National Library in Prague, Czech Republic. The most beautiful libraries in Prague

Every student or great lover of printed literature knows how valuable the ability to use state libraries is. Below we would like to say a few words about those in the Czech Republic, and explain how you can gain access to public libraries in Prague.

Městská knihovna - State Library

Národní knihovna České republiky – National Library of the Czech Republic

Národní technická knihovna – National Technical Library

There are lesser-known or hidden attractions, such as the world's most beautiful libraries. I will talk about them in a new article.

Clementinum is a historical complex of baroque buildings of the Jesuit college, which is located between and. The area of ​​the complex is 20 thousand square meters. m, making it the second largest building complex in Prague after. It is worth adding that Clementinum was the third largest Jesuit educational institution in the world.

What does this complex of buildings include?

• Temple buildings: Church of St. Salvatore; Cathedral of St. Clement; Chapel of the Virgin Mary; Mirror Chapel; Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk
• Astronomy tower and observatory
• Mathematical Museum
• The first weather station in Central Europe (1751)
• Hall of the National Library, opened in 1722

The National Library of the Czech Republic is the central library of the Czech Republic. The main library building is located in the Clementinum building, where half of its collection is stored. The National Library is the largest library in the Czech Republic: its collections contain about 7 million copies of books, and 70 thousand copies are added every year. The library's collections contain books from Turkey, Iran and India. For comparison, the Russian State Library stores more than 40 million items.

In the photo of the Clementinum library you can see that it was made in the Baroque style - everything is decorated in an expensive and rich way. In the center of the hall is a collection of ancient globes created by the Jesuits. The library houses many rare copies, for example, one of the most expensive Gospels in the world, which is estimated at 40 million Euros.

At the moment, the library in Clementinum is closed for reconstruction, but they promise to open it next year.

Library in the Strahov Monastery

The second and no less beautiful library is located in the Strahov Monastery in Prague. The monastery is easily accessible by tram number 22. The monastery is located on a hill next to.

The library in the monastery has existed for more than 800 years. As you can see, this is an old majestic library with a rich history. The oldest copies of the library date back to the 12th century. The library burned down more than once and was besieged by the Hussites, but still by the 17th century the number of books in the library increased to 3,000. In mid-1648, after the capture of Prague by the Swedes, the library was looted, and 19 boxes of books from the Strahov Library were taken to Uppsala and Stockholm. However, many valuable copies were saved, and in 1670-1674 the library was restored in new premises. And in the 18th century the library was opened to the general public. The new library building was built from a former barn. The new building came in handy because... Part of the library's collection was replenished from the libraries of monasteries closed throughout the country.

Currently, the library's storage facilities contain about 200,000 books, 1,500 first printed editions, 2,500 manuscripts, and several thousand graphic sheets.

Now let’s walk through two halls that are open to visitors. At the same time, you cannot enter the halls themselves, but you can view the library and take photographs from the corridor.

Theological Hall

The first hall is Theological. You will notice that the library's design is created in the Baroque style. Notice the bookshelves, which are topped with gilded decorations, the ceiling moldings and the frescoes. In the middle of the hall are 17th century globes from Rotterdam. And most of the 18,000 thousand books in this room, naturally, relate to religious topics.

Philosophical Hall

The Philosophical Hall is larger than the Theological Hall (length 32 m, width 10 m, height 14 m). The hall houses 42 thousand books related to the following sciences: philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, philology, history. In the hall, it is worth paying attention to the famous frescoes by Franz Easelberts that decorate the ceiling.

The frescoes are called “Spiritual Development of Humanity”, and on them you can see motifs telling about the development of science and religion in their interaction. On the fresco you can also see motifs of the Old Testament, Moses, Adam and Eve, the Evolution of Greek civilization, St. Wenceslas and other famous historical figures. History and art lovers can spend hours here exploring this work of art.

In fact, I wasn’t particularly impressed by the library, and considering that the library staff are very ill-mannered, lazy and constantly run up to all visitors shouting “Did you pay for photography?!”, then the impression of the visit was ruined. As it turned out, there was no information about the library and exhibits in the hall, and the printed text had to be requested at the ticket office. Why they didn’t give it to us, as they do in all decent tourist places, we don’t know. Well, I would like to somehow diversify the leisure time of visitors, in addition to displaying several books, after all, for 5 Euros I want to see something more.

