Adam Paul
Adam Paul
  • Home
  • Bicycling
  • Hiking
  • Photography
    • Instagram
    • Flickr
    • Birds
    • Wildflowers
  • Travel
    • Articles
    • Trip Reports
Menu back  
 

Prague, Part 18: Strahovský klášter (Strahov Monastery)

2010-04-196 CommentsPhotography, Travel

Located on Petrin Hill, between Petrin Tower and Prague Castle, Strahov Monastery (official site; prague-wiki) is a lovely place to spend a bit of time.

Illuminated manuscript

Founded in 1149 and still a working monastery, the main attraction here is the monastery’s beautiful library, which consists of two large halls (both off-limits to visitors) and a curio-packed hallway connecting them (which is open to the public).

Mother-of-pearl box

In addition to some beautiful illuminated manuscripts, there are intricate boxes, and an early collection of scientific specimens, including a preserved dodo!

Manuscript

The books are the the thing here, though, shelves and shelves of them, none with titles I could understand.

Mossy spines

Especially interesting were the shelves of books with natural wood spines, complete with lichen.

Library room

The left-most hall is splendid, with a very detailed roof, globes, reading stands, and at the end (barely visible in the photo above as a box with two Xs on the rear wall), a gilt container for “banned” books.  I was curious what, if anything, was currently in the banned box, but educational material was pretty scant.

That statue has malaise

Row after row of time-bleached books about who-knows-what fill the dimly-lit shelves.

Bleached books and sagging shelves

The right-side library room also has a beautiful ceiling fresco, and ornate enclosed shelves containing many more tomes:

Ceiling painting

Enclosed bookcases

The monastery’s chapel is generally not open to the public, but we put our ears to its doors to listen to someone playing its organ.

Dog carving

In addition to the library, the monastery-made beer is a must-try here, although the food is expenstive and touristy – I’d stick to a brew or two and a sausage or the like.  The St. Norbert special beer is particularly tasty – I wish I could get it here in the states!


Another interesting diversion here is the Museum of Miniatures, which has a funny little collection of tiny creations.  Worth checking out, as it only takes 15 minutes to see everything.

The monastery’s grounds have lovely views over central Prague:

Looking toward Old Town

Tourists enjoying the view

The monastery has a small private vineyard

Prague Castle / Hradcany

Strahov Monastery was one  of my favorite places in the Hradcany district – surely worth a couple/few hours!  The #22 “tourist express” tram stops right in front.

Prague index:

  • Part 1: Vysehrad
  • Part 2: Vysehradsky hrbitov (Vysehrad cemetery)
  • Part 3: Karluv Most (Charles Bridge)
  • Part 4: Vaclavske namesti (Wenceslas Square)
  • Part 5: Letecke Muzeum Kbely (Czech Air Force Museum)
  • Part 6: Stare Mesto (Old Town)
  • Part 7: Staromestske namesti (Old Town Square)
  • Part 8: Prazsky orloj (Astronomical Clock)
  • Part 9: Josefov (Jewish Quarter)
  • Part 10: Vltava River
  • Part 11: St. Nicholas Cathedral (Chram sv. Mikulase)
  • Part 12: Wallenstein Palace (Valdstejnsky palac)
  • Part 13: Kampa Island
  • Part 14: Mala Strana street art
  • Part 15: Petrin Hill
  • Part 16: Mala Strana
  • Part 17: Mala Strana house signs
  • Part 18: Strahovský klášter (Strahov Monastery) <– You are here
  • Part 19: Schwarzenberský palác (Schwarzenberg Palace)
  • Part 20: Toy Musuem
  • Part 21: St. Vitus Cathedral gargoyles
  • Part 22: St. Vitus Cathedral (exterior)
  • Part 23: St. Vitus Cathedral (interior)
  • Part 24: Prazky Hrad (Prague Castle), I
  • Part 25: Prazky Hrad (Prague Castle), II
czech republiclibrarymuseumpraguestrahov monastery
Share this post
TwitterFacebookGoogle+Pinterest
Related posts
Review: Billingham Hadley Digital camera bag
2015-07-31
X-T10 does pets
2015-07-08
Ai Weiwei at Alcatraz
2014-10-07
Wordless Wednesday: Calaveras Big Trees State Park’s North Grove
2011-02-23
Wordless Wednesday: Ferry Building Farmer’s Market
2011-01-19
Wordless Wednesday: Mission San Miguel Arcangel
2011-01-12
6 Comments
  1. Reply
    2010-04-20 at 07:05
    Donald Kinney

