Strahov Monastery

Last Thursday was another public holiday in the Czech Republic and, as such, we were wanting to get out and do some sight seeing. Having seen quite a lot of the main sights by now, we were looking for something different and new to check out. We decided to visit the Strahov Monastery which is just behind the Castle Complex, in Strahov.

I think the Strahov Monastery has to be one of the most under rated tourist destinations in Prague - it was quiet, full of interesting things to look at and best of all it wasn't expensive! We visited the monastery library which consisted of two separate halls, one called the Theological Hall and the other called the Philosophical Hall. Both of these halls were lined with magnificent old volumes, the Philosophical Hall being two stories high with secret staircases at one end on either side, hidden behind fake spines of books. This fact really interested us and we desperately wanted to explore these hidden staircases, but, of course, we were not permitted entry. The ceilings of the Halls were painted with amazing frescos depicting Biblical or other historical scenes. The fresco in the Philosophical Hall only took six months for the artist to paint and he only had one assistant!

The Theological Hall.
Note the globes in the centre for the Earth and for Astronomy
The book wheel on the left was used for studying multiple volumes at once as the reader could turn the wheel without the books falling off their stands

The Philosophical Hall.
The ceiling of this hall was particularly amazing
The hidden staircases are located at the opposite end of the hall in either corner

There are approximately 280 000 books in the library, covering a range of topics including theology and philosophy as well as science, biology and alchemy. We were only able to look into them from the door way as apparently having too many tourists walking through the halls causes excessive humidity fluctuations which was detrimental to the books. I think they just didn't want to have to sweep the floors.

As well as being able to look into the Halls, there were heaps of antique museum artifacts to look at including amour from the 13th century, collections of butterflies and beetles, wax collections of fruit and (my favourite) the xyloteka, a collection of 'tree books' made by Karel of Hinterlagen in about 1825. These were not actually books but book shaped boxes full of materials and specimens from particular trees, like leaves, bark, lichen and even insect pests found in the tree! The cover of the boxes are made from the wood of the tree and they are also covered in its bark. Unfortunately the boxes are behind glass in a cabinet so we could only see them through the glass. 

Strahov Monastery Gallery

The hall which you can look into the Libraries from, filled with interesting historical artifacts
That piece of amour on the left is from the Middle Ages!

There is lots more to see at the Monastery, however we figured out that you need to book a tour in advance to see these. Look out Mums and Dads, we are already planning your trip here when you come to visit! :)