Baroque Library Hall in Clementinum
Beautiful Baroque Library Hall in Prague’s Clementinum is a great example of Baroque library for it hasn’t been changed since its foundation in 1722. It still shows the organization of the library in the times of the Jesuit college in Prague.
The hall is decorated with frescoes by Josef Diebel depicting The Science and The Art. The paitings on the cupola represents the Temple of Wisdom. Along the walls, in the triangles above the windows, you can see important people of the Jesuit college. Josef II, who enriched the library with confiscated books from abolished monasteries, is looking down from a painting in the frontside of the library. Large globes dominate the centre of the hall. The youngest inscription on the wall in the library was made by the director K. R. Ungar in 1782 saying Bibliotheca Nationalis. It remembers the foundation of the National Library in Prague.
According to the legend, Jesuits took only one book with them to Prague and during the reconstruction of the library they enlarged the number of collected books to 20,000. The collection consists mainly of teological books in many foreign languages.
The Baroque Library Hall is considered to be the most beautiful hall in Clementinum. You can prove it true during a guided tour of the building.
Address:
Klementinum 190, Prague 1
How to get there:
Clementinum is situated near the Knights of the Cross Square next to the Charles Bridge.
Opening hours:
| January – March | 10:00 – 16:00 (every full hour) |
| April – October | 10:00 – 20:00 (every half an hour) |
| November – December | 10:00 – 18:00 |
Tours are available only with a guide (also in foreign languages). Maximum number of people in one group is 25.
Entrance fee (together with the Astronomical Tower and the Mirror Chapel):
| Adults | 190 CZK |
| Students, children over 6 years old | 120 CZK |
| Children below 6 years old | free |
Contact:
Tel: 222 220 879