Practical information

• Entrance fee: 120 CZK
• Entrance fee for students: 60 CZK
• Cost of photography: 50 CZK
• Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 with a lunch break 12:00-13:00
• Library address: Strahovské nádvoří 132/1, 118 00 Praha 1-Hradčany-Praha 1

The National Technical Library (Narodni technicka knihovna) was founded as the library of the German Technical University, then became a single library for the Czech and German Technical Universities. Now under one roof there are (in addition to the technical library itself) the library of the University of Prague, a branch of the city public library, a bookstore and a cafe.

The huge new unusual and architecturally bold building of the National Technical Library (seven floors of glass and concrete and six more underground) was symbolically opened on 09.09.09, recognized as the best new building in Prague and is one of the main architectural landmarks of the Czech Republic. It is the most modern and equipped library in Central and Eastern Europe.

The idea of ​​the implemented project was to create an open textbook on architecture and librarianship. The idea is immediately recognizable, because engineering communications are visible everywhere on the concrete walls, the floor is multi-colored (blue, dark blue, green, yellow, orange, red) depending on the distribution of the power load of the building (for example, the greatest load is indicated in red).

The library is high-tech, the latest equipment provides all the opportunities for comfortable studies.

The library is open to users 24 hours a day: from 10 to 24 hours the main premises, and from 24 to the morning a night reading room (with a separate entrance), which is in great demand among working students.

All technological processes and operations are automated.

There are several WiFi networks in the building (including the international academic network eduroam), and sockets for connecting to the electrical network are installed throughout.

Admission is free; you do not have to register when visiting, only if you take the stock documents home. The cost of an annual subscription for students is 50 CZK, for other categories 100 CZK (4 euros). There are many books in Russian, and publications in foreign languages ​​are not separated into a separate collection, but are distributed throughout the entire fund. The total document resource of the library is more than 1.5 million units. storage NTK is the main collection of technical literature in the Czech Republic.

The National Library of the Czech Republic is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world (7 photos)

The user can order the required document from any library in the European Union and the application will be completed within two days.

The scope and user orientation of this library is amazing. Huge areas, comfortable cabinet and upholstered furniture, a large number of information kiosks and computers with Internet access.

On the top floor in the center of the building there is a glassed-in veranda where readers can work in the fresh air.

In the library, there are yellow metal cabinets with small compartments in various places. These are individual cells (chambers) in which you can store things for free for a short time. For example, you can leave a laptop, charger or stationery in the library while studying. The specially equipped booths for individual work, which students can rent for the academic semester, make a great impression (slippers left in one of the booths and photographs pasted on the wall in another look cute through the glass walls).

There are very few employees of such a large premises, only 160 people (110 library staff and 50 technical staff). This is the personnel limit provided for by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (and this library is subject to it). Cleaning of premises and security of the building is carried out by specialized companies under a contract. Many employees come to work in the library without special education, so special library courses are organized here for employees of all public libraries in the country, designed for two semesters. These courses are taught by NTK practitioners.

The most beautiful libraries in Prague

We travel with our family around Europe quite often, trying to show our children the world and take a break from everyday problems. If we can’t find a vacation in the summer, we choose a country where we can gain new knowledge and impressions. At the beginning of this spring, our choice was the Czech Republic, or rather its capital. Since the weather in March is not conducive to walking or boat trips, we decided to focus on museums and architectural attractions. The “star” of our trip was the Clementinum complex. Thanks to him, Prague was one of the world centers of Jesuit training and was known as a city of scientists.

All roads lead to Clementinum (Prague). Address and other useful information

The complex itself includes several buildings, so its exact address is rather arbitrary.

Clementinum in Prague: The most beautiful library in the world

The easiest way will be to get to the Charles Bridge, and from there go to one of the three entrances located on the streets:

• Křižovnická 190;
• Karlova 1;
• Mariánske nám. 5.

Another landmark is the Charles Bridge Museum, the Clementinum is located opposite. Prague, like any ancient city, is quite confusing, so it’s a good idea to “enter” the desired address into your smartphone’s GPS.

The most visited tourist sites are the Clementinum Library, the Chapel of Mirrors and the Astronomy Tower. However, in the Middle Ages nothing could be more majestic than religious buildings, so first we paid attention to the Church of St. Salvator, and only after that it turned out that we were there. If you don’t know what’s inside, the outside of the complex doesn’t stand out in any way among the other buildings (which are all random attractions).

The opening hours (more precisely, visits by tourists) are from 10 to 16 in the autumn-winter period; in the summer they work a couple of hours longer. Admission is paid, we bought a family ticket for 500 CZK, it’s cheaper than paying for each family member. I was surprised that tourists also come here in the evening; it turns out you can book a separate romantic tour. For 5,000 CZK you will be offered champagne, live music, a view of evening Prague, candles and other romantic crap. Yes, the Jesuits would hardly have applauded such enterprise within the walls of an educational institution.

