The paper reflects one of the so-called great issues of age widowhood. Czech social science has not paid sufficient attention to this topic yet. The aim of our research was to describe the effects of widowhood in old age. The main research question was defined as follows: How has the life of older widows and widowers changed after the loss of their spouses? The secondary research questions were based on the holistic concept of man: What subjectively perceived impact has the loss of spouse had on the biological life (i.e. physical health) of older adults? What subjectively perceived impact has the loss of spouse had on their psychological sta-te (i.e. mental health, personality, identity)? What subjectively perceived impact has it had on their social life (i.e. social status, social contacts, economic situation)? What subjectively per-ceived impact has it had on their spiritual life (i.e. search for the meaning of life)? The findings may contribute to a better understanding of how the widowed elderly experience the loss of spouse and can help us target aid in a more effective way.