Although its eye-catching spires rise imposingly over the city's skyline, the main attraction of Strahov Monastery remains its library, containing thousands of editions of the Bible. Established in the 1140s for the Premonstratensian religious order, the monastery functioned until 1950, when the Communist regime closed it down and