourists are not yet allowed into this place. It was in this room, according to some sources, that the Nazis set up barracks for soldiers during the war.
One of the stairs in the catacombs also glows, but the reason for its glow has not yet been established. By the way, the shade of its glow is not greenish, but red-orange.
One of the legends says that Nazi researchers conducted some scientific experiments in this place during the Second World War. A chemical analysis of the coating of one of the luminous corridors, carried out by Czech specialists, showed the presence in its coating of a mixture of barite and wurtzite (a phosphor that accumulates energy and gives a glow). And since part of the premises was occupied by German anti-aircraft troops during the war, the Nazis could well have used it as illumination or actually experimented with applying some kind of luminous information signs.
Back in the thirteenth century, the Czech city of Jihlava was founded by colonists from Germany. The catacombs are famous among travelers for the fact that inexplicable sounds of organ music were repeatedly heard in their corridors, strange glows and other supernatural and still inexplicable phenomena were noticed.
According to one version, it was the Germans who built not only the above-ground part of the city, but also underground structures located near Jihlava. German colonists in the city mined silver in local mines. According to another version, the catacombs arose much later: they were built by city residents in order to take refuge there during wars and fires. But it is known for sure that during the construction process, collapses often occurred, under which many builders died.
The catacombs themselves are an extensive system of underground corridors intertwined with each other. The total area of all corridors and rooms is approximately five hectares. The catacombs are 25 kilometers long and 12 meters deep. Researchers have found that the first of the three existing floors served as a warehouse in which people stored supplies of food and drinking water. Thanks to this trick, all residents of the city had the opportunity to hide in the dungeon for a long time. And when necessary, they went out at night and attacked enemy units by surprise.
Now the catacombs are one of the mysteries unsolved by humanity. When archaeologists arrived in Jihlava in 1996, they confirmed that the city catacombs indeed hide some inexplicable secrets. Participants in the archaeological expedition confirmed that, as local legends say, in a certain place in the catacombs the sound of an organ being played is periodically heard. This place is located in one of the underground corridors at a depth of ten meters. Scientists examined the entire area around and definitely established that the organ could not physically be located anywhere nearby. Psychologists were also invited who rejected the possibility of hallucination.
According to the legend that exists here, a very gifted young organist lived in the city in the 15th century. But the then raging Inquisition did not want to recognize the musician’s genius, but explained his talent as a deal with the devil. Therefore, the young man was walled up alive in one of the underground rooms. Since then, as local residents say, once a year - on the day of the musician’s death - sad organ music can be heard in the catacombs.
Another incredible discovery was the discovery by archaeologists of a luminous staircase. It was found in a little-explored underground corridor, so even the locals did not know about the existence of this amazing object. The staircase was built of stone in the Middle Ages. In the darkness of the dungeon, one can clearly see luminous radiation emanating from it.
Scientists even took samples of the decoration of the stairs and walls of the catacombs at the time of the presence of phosphorus elements in them. But nothing similar was found in the tested samples. According to eyewitnesses, the staircase does not immediately begin to glow. At first glance it looks normal, but after a while you can notice that a reddish-orange light begins to emanate from it. This light gradually intensifies and does not disappear even after the lantern illuminating the staircase is turned off.
There is another mystical story about the Jihlava catacombs. Some have suggested that perhaps the catacombs are not entirely uninhabited. A local resident told scientists from the expedition that one of his relatives met with a vampire, from whom he miraculously managed to escape. For now this remains just a story. But be that as it may, the catacombs await their visitors and researchers.
The catacombs of the small town of Jihlava, located in the southeast of the Czech Republic, are a place shrouded in many mysteries and secrets that modern science has not yet been able to solve.
Three-tiered dungeons, the total length of which reaches 25 kilometers, pass under the entire historical center of the city. According to researchers, the construction of the Jihlava catacombs began in the Middle Ages, at the end of the 13th - beginning of the 14th centuries. The reasons why these mysterious dungeons were built are still controversial.
Perhaps these are traces of the activities of miners who extracted silver ore, or a unique system of shelters in which city residents hid during wars and fires. In any case, the construction of the catacombs was hard and dangerous work, and who knows how many medieval builders were buried alive under granite collapses. It's no surprise that this gloomy place has given rise to many ghost stories.
Today, like many years ago, the phenomenal events taking place in the Jihlava catacombs continue to excite the imagination of lovers of adventure and mysteries. To the legends about the mystical events that took place in the catacombs that have been preserved since ancient times, eyewitness accounts who encountered inexplicable phenomena continue to be added today.
They say that at midnight in one of the corridors of medieval underground passages the sounds of an organ are heard; ghosts and other supernatural phenomena have been observed here. Scientists who previously rejected ancient legends about mysterious dungeons as “anti-scientific” are forced to pay attention to more and more reliable testimony.
So, in 1996, a group of archaeologists conducting research at a depth of ten meters heard the sounds of an organ absolutely clearly. A thorough search confirmed that there was not a single room nearby that could contain a musical instrument. Psychologists who subsequently examined the eyewitnesses ruled out the possibility of massive auditory hallucinations.
Local residents explain what happened in their own way. There is a legend about a brilliant young organist who lived in Jihlava in the 15th century. The Inquisition explained the young man’s amazing skill as a deal with the devil and, as a result, the talented musician was walled up alive in one of the dungeons. It is believed that sad organ music can be heard every year on the day of the organist's death.
The main sensation was the discovery by archaeologists of a “luminous staircase” in one of the least explored underground passages, the existence of which even local old-timers did not know. The samples taken did not confirm the presence of phosphorus. According to eyewitnesses, at first glance the staircase does not make an impression - nothing special, but gradually it begins to emit an increasing reddish-orange light. Even if you turn off the lantern aimed at the stairs, the glow of the stairs does not stop, its intensity does not decrease. In attempts to explain the nature of this glow, a version was put forward about secret scientific research carried out in the dungeons by the Nazis during the Second World War.
In addition, in one of the remote branches of the metro, passing through the catacombs, a unique corridor was discovered, the walls of which emit a soft greenish light. The mystery of the green glow of the walls in this corridor has been partially solved. Chemical analysis of the samples taken confirmed the presence of a small amount of willemite (zinc silicate), which is characterized by bright green luminescence. This rare mineral, which crystallized on the walls, after illumination also creates a special pattern reminiscent of numbers and letters.
Photo: Lubos Pavlicek/itras.cz
In the 60s of the last century, certain sections of the catacombs were so destroyed that some streets in the city center simply began to collapse. The need for restoration of the catacombs became obvious, so the walls of many dungeons were strengthened with concrete. Since 1990, the professionally fortified part of the tunnels has become accessible to tourists.
So why were the mysterious Jihlava catacombs built? For what reason does music sound and strange light emit in the depths of the dungeons? There are still no reliable answers to all these questions. There are only legends, assumptions and hypotheses.
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The Jihlava Catacombs are underground artificial structures shrouded in secrets and legends, located near the city of Jihlava (South Moravia, Czech Republic). The city of Jihlava was founded by German colonists in the thirteenth century.
The sounds of an organ, ghosts and other supernatural phenomena heard at midnight in one of the corridors of medieval underground passages have been connecting residents with the mysterious power of the catacombs for centuries. Researchers who previously rejected ancient legends about mysterious dungeons as “anti-scientific” are forced to pay attention to more and more reliable testimony.
One version claims that the Jihlava catacombs arose during the development of silver mines by German colonists, another - that they were dug by city residents to hide there during fires and during wars. The enemies who entered Jihlava found the city deserted, as all the inhabitants took refuge in the dungeon city.
The network of underground corridors, covering an area of more than 5 hectares, stretches 25 km long and 12 m deep. On the first of the three floors of the catacombs, supplies of water and food were stored, which allowed people to hide underground for a very long time and come to the surface at night, attacking enemies by surprise.
During the construction of the catacombs, miners often died under landslides, and who knows how many of them were buried alive under Jihlava. In the middle of the last century, the catacombs collapsed so much that some city streets simply began to collapse, then some of the walls were strengthened with concrete.
In the summer of 1996, an archaeological expedition worked in Jihlava and came to the conclusion that the local catacombs hide secrets that science is not yet able to unravel. Scientists have testified that several times in the place indicated by legends they clearly heard the sounds of an organ.
The underground passage where this happened is located at a depth of 10 meters and, as they have precisely established, there is not a single room near it where such a tool could be located, so the possibility of an accidental error is excluded. Psychologists who examined eyewitnesses reject the possibility of a mass auditory hallucination.
Local residents explain what happened in their own way. There is a legend about a brilliant young organist who lived in Jihlava in the 15th century. The Inquisition explained the young man’s amazing skill as a deal with the Devil; as a result, the talented musician was walled up alive in one of the dungeons. It is believed that sad organ music can be heard every year on the day of the organist's death.
The main sensation of the 1996 expedition was the discovery by archaeologists of a “luminous staircase” in one of the least explored underground passages, the existence of which even local old-timers did not know. A stone staircase made in the early Middle Ages was discovered there, from which a bright light emanates in the darkness.
The samples taken did not confirm the presence of phosphorus. According to eyewitnesses, at first glance the staircase does not make an impression - nothing special, but gradually it begins to emit an increasing reddish-orange light. Even if you turn off the lantern aimed at the stairs, the glow of the stairs does not stop, its intensity does not decrease (ITAR-TASS report dated November 4, 1996).
There is also an opinion that the Jihlava catacombs are not as uninhabited as they were originally thought to be. One of the local old-timers convinced the expedition that his grandfather, here in South Moravia, encountered a real vampire and only a miracle helped him escape from his pursuer. Perhaps there, deep underground, in some undiscovered dungeon, something intelligent still lives.
The mysteries of the Jihlava dungeons await their researchers, who have yet to unravel this mystery. No new scientific research on dungeons has been reported yet.
The capital of the region is Visočina, i.e. the edges of the high mountains that occupy most of this area. This is one of the coldest and rainiest regions of the Czech Republic, and at the same time, one of the most environmentally friendly.
The first mention of Jihlava dates back to 1233, at which time there was already a settlement on the river of the same name.
Since the 13th century. Jihlava was the largest silver mining center; coins were minted here and circulated throughout Central Europe. Silver brought prosperity to the city, new houses, churches and monasteries were built. In the 1240s. the city came under the rule of the king. Silver reserves turned out to be not endless, and after two centuries the mines were depleted, coinage was moved to Kutna Hora.
During the Hussite Wars Jihlava was not conquered. But in the 15th century. There was a strong fire in which most of the city was damaged. After this the recovery began Jihlava, trade and crafts began to develop. In 1645, during the Thirty Years' War, the city was captured by the Swedes. They rebuilt Jihlava in Baroque style. When the Swedes left the city two years later, there were only a thousand inhabitants left.
The next rise came in the 18th-19th centuries. Jihlava became the second largest fabric manufacturer.
Until the beginning of the 20th century. most of the residents Jihlava composed of Germans, the city and its surroundings were the second largest German-speaking enclaves in the Czech Republic, but in the late 1940s. Almost all of them were evicted from the city.
The city's coat of arms features a hedgehog - a symbol Jihlava, even locally the beer is called “Hedgehog” (however, even local residents claim that it is inferior in taste to other types of Czech beer).
Coat of arms of Johlava
Main square Jihlava - nam. Masarykovo, has enormous dimensions; in the center of the square stands the Marian Pillar (XVII) and the Neptune fountain. Around the square, many houses from the 13th-16th centuries are well preserved; the facades may be new, but the interiors are historical with characteristic staircases.
Masarykovo Square. Jihlava. Czech Republic.
The dominant feature of the square is the Jesuit Cathedral of St. Ignatius, erected in 1680-1727. under the direction of the Italian architect Giacomo Braschi. One of the most revered Czech relics is kept here - a Gothic crucifix, the so-called Premyslid Cross (XIV century).
Next to the cathedral is the town hall, built in 1425 and rebuilt in 1786. Between the town hall and the cathedral (in the courtyard to the left) are Jihlava catacombs, which appeared at the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th centuries, when active silver mining was carried out.
At first, the townspeople dug cellars under their narrow houses to store food supplies, and later these cellars were connected by a chain of corridors and galleries. The total length of the dungeons is 25 km, they pass under the entire historical center Jihlava and are the second largest in the Czech Republic after the catacombs in Znojmo.
The dungeons consist of three levels: the first level is ordinary cellars located under Masarykovo Square at a depth of about 1-4 meters; the second level is located at a depth of 4-7 meters and the deepest - the third level at a depth of up to 12 meters, covering almost the entire city center.
The temperature in the catacombs is constant around 8-10 degrees.
During the wars, the catacombs were used as shelters. But in the 1960s. big problems began - groundwater began to rise, flood the catacombs and damage the foundations of houses. To solve this problem, props were installed in the catacombs and the floor was concreted.
The "highlight" of the underground labyrinth in Jihlava constitutes a “luminous” corridor in which there is no absolute darkness, even if all light sources are turned off: the floor and walls of this corridor glow with a dim green light.
The tour includes 200 meters of catacombs that are open to the public.
The spiers are visible from the square Cathedral of St. James, patron saint of miners. This is the main cathedral of the city, which was founded in 1243. Inside the cathedral you can see a gilded font (1599), a wooden statue of the Madonna and Child (1370), a stone statue of St. Catherine (circa 1400) and organ (1740).
Cathedral of St. James. Jihlava.
Gate of the Black Mother of God (XIII century).
