Strahov Monastery

Strahov Monastery (Strahovský klášter) is a Premonstratensian abbey founded in 1143, situated between Prague Castle and Petřín Hill, and still home to an active community of monks today. Its main draw is the Strahov Library — one of the best-preserved Baroque libraries in the world, comprising two magnificent halls: the Theological Hall (1679), decorated with ornate stucco and frescoes, and the Philosophical Hall (1783–1785), with a sweeping ceiling fresco by Anton Maulbertsch and over 42,000 volumes lining its two-storey walnut shelves. The library holds more than 200,000 volumes in total, including 3,000 manuscripts and 1,500 incunabula. Visitors view the halls from the doorway rather than entering directly, to preserve the microclimate that protects the books. The monastery also houses a gallery with one of the most significant collections of pre-Baroque paintings in Central Europe, a basilica where Mozart once played the organ, and a working brewery dating back to the 13th century.