Strahov Library - Theological Hall, Philosophical Hall

(Strahovská knihovna)

Abstract

The Strahov Library is the library of the Royal Canonry of Premonstratensians in Strahov, Prague. Its beginnings go back to the middle of the 12th century, when the Strahov Monastery was founded, and since several original volumes from that period have been preserved, it can be stated that the history of the Strahov Library has been continuous since then, despite all the calamities and misfortunes of war. Over the centuries, the library has had to deal with adversity many times. The fire of the monastery in the 13thcentury, the escape of the convent during the Hussite wars, the looting of the library by the Swedes in 1648, and the temporary expropriation of the library by the communist state gives an overview of the biggest disasters in its almost nine hundred year history.