This morning we explored Prague's Hradcany (castle) district including the remarkable complex of Prague Castle, one of the largest castles in the world. Built in the 9th century, it is the country's traditional seat of power and incorporates palaces, museums, monasteries and ceremonial halls. The Prague Castle was most likely founded in around 880 by Prince Borivoj of the Premyslid Dynasty (Premyslovci). According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Prague Castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world, with an area of almost 70,000 square meters. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it consists of a large-scale composition of palaces and ecclesiastical buildings of various architectural styles, from Roman-style buildings from the 10th century through Gothic modifications in the 14th century. The famous Slovenian architect Josip Plecnik was responsible for extensive renovations in the time of the First Republic (1918-1938). Since the Velvet Revolution, the Prague Castle has undergone significant and ongoing repairs and reconstructions.
Next we visited the Cathedral of St. Vitus, the coronation site for Czech kings and queens. St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and most important temple in Prague. Apart from its religious services the coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place in here. The cathedral is a place of intermant of remains of Provincial patron saints, sovereigns, nobleman and archbishops.
The cathedral is the third church consecrated to the same saint on the identical site. About the year 925 Prince Vaclav I founded a Romanesque rotunda here which after 1060 was converted into a basilica with three naves and three steeples. The importance of the cathedral grew especially after the establishment of the Prague bishopric in 973 and the founding of the body of canons-St. Vitus chapter, which later became an important cultural center and administrative institution.
In 1344 Charles IV began the construction of a Gothic cathedral. Its first builders, Mathias of Arras and later Peter Parler, built the chancel with the ring of chapels, St. Wenceslas Chapel, the Golden Portal and the lower part of the main steeple.
In spite of the endeavors of some sovereigns to secure the continuation of the construction work the cathedral remained uncompleted for whole centuries. The main steeple was crowned with a Renaissance helmet and the music choir was built. The facade of the cathedral was provisionally closed.
It was not until the later half of the 19th century that the Union for the Completion of the Building of St. Vitus Cathedral began the repair of the original part and the completion of the building of the cathedral in Neo-Gothic style. The cathedral was solemnly consecrated in 1929. Its interior was subjected to adaptations even in later years.
Our day ended with a private guided tour of the opulent Baroque libraries of Strahov Monastery.
The Royal Canonry of Premonstratensians at Strahov, which the Strahov Library is an integral part of, was founded in 1143 by Bishop of Olomouc, Jindoich Zdík, with support from the Prague bishops Jan and Ota, Prince (and later King) of Bohemia Vladislav and his wife Gertrude. The first community of canons regular came from the Rhineland monastery of Steinfeld. Although there are several Latin codices from the oldest collection of the library, we cannot say for sure that the library has enjoyed conscious continual development. What we can say is that the origin of the library collection goes back to the foundation of the abbey. Over the centuries, the abbey has suffered several disasters which have interrupted its smooth evolution. The buildings (evidently wooden) destroyed in the fire of 1258 were replaced by a Romanesque structure which went on to become an integral feature of the Prague skyline. The abbey was plundered in 1278 and 1306 by foreign armies, and in 1420 by Hussite radicals from several towns making up Prague. The abbey was then abandoned during the Hussite Wars. 150 years later, when the abbey was struggling to exist, Jan Lohel (later to become Archbishop of Prague) was elected the new abbot (1586-1612), and reconstructed the abbey as well as the former level of education. In 1627, Lohel's successor Kašpar Questenberg translated the relics of the Order's founder, St Norbert, from Magdeburg to Strahov. St Norbert became one of Bohemian patron saints, and Strahov consequently earned itself a special place among Premonstratensian order houses.
The efforts of Abbot Questenberg and his successors to build a library were thwarted by the invasion of General Konigsmark's Swedish forces in 1648, which took most collections of books with them to Scandinavia.
The books collected after the Peace of Westphalia were given a dignified place of storage after 1679 in the newly constructed library hall, now known as the Theological Hall. The Library Rules were also issued around this time. Because of extensive acquisitions in the second half of the 17th century and throughout the 18th century, the expanding library book collections required another hall (the Philosophical Hall) by the end of the 18th century. At this time, the abbey became a haven of the Czech National Revival, represented there by the librarian G J Dlabae. The latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century were mainly devoted to the cataloguing of the library's book collections. After 1950, when monastic orders and congregations were forbidden in Czechoslovakia, their members executed, interned, and imprisoned, and their property confiscated, the Strahov Library was incorporated into the newly established Museum of National Literature, and the monastic archives, music collection, picture gallery, and exhibits were dispersed to other state institutions. Soon after 1989, following the collapse of Communism in Czechoslovakia, the buildings and other confiscated property, including the library, were returned (in some cases they are still in the process of being returned) to the Strahov Premonstratensians in a programme to rectify some of the material injustice perpetrated by the Communists. The Strahov library book collections contain approximately 200,000 volumes, estimated to hold 260,000 works. The books are stored in the two halls and in adjacent depositories. Many of the works are old prints printed between 1501 and 1800. The library's incunabula (firstprints) (over 1,500 volumes) and manuscripts (approximately 3,000 sheaves) are also valuable and are stored in a special treasury room.
