Clementinum Library. Hidden beauty

Today the Clementinum is the seat of the National Library of the Czech Republic. The library administers the entire complex with the exception of the temples.

Although the Clementinum is a national treasure of the Czech Republic and a cultural and architectural monument of world significance, many travellers simply do not reach its masterpieces.

Text and photo: Boris Kogut.

For many years the Baroque Hall of the Library has been practically off-limits, visitors and tourists can only get a glimpse of the beautiful hall from the front door.

Ms. Vajnerova, a specialist from the National Library, was happy to open the doors of this beautiful Baroque Hall of the Library for the Prague Express newspaper.

Please tell our readers the story behind the name of one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.

To tell you the truth, the library was never named in honour of anyone or after any person.

It was called the University Library, and since 1777 it has been called the Public Imperial and Royal University Library. Public because in 1777 Maria Theresa issued a decree opening the library’s collection to the public.

Until 1777, the library’s collection was only available to students of the Clementinum University and (until the abolition of the Society of Jesus in 1773) to members of the Society of Jesus.

The large baroque book room of the Jesuit Library was built between 1722 and 1723. Jan Hiebel, a Czech fresco painter of Bavarian origin, decorated the ceiling of the library hall with

magnificent frescoes in 1724. The iron railing of the gallery on the first floor of the library dates from 1725. Two years later, the massive oak cupboards were brought here and immediately filled with the books of the Jesuit library, known as the Bibliotheca maior. According to the local chronology, the library was completed in 1727, and this is reflected four times in the inscriptions in the shelf bases of the columns at the south entrance.

How was the National Library’s collection built up?

The history of the library’s book collection dates back to the founding of the Charles University in 1348. The Department of Manuscripts and Old Printed Books, for example, holds manuscripts donated by King Charles IV of Bohemia to individual collegiate libraries.

It is believed that the Jesuits came to Prague with only one Latin book, which was the beginning of the Jesuit Library in Prague. The foundation of the Clementinum Jesuit Library was established by Ferdinand I in 1556 from the dissolved Celestinian monastery in Ojvin u Žitava in Horná Lužice.

The Clementinum Library also received numerous gifts from the monarch to prominent Catholic patrons. After the reforms of Emperor Joseph II, the library received a large number of books.

After 12 January 1782, when the Emperor’s decree on the abolition of a large number of monasteries came into force, books from many monasteries were transferred to the Clementinum Library.

In 1781, the first director of the library, Karel Rafael Ungar, established a collection of Czech literature under the name Biblioteca nationalis, thus laying the foundations of the National Library.

In 1782 he introduced the obligation for every printer and publisher of books in Prague to donate a compulsory copy to the Prague National Library, and in 1807 this obligation was introduced nationwide.

The Baroque Hall currently houses approximately 27.5 thousand volumes from the collection of the National Library of the Czech Republic.

What is the oldest book in the library?

One of the oldest documents is the preserved Vyšehrad Codex. It is the oldest preserved book in a binding. Of course, it has been restored.

The Vyšehrad Codex is a collection of gospels and religious texts written in Latin.

It was probably compiled and presented to the first king of Bohemia, Vratislav II, at his coronation in Prague Castle in 1085. Before entering the library’s Baroque Hall, visitors can view a facsimile of the 2012 Codex.