The Clementinum (Klementinum in Czech) is the national library of the Czech Republic and is situated in Prague.

The history of the library dates from the existence of a chapel to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1566 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.

The National Library was founded in 1781 and from 1782 the Klementinum was a legal deposit library.

In 1918 the newly-established Czecho-Slovak state took over the library. Since 1990, it has been the National Library.

The architecture is a notable example of Baroque architecture and Clementinum, covering 20,000 square metres, is the second largest complex of buildings in Prague after the Prague Castle.

The library contains a collection of Mozartiana, material pertaining to Tycho Brahe and Comenius, as well as historic examples of Czech literature.

Today the complex hosts National, University and Technical library. City Library is located in close neighbourghood.

Curiosities

• At one time Clementinum was the third largest Jesuit college in the world.
• The oldest weather recording in area of today's Czech Republic started in Clementinum in 1775. The recording continues through the present day.
• Clementinum is mentioned in The Secret Miracle by Jorge Luis Borges. The main character has a dream of the library of Clementinum where the librarians look for God in the books of the library. One of the librarians says, "God is in one of the letters of one of the pages of one of the four hundred thousand books of Clementinum. My fathers and the fathers of my fathers have looked for this letter; I myself have gone blind looking for it."

External link

• Clementinum history (in Czech)