National Library of the Czech Republic in Clementinum, Prague. Municipal Library Prague Library

Having visited the beautiful Czech city of Prague, we naturally could not ignore such a historical landmark as the Klementinum. And we were attracted to Clementinum, first of all, by one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.

While still sitting at home and preparing for the trip, we looked at photographs of this baroque library hall, admired it, and we so wanted to see with our own eyes the most beautiful library in the world.

In this article we will talk about the Clementinum, our tour of the majestic structure, its library hall, the meridian hall and the Astronomical Tower. We will also share with you photographs, some of which were taken furtively, since taking pictures is prohibited in some halls of the Clementinum.

So,

Clementinum

The Clementinum is a large complex of Baroque buildings, most of which were built by the order of Jesuit monks who appeared in the Czech Republic in 1556, and had a Dominican monastic order located in this complex.

Initially, the Clementinum housed a Jesuit college and university. Over the years of its existence, the complex was built and expanded by many famous architects, artists and sculptors, until it acquired its current appearance in the late Baroque style.

The complex was destroyed to such an extent that currently the Clementinum is the second largest historical complex in Prague, after. We also visited Prague Castle, and it is very difficult to say unequivocally which of the complexes we liked better. They are so different and each is beautiful in its own way, so we advise every tourist who decides to visit Prague to visit the two largest historical complexes in Prague.

Clementinum is located in Prague's Stare Mesto quarter, at. One of the most beautiful buildings of the Clementinum - the Jesuit Church of the Savior - the Church of St. Salvator / Kostel Nejsvetejsiho Salvatora, the facade faces directly onto the square near Charles Bridge.

The Clementinum complex includes several churches and churches, the most beautiful of which, in our opinion, are the Church of St. Salvator itself and the Catholic Church of the Virgin Mary / Nanebevzeti Panny Marie, which is on Karlova Street.

Along the same Karlova Street, you can get to the courtyards of the Clementinum, and from there go on an excursion to see the library and climb the astronomical tower, which offers magical views of the old town of Prague.

In addition to the main attractions, today the Clementinume buildings house a large number of offices and reading rooms, entry to which is strictly by permits and library/student cards. But this, naturally, was of little interest to us.

Having entered the courtyards of the Clementinum, we walked briskly straight towards our main goal - the astronomical tower. This is where the baroque library hall is located.

We approach the astronomy tower. The building is very large, so it was not possible to take a good photo among the narrow streets and courtyards of the Clementinum.

Here, below, at the entrance to the tower, there is a ticket office. You can get to the library only with a guided tour, which takes place every half hour, starting at 10:00.

Near the entrance and ticket office

A ticket for the excursion costs 220 CZK for adults and 140 CZK for students and children. At least that's what was written on the stand at the checkout.

220 CZK per person, a little expensive for us. But we have already gotten used to “surviving” in Prague. Since in Prague entrance is paid everywhere, even to churches and temples, when we approached the ticket office we were told that we had two student tickets. Almost nowhere were they required to show student ID cards, so it was a breeze. In any case, it's worth a try. We did the same here, we came up and said two student tickets, for some reason they only charged us 240 crowns for two tickets. Well, okay, ours are better.

Our tour started in 10 minutes. Together with us, there were about 10 more people who wanted to go on the excursion, among whom more than 50%, as it turned out, were Russian-speaking tourists. The excursion was held in English, so naturally, with our poor knowledge of English, we did not understand everything, but the main essence was clear.

The Clementinum tour begins

Entering the hall, we see an exhibition copy. We still don’t understand what it is)) But outwardly it resembles the mechanism of some kind of watch or something similar.

The pride of the hall "Visegrad Code", representing the cathedral collection of gospels and religious texts. The codex is written in Latin and is considered the most famous and valuable manuscript in the Czech Republic. The Visegrad Code was presumably compiled on the occasion of the coronation of the first Czech king, Vratislav II, in 1085 at Prague Castle, where it was presented to the king. Just imagine the historical value of this huge book, and the codex is indeed of considerable size.

In the foyer we see a beautiful door. This door leads to the hall of one of the most beautiful libraries in the world - the Baroque library hall/library of the Clementinum. This room is part of the National Library.

The guide opens the door and appears before us hall of one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. It is prohibited to take pictures in the hall; a guide and a camera on the ceiling are watching over this. We filmed secretly, hand-in-hand, on a phone, so there’s no point in talking about the quality of the pictures.