    Books, complete with lichen… Love it…
    Great set and a great place — wow is the word…

    • Reply
      2010-04-22 at 14:28
      Adam R. Paul

      Thanks, Donald!

  2. Reply
    2010-04-21 at 21:27
    JennaFrancisco

    Your blog is truly a one-of-a-kind guidebook of Prague– you have such great photos and hit pretty much every place worth visiting. I recommend it to travelers looking for suggestions about Prague.
    I went to Prague many times, and the last time I stayed in a tiny top floor apartment very close to Strahov Monastery, yet I have never been there. It’s on the top of my list for the next time I return, especially due to your photos and descriptions. Thank you for taking the time to make these wonderful posts!

    • Reply
      2010-04-22 at 14:32
      Adam R. Paul

      Thank you for the kind words, Jenna. I have, I think, 5 more posts (Sternberg Palace, the Toy Museum, 2 on St. Vitus Cathedral, and one or two on Prague Castle), and then I’ll be done w/Prague, and will add an index to the bottom of each post for easier navigation.

  3. Reply
    2010-07-25 at 10:09
    Phil Anderson

    It is possible to get guided tours of the libraries at the monastery, but only with a great deal of work. We visit Prague annually, and getting us in to the libraries took our apartment company more than one visit – i.e., more than a year! The halls which are normally jammed with tourists were empty during our visit.

    • Reply
      2010-07-27 at 08:54
      Adam R. Paul

      Cool, that’s good to know – maybe if there’s a next time I’ll give it a go!

Leave Comment

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

clear formSubmit

Recent Posts
  • Review: Billingham Hadley Digital camera bag
  • X-T10 does pets
  • Ai Weiwei at Alcatraz
  • Wordless Wednesday: Calaveras Big Trees State Park’s North Grove
  • Wordless Wednesday: Ferry Building Farmer’s Market
  • Wordless Wednesday: Mission San Miguel Arcangel
  • Wordless Wednesday: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
Popular posts
  • An “urban hike” to Mission San Francisco de Asis
  • Wildflowers
  • Review: Billingham Hadley Digital camera bag
  • Wordless Wednesday: Calaveras Big Trees State Park’s North Grove
  • Bicycling
  • Wordless Wednesday: Cabot’s Pueblo Museum
  • Wordless Wednesday: Big lizard in my backyard
Categories
Architecture Art Bicycling Birding Books Camping Cooking DIY Drinking Food Hiking Jewelry Memes Misc Movies Music Nature Photography Travel Uncategorized Urban Wildflowers Wine Wordless Wednesday Yoga
Tags
abbott's lagoon air force alfons mucha art nouveau baroque bradley grove burn of the century calaveras big trees cemetery century charles bridge chico wildflower climb to kaiser clock columns of the giants crowds czech republic davis double death ride devil mountain double double century ebbetts pass farmer's market ferry building fighter gargoyle giant sequoia golden gate park gothic graffiti grand tour grizzly peak century half century mala strana marin museum pleasanton prague prague castle primavera century san francisco solvang century st. vitus cathedral top hat classic vysehrad
Adam Paul
Copyright (c) 2015 by Adam R. Paul. All rights reserved. No scraping. Don't be a jerk. Dream-Theme — truly premium WordPress themes