Today in my Art & Architecture
class we visited the Strahov Monastery and Library near Prague Castle. The library has amazing artifacts from the
past. Although we weren’t supposed to
take any pictures I snuck in my camera and phone to take a few to share with
all of you! The library contains two halls
aka large rooms with lots of old books, but nobody is allowed inside them. One is the Theological Hall built in 1679 and
the other is the Philosophical Hall built in 1779. They both were decorated
with beautiful ceiling art. The library
also had copies of old manuscripts and remains of animals, shells, guns and
other things because the monastery also served as a museum. We saw an old liberty bell from the US,
remains of an armadillo and a dodo bird, and lots of seashells. It was quite interesting.
Basilica of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary
Outside view of the library
View from within the monastery
A pontifical from 1376
The Strahov Evangeliary (960-965)
Solid gold artifacts
Ceiling in the library
Theological Hall
Famous revolving desk in the Theological Hall
Philosophical Hall
In the main monastery building, we
were treated to several rooms with magnificent altars. Many of the rooms also had detailed ceiling
artwork. The monastery also featured a
room with artifacts of St. Norbert. It
is the second oldest monastery in all of Prague and was founded in 1149. I would have never known to visit the
monastery on my own and am thankful my teacher took us on this trip—though I’m
not sure how much information on the art and architecture styles I will retain!
Hallway in the monastery
Beautiful altar (there is a relic underneath--not sure who it's from)
Decorated ceiling
Painted ceiling
Outfits worn and glass casket used when transporting St. Norbert's relics
Ornate banners of St. Norbert
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