In the photo on the Internet, the hall looked quite impressive, but in reality it turned out to be not that big and rather narrow, but this in no way detracts from its wonderful atmosphere. The hall smells of old books and is dim.

You cannot enter the library hall itself or walk around it. You can only stand and look around the hall by the fence outside the door. As they explained to us, entry into the hall is prohibited to everyone except researchers and students with special passes. The fact is that the books collected in this room are very old and require special careful care. In total, the hall contains about 20,000 volumes of books, all of them are placed on tall shelves from floor to ceiling on both sides of the hall.

On the ceiling of the book room you can see an amazing fresco, which is divided into three parts. The first part of the fresco depicts Apollo seated on Mount Parnassus. In the middle part are the imaginary domes of the temple of wisdom. The third, climactic part of the fresco, the one closer to the entrance, depicts an angel with a torch of knowledge, hovering over Christ and calling “IPSUM AUDITE” (which translates as “Obey Him, listen to Him!”).

In the main part of the library hall there is a portrait of Emperor Joseph II, probably from 1783. And in the middle of the hall you can see several globes on display. These globes are of two types - geographical and astronomical. The largest and most famous, as well as the most beautiful globe, is the one located at the entrance. In addition, it depicts constellations. It's a shame that all these delights are not visible in the photographs. Yes, even if it were visible, photographs would still not convey what you experience and see when you are there.

We leave the baroque book hall and again move up the spiral staircase. Yes, by the way, you can take the elevator rather than take the stairs, but we didn’t use the elevator, the stairs are more interesting))

Rising higher, we find ourselves in Meridian Hall of the Clementinum

The name of the hall comes from the phrase “Prague Meridian”. There is twilight in this room.

The string, protected by a wooden cabinet, is on the floor. There is a small hole in the left wall, a camera obscura (from the Latin word camera obscura, which translates as dark room). Through this hole in the wall, sunlight enters the room. This beam gradually moves around the hall, and at the moment when it turns out to be cut by the meridian string, which on the floor, strictly in half, means that noon has come.

In past centuries, for a long time, this was the only way a signal was sent from the Clementinum indicating the onset of noon. Since 1842, the signal has been given using flags. The signal given in the form of a flag was most often followed by a cannon shot from the Bastion of St. Magdalene. Thus, the noon signal was given until 1928. The job of watching the beam at that time was responsible and required special attention and perseverance. This made her considered respected, because this was the only way many townspeople could know for sure whether it was noon.

In addition, the Meridian Hall contains two original wall quadrants, believed to be the work of Jan Klein. A quadrant is a device that was used to determine the zenith distances of luminaries.

Behind the meridian hall we go up the wooden stairs

And we find ourselves in a dark round room, at the very top Astronomical Tower of Clementinum. The Astronomy Tower was built in 1722. Its height from the very base to the observation deck is 52 meters. And the total height of the tower is 68 meters. When climbing to this very top, we climbed a total of 172 steps. At the very top of the tower is decorated with a sculpture of Atlas carrying the celestial sphere.

There are also several exhibits in this room.

The guide opens the doors and we find ourselves on observation deck of the Astronomical Tower. The bird's eye views of Prague are simply magical, red tiled roofs and narrow streets of old Prague are everywhere. We plunge into these views headlong, walk around the site and look, look...

The complex and courtyards of the Clementinum are clearly visible from above.

A couple of panoramic shots from the observation deck of the Astronomical Tower in the Clementinum

With this our excursion came to an end, we went down. The entire excursion takes 30 minutes, but our group was delayed for 45. Having gone down, another group was already eagerly awaiting our exit, ready to go on the excursion.

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Among the many wonderful sights of magnificent Prague, the most notable is the Clementinum - a Jesuit college, which is a large complex of buildings in the Baroque style. It now houses the National Library of the Czech Republic.

Clementinum is located in the Old Town (Staré Město), near the famous Charles Bridge. This large-scale complex includes a number of buildings from the 18th century, the authors of which are such famous architects as Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, Carlo Lurago, Frantisek Maximilian Kanka and other representatives of the Habsburg Baroque workshop.

The total area of the Clementinum is 20,000 square meters. In terms of size, this historical and architectural complex is second only to the Prague Castle fortress (Pražský hrad). A large Jesuit college was created in Prague in 1552 on the site of the medieval chapel of St. Clement. By the 17th century, Clementinum had become one of the largest Jesuit centers in the world. in 1622, the library of Charles University, the main university of the Czech Republic and the oldest university in Central Europe, was located here.

