Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
noon & 1-5pm; 22, 25)
(pictured) is the largest monastic library in the country, with
two magnificent baroque halls dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. You can peek
through the doors but, sadly, you can't go into the halls themselves - it was found that
fluctuations in humidity caused by visitors' breath was endangering the frescoes.
There's also a display of historical curiosities.
The stunning interior of the two-storey-high
Philosophy Hall
(Filozofický sál;
1780-97) was built to fit around the carved and gilded floor-to-ceiling walnut
shelving that was rescued from another monastery in South Bohemia (access to the
upper gallery is via spiral staircases concealed in the corners). The feeling of height
here is accentuated by a grandiose ceiling fresco,
Mankind's Quest for True Wisdom
-
the figure of Divine Providence is enthroned in the centre amid a burst of golden
light, while around the edges are figures ranging from Adam and Eve to the Greek
philosophers.
DON'T MISS...
»
Strahov Library
»
Miniature Museum
PRACTICALITIES
»
Strahovský klášter
»
224 511 137, 233 107 718
»
Strahovské nádvoří 1
»
22, 25
The lobby outside the hall contains an 18th-century
Cabinet of Curiosities
, dis-
playing the grotesquely shrivelled remains of sharks, skates, turtles and other sea
creatures; these flayed and splayed corpses were prepared by sailors, who passed
them off to credulous landlubbers as 'sea monsters'. Another case (beside the door to
the corridor) contains historical items, including a miniature coffee service made for
the Habsburg empress Marie Louise in 1813, which fits into four false books.