What is Clementinum (Prague) famous for? Library and other historical values

Unofficially, the library, which is located in the Baroque book hall of the Clementinum complex, has been called the most beautiful in the world. Indeed, the interior is impressive. No photo can prepare you for the luxury and sophistication of this space. The Baroque style, in principle, is not distinguished by modesty, but there is simply a feast of colors here. There is a feeling that for some reason they placed bookshelves in the temple and filled them to capacity with ancient manuscripts. Although, if you look closely, there are few religious motifs in the painting. After all, the Clementinum is, first and foremost, a collegium, and the frescoes are dedicated to the theme of scientific research. Prague in those days was loyal to scientists, and many famous teachers were immortalized in the painting of the hall.

Unfortunately for us, the tour was held in Czech and English. While my wife and I more or less understood what we were talking about, the kids were bored. I think that after our stories about Clementinum (Prague), they imagined the library to be filled with ancient comics. While the books themselves were mentioned in passing, as I understand it, mere mortals do not have access to them (and therefore you do not need to know what Clementinum stores in its basements). Prague is such Prague, in terms of level of secrecy it will surpass the Vatican.

Some tips for those wishing to visit this Czech attraction:

• photography inside the library is prohibited, but you can take photos from the towers of the Clementinum (Prague is clearly visible from there);
• There are Russian-language booklets at the entrance to the reading room - take them with you if you are not strong in English;
• to climb the astronomy tower, you need to walk 180 steps along a spiral staircase (quite tiring);
• in the evenings there are classical music concerts here; if it weren’t for the children, we would gladly attend.

We were pleased with the excursion; the place was very interesting and atmospheric. Basically, of course, the emphasis here is on the achievements of astronomers of that time, however, it will also be interesting for those simply not indifferent to history.

If we take into account the pace of technological progress, which is gaining momentum every year, we can say that the ultra-modern Czech National Technical Library was opened quite a long time ago - on September 9, 2009 (09.09.09). Nevertheless, its building remains one of the outstanding examples of modern architecture, and its constantly growing collections remain one of the largest collections of technical literature in Europe.

The idea of ​​collecting all the technical literature of Prague in one place arose in the late 90s of the last century. In 2000, a competition of architectural projects was announced and the winner was determined. However, the construction of the National Technical Library was greatly complicated by the financial situation in the country, and the flood of 2002 played an important role here. As a result, construction was completed only in 2008.

Outside and inside

Glass and concrete were chosen as the main materials for the exterior and interior design of this ultra-modern building. The streamlined shapes of the building's facade are finished with glass, and inside there are structures made of unpainted concrete, which are an element of the interior design.

The surfaces of the gray concrete walls are covered with monochrome author's cartoon graffiti, and this ascetic artistic solution of architectural verticals contrasts sharply with the main internal horizontal of the building - the floor of the central atrium, which is visible from above from all nine floors of the library. It is decorated with bright colors, and when you look at it from above, you get the illusion of distributing the load over the surface area. That is, architectural objects installed on the floor are surrounded by dark red spots, and the free floor area is painted green.

The roof of the building is decorated with living plants, but visitors are not allowed to go onto it for a number of reasons. Those wishing to get some fresh air can do so on the open-top glass veranda.

The three underground levels of the library contain car and bicycle parking, and also store part of the book collection, the total value of which is one and a half million items.

How it works

One of the distinctive features of the Czech National Technical Library is that the building is practically unstaffed. Entrance to the building is carried out using plastic library cards, any Czech or international student card, or even an electronic travel card. Any card with a personalized chip gives you the right to use the library.

Using the electronic catalogs installed on each floor, you can easily find the book you need and get information about which of the shelves you should look for it on. Staff services will only be needed if the reader requires an unpopular book located in an underground storage facility. In this case, you need to place an order in advance - but this can be done the day before via the Internet.

The library's reading rooms are equipped with comfortable workspaces, with sockets for connecting a laptop. There are several “individual” rooms designed for a small number of readers. These include rooms for the visually impaired and rooms for people with disabilities. There is even one 24-hour hall, open at night. You can enter it directly from the street using your student ID.

The delivery of literature to collections is also automated - book receptacles are installed on each floor.

Immediately after its opening, the library was recognized as the best modern architectural project in the Czech Republic and even became an object of tourist interest - to this day excursions are held in the building.

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.