At one time, the Clementinum library contained mysterious manuscripts dating from 1404 and 1438 by an unknown author. They were written in an incomprehensible language, so all attempts to decipher them remain unsuccessful to this day. The mysterious illustrated codex was called the Voynich Manuscript and is now kept in the Yale University Library.

The historic building of the Clementinum houses half of the collection of the Czech Central Library. In total, the National Library of the Czech Republic contains about seven million different books, including 4,200 incunabula - copies of extremely rare books that were published in Europe before 1501 in small editions of 100-300 pieces.

The hall of the National Library in the Clementinum is designed in the Baroque style and is distinguished by the luxury and splendor traditional for those times. This is one of the most beautiful halls of the Clementinum, which is decorated with frescoes by Joseph Dibel.

The National Library of the Czech Republic is open to public access and currently has about 60 thousand registered readers. Throughout the history of its existence, the library at Clementinum has made enormous contributions in the field of translations of ancient manuscripts and texts. Since 1992, the modern library began to digitize the documents stored in it. In 2005, the library was awarded the UNESCO Memory of the World Prize for its contribution.

The building of the Prague City Library belongs to the municipality - anyone can visit the institution. There is no need to pay an entrance fee, electronic communications are free, as are the reading rooms. A library card is only needed if the visitor plans to take the book with him.

This library has an extensive literary collection, exhibits contemporary art and organizes concerts - it is a full-fledged cultural institution. And the building itself is an architectural landmark and has a rich history. Moreover, the institution has several branches of a non-standard format: branches operate in trucks, which are, in fact, mobile libraries.

History of the Prague Library

The Prague Public Library welcomed its first book lovers on July 1, 1891. Then she was located in another place and subsequently moved more than once. As a result, a once residential building located on the corner of Platner Street and Marianska Square and built in the Empire style was given over to the institution.

By 1922, the book collection reached approximately 250,000 volumes, and the following year the capital's insurance company decided to build its own separate premises for the establishment. Its opening was planned to coincide with the tenth anniversary of independent Czechoslovakia. The design of the new library building was designed by architect František Royt; construction began in 1925 and lasted three years. The opening ceremony took place on October 28, 1928.

The previous library building was demolished, but the basement rooms survived and have survived to this day - they are now occupied by lecture halls.

Architectural features and interior

While working on the model of the new library building, František Royt decided to resort to the neoclassical style - this made it possible to create a large and multifunctional public space. Thanks to this approach, the building was suitable for storing a book collection, and for organizing exhibitions, and for holding musical performances, and for open lectures.

In the design of the facade, Royt combined classical articulation with the restraint of modernism - the building turned out to be externally harmonious. The corner parts of the house, equipped with a balcony balustrade and an impressive entrance, open onto the sidewalk in an arcade. The building is decorated with allegory sculptures created by Ladislav Karfanek.

The design of the interior space was carried out by famous masters of that era. Thus, the ceiling of the main hall was painted by Frantisek Kisela and looks especially original. The outstanding decoration of the house was the decorative grilles created by Karel Stiepl, a sculptor and architect. And the artist and graphic artist Josef Seipka worked on the stained glass windows.

Interiors with original, original design can now be found in the information center of the library and its theater department. Despite the fact that the designers did not skimp on decorative elements, in general the interior is decorated simply, unobtrusively and remains appropriate, meeting the purpose of the building.

The neoclassical building of the public library fits well with the architectural ensemble of the location where it is located. In the immediate vicinity are the early Baroque Clementinum and the New Town Hall, built in the Secession style. These three buildings form a single and integral architectural group, where each building emphasizes the stylistic features of the others.

Arrangement and modernization of the library

Since the building was in a certain sense ahead of its time, its full potential was realized in the seventies. During 1996–1998, modernization was carried out, caused by new requirements of the time: rooms for working with multimedia and computer equipment appeared.
A couple of years earlier, library visitors received exhibition spaces at their disposal, and after all the reconstruction in the late nineties, the gallery was equipped with a new entrance.

Curious facts

The library building is the second largest among Prague buildings; excursions are even offered here. It is noteworthy not only for its design and collection of books, but also for its significance for the social and political life of the Czech capital. The fact is that 20% of the premises of the house are occupied by the residence of the mayor.

At the entrance to the building there is an unusual sculptural composition representing eight thousand volumes that are glued together. There are mirrors in the lower and upper parts - they create a spatial effect and visually enlarge the book tower many times over.

