Strahov Monastery

Also known as Strahovský klášter

Inside Strahov Monastery above Prague Castle, the Philosophical Hall's ceiling shows a fresco titled "Mankind's Quest for True Wisdom," and beneath it, floor-to-ceiling walnut shelving houses over 200,000 volumes including 3,000 manuscripts and 1,500 first editions.

Strahov Monastery above Prague Castle houses two of Europe’s most celebrated Baroque library halls: the Theological Hall (1679) and the Philosophical Hall (1794), whose walnut shelving was salvaged from a dissolved Moravian monastery and whose ceiling fresco depicts mankind’s pursuit of wisdom. Over 200,000 volumes including 3,000 manuscripts are held here; a cabinet of curiosities near the entrance displays 18th-century natural oddities assembled by the monks. The library is viewable from the doorway on a standard ticket (around EUR 5-8). The monastery brewery next door serves an unfiltered amber lager. Open Tuesday-Sunday; reach it by tram 22 to Pohorelec.