Capela dos Ossos, Évora
- 
One of the world’s most celebrated ossuaries, or bone chapels. This one is located at a church and ex-convent in the town of Évora in Portugual. It has in fact become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Évora, despite (or because of?) its rather dark appeal. The town itself is also quite a (mainstream) tourist attraction as such.
More background info: “Capela dos Ossos” means ‘chapel of bones’, or ‘ossuary’ to give the more technical term. The artful arrangement of human skeletal remains in such a form is more common in some (especially Catholic) parts of the world than in others, and this one in Évora is a particularly elaborate example.
It is the work of Franciscan monks who had a convent here, originally founded sometime in the 13th or 14th century. Most of the convent has in the meantime disappeared, but the bone chapel remains, as does the associated St Francis Church (“Igreja de São Francisco”).
When exactly the original bone chapel was constructed seems to be uncertain, some sources say in the early 19th century, others (like a panel at the site itself) claim it was already in the 17th century.
Where the skeletal remains came from is also a bit unclear. Some sources say they were simply exhumed by the Franciscan monks from Évora’s parish cemeteries from the Middle Ages, so these would be bones of ordinary people, not monks’ or saints’ or anything like that. Others claim that the bones were chosen by relatives to be put here as a favourite location for a final resting place. Anyway, it has been estimated that the bones amassed here belonged to about 5000 bodies.
The skulls and bones (femurs in particular) were arranged all along the walls of the chapel and held together by plaster/cement. Some femur arrangements form arches, and the columns are filled with skulls. See below for more visual descriptions and see especially the photo gallery.
In addition to bones and skulls there are also two semi-mummified, partially clothed whole bodies on display. These used to hang on ropes from the ceiling, but meanwhile they have been placed in glass display cases.
In 2014/15, the Évora bone chapel underwent an extensive renovation, and it must have been during this period that the mummies were placed in more dignified glass “coffins”. There are now also barriers to keep visitors away from the walls of bones – as apparently in the past some people left graffiti or even stole bones. Little text panels were also added. Some provide historical context, others recite death-themed poems, and one panel reiterates one of the myths revolving around the mummies on display, namely that they were the bodies of a father and son who “treated their mother badly”. In the interim, however, forensic examinations have revealed that both mummies are of female bodies.
The town (or city?) of Évora itself is of interest too. It’s an ancient place and the capital of the Alentejo region. It goes back to antiquity and still has relics from ancient Roman times (see below). It was once a royal seat as well as that of a bishop. As the region’s capital it is also of great importance economically. Tourism has become a significant part of the economy, as visitors are attracted by the well-preserved historic Old Town with its many architectural sights.
What there is to see: The bone chapel is only one part of a whole church and museum complex (the admission ticket covers it all), but it is quite clearly its chief attraction. It’s advertised outside at street level and when I was there there were loads of tourists, even though it was quite off-season (January 2025) and very bad weather (rainy and miserable). When I first got to the entrance there was a very large group of Chinese tourists getting ready to go in, so I decided to postpone my own visit and have a walk around Évora first (see below) and come back later.
Later that afternoon is was somewhat less busy but you still had to queue. Once I had the ticket purchased, the bone chapel was obviously my first and main port of call.
A macabre inscription over the entrance reads "Nos ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos" ('We bones, lying here bare, are awaiting yours').
Inside it’s quite gloomy, with natural light only coming in from three smallish windows, and electric illumination kept rather dim. So your eyes need a moment to adjust.
What you get to see is indeed quite remarkable. All the walls are covered with human bones and skulls. Femurs placed sideways form stylized arches and columns, while the spaces between are filled with bones inserted length-wise, with numerous skulls interspersed between them. There are also yet more artful arrangements, like mosaics. From some of the columns many dozens of skulls seemingly stare at you. It’s quite spooky.
At the far end is a little altar and what looks like a sarcophagus, though it’s a bit short (maybe it’s a large urn?).
The grimmest elements in the chapel are the two semi-mummified, and only partially clothed, whole human bodies – one of an adult, the other of a small child or even baby, looking somewhat deformed.
There are little planels (bilingual, in Portuguese and English) providing some background information as well as mythology (see above).
Looking up towards the ceiling also pays off, as it’s elaborately painted, with some death themes, and the edges of the vaults are lined with strings of yet more human skulls.
It’s the sort of place where words can only do so much in conveying what it’s like – fortunately photography was allowed inside the bone chapel, so I can give you a photo gallery, which is more illustrative than any text could be.
Compared with other ossuaries I would say Évora’s fares pretty well. It’s not quite as spectacularly artful as Sedlec in the Czech Republic, maybe also not as spooky as the Capuchin Crypt in Rome or its Palermo equivalent, but architecturally and through the sheer mass of bones and skulls it does come close. Definitely a must-see when in the region as a dark tourist!
The rest of the church/convent complex is of much less interest from a dark-tourism perspective, but since the ticket is valid for the lot you could just as well have a quick look. I viewed the collection of nativity scenes, wondering why there was a Polish one amongst them, but when it came to the convent museum I bailed out.
The adjacent St Francis Church can be visited for free independently. It’s visually appealing enough, and features some good azulejos (images made from blue painted tiles), but is otherwise not that spectacular. The exterior of the various parts of the complex are also rather on the modest side (unlike some other sights in Évora – see below).
Location: in the southern part of the inner Old Town of Évora on the eastern side of Praço 1 de Maio. Évora itself is located in the north-west of the central part of the Alentejo region of Portugal, some 70 miles (110 km) east of Lisbon.
Google Maps locators:
Capela dos Ossos: [38.5686, -7.9087]
Roman temple: [38.5726, -7.9073]
Cathedral: [38.5717, -7.9069]
Train station: [38.5605, -7.9072]
Bus station: [38.5680, -7.9179]
Access and costs: Easy enough to get to from the Old Town and southern environs; not so expensive.
Details: When staying within Évora’s Old Town or nearby, it’s walkable. When coming from outside Évora, say as a day trip, you’ll need public transport. Évora has a train station (ca. 1 km south of the bone chapel), but there don’t seem to be that many connections to Lisbon. More connections are available by regional bus (especially those run by Rede Expressos), which take a bit over two hours for the journey. Évora’s bus station lies a good 1km east of the centre and the bone chapel.
When I visited Évora I came by hire car. Driving time to/from Lisbon is just under two hours when using toll roads (see under Portugal in general).
Opening times: daily (except at Christmas, New Year’s Day and Easter Sunday) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter and to 6.30 p.m. in summer.
Admission: 6 EUR (some concessions apply).
Note that, unlike at so many other such ossuaries, here you are still free to take photos as you please, just don’t use flash.
If you want to stay overnight in Évora, as I did on my January 2025 visit, there’s a good range of accommodation options, thanks to Évora having become quite a tourist magnet. As I was coming by hire car, I needed somewhere with parking, and I did find the perfect place, with private underground parking at no extra cost, a nice large modern room at a very agreeable rate (77€ for a double), a spectacularly designed foyer/atrium and staircase and very good breakfast included – and all that just a few steps away from the Capela dos Ossos! (If you want to know the hotel’s name and address, contact me …).
Options for food & drink are also plentiful. I had a fabulous dinner at a small-scale and very traditional Portuguese restaurant that wasn’t overpriced; and to my surprise I even found a bar serving local craft beer. What I didn’t try, though was the local variant of the national sweet treat pasteis de nata, called queijadas de Évora.
Time required: I spent half a day in Évora, and of that only just about half an hour at the bone chapel, church and convent museum, of which however I skipped most. If you want to see it all you’ll need a bit more time.
Combinations with other dark destinations: none in the immediate vicinity that I would be aware of, but the capital Lisbon isn’t so far away and offers several other dark attractions.
When I came to Évora I travelled up from the Mina de São Domingos, which is a good hour’s drive away.
See also under Portugal in general.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: Évora as such is doubtlessly a very pretty place and its well-preserved Old Town with its narrow cobbled streets and low whitewashed houses is good for an exploring walk. It’s relatively touristy, but nowhere near as much as Porto or Lisbon these days.
When I was there, unfortunately, the weather made exploring on foot less pleasurable than it might have been without all the rain. Nevertheless I soldiered on to see some of the main sights if only very briefly.
A particularly noteworthy one is the main relic from ancient Roman times in Évora, the temple dedicated to Emperor Augustus. It’s one of the most significant sites of its kind in Portugal.
Évora’s aqueduct that comes into the Old Town from the north, however, is not from Roman times but was built in the 16th century.
The Cathedral of Évora, on the other hand, is much older than that, going back to the 13th and 14th century. It’s certainly impressive with its asymmetrical twin towers and vast portal.
Moreover there are several palaces, including the Royal Palace, which also has associations with national hero explorer Vasco da Gama, also an old university, yet more religious buildings and last but not least the almost intact wall around the inner Old Town. All of this, in addition to the bone chapel, certainly makes Évora worth a visit.