The Prague Public Library adorns the city space, combining modernity and classicism - in this way it is similar to Prague itself. A stylish and characteristic building always attracts the attention of tourists and leaves a good impression on excursionists.

How to get there

The closest metro station to the library is Staroměstská. The nearby tram stop has the same name, where daytime trams No. 2, 17, 18 and night trams No. 93 go.

The capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, is home to one of the most stunning libraries in the world: the Clementinum Library. The beautiful Baroque building was first opened in 1722. The Clementinum was once known as the third largest Jesuit college in the world.

Today the library occupies a huge area of 20,000 square meters and stores more than 22,000 rare books. When you step inside, it's not hard to see why this is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Amazing frescoes even cover the ceiling, and even the smallest detail of the interior is pure art. The frescoes on the ceiling were painted by Jan Hybl, who depicted allegorical motifs of education and portraits of Jesuit saints - patrons of the university and famous representatives of this order.

In addition to its unique interior, the library is rightfully proud of the rarest historical book collection. A small part of it was provided to Google for scanning, and is now available in the Google Books service to an even larger audience.

In fact, the Clementinum is a historical complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently it included the National University and the Technical Libraries, as well as the City Library. The Technical Library and the Municipal Library have been moved to the Prague National Technical Library since 2009. It is now used as the National Library of the Czech Republic. In 2005, the Czech National Library received the UNESCO JIKJI (Memory of the World) prize.

Prague is rich in a wide variety of attractions and places that you, as a guest of the Czech capital, simply must visit. But today we will talk about the Clementinum - a whole complex of Baroque buildings that once housed a Jesuit college and now houses the National Library of the Czech Republic. The complex is spread over a huge area and is the second largest after Prague Castle.

It includes several public buildings dating back to the 18th century:

- Mirror Chapel (built in 1724)
- Mathematical Museum (erected in 1752)

Astronomical Observatory (1722)
University Library (1727)
The weather station, which was the first in Central Europe, was opened in 1751. Since 1775, temperature measurements have been taken here daily; Here the great scientist Kepler discovered the laws of planetary motion.

Outstanding masters of the Habsburg Baroque worked on the design of each building: Frantisek Kanka, Kilian Dinzinghofer, and Carlo Lurago.

The name “Clementinum” is most closely associated with the name of St. Clement (Clement), in whose honor a chapel was erected on this site in the 11th century. The Dominican Order soon built its monastery near it.

Clementinum in the 16th century

In the 16th century, the Jesuit order became increasingly influential. Already in 1552 in Prague they built the Jesuit College (by the end of the 17th century it had become one of the largest centers for training Jesuits in the world). In the same century, the Jesuits tried to strengthen the Catholic faith by arriving at the monastery of St. Clement. As the importance and wealth of the order increased, so did the importance of the Clementinum, which soon became a real competitor to the Carolinum, considered the core of the legendary Charles University.

17th century in the history of the complex

Despite the fact that in the first third of the 17th century the Jesuits were expelled from Carolinum and Clementinum, they successfully returned here in 1620 to prove their power and influence with renewed vigor. Upon their return, they moved the priceless library of Charles University to the Clementinum.

The influence and wealth of the Jesuits allowed them to purchase land around the Clementinum, gradually erecting new buildings and planting gardens on it. As a result, 2 gardens and 30 buildings, including churches, became part of the complex, which was designed in the Baroque style. During Classicism, the buildings were enlarged and modernized.

Library in Baroque style

The Baroque library, created here in 1722, has not been altered and reflects the structure of libraries of that time. It is considered one of the most beautifully decorated rooms in the entire complex. The hall, where hundreds of thousands of valuable books are stored, is decorated with frescoes by master Joseph Dibel, which depict Art and Science. The paintings placed on the dome of the library represent the Temple of Wisdom.

If you look over the windows, you can see images of famous Jesuits in the triangles. The center of the hall is decorated with huge globes.

Clementinum was once recognized as the third largest Jesuit college in the world;
One of the Jesuits, Conias, burned about 30,000 volumes of “heretical publications” here;
During the Revolution of 1848, the complex served as a fortress for students;
There is a version that after, on the instructions of the Pope, the Jesuit Order was dissolved in 1773, the Jesuits walled up their wealth in one of the cellars of the Clementinum;
The Jesuits brought only one book with them to Prague. During the reconstruction of the library, this figure was increased to 20 thousand copies.
In 2005, Clementinum was included in the Memory of the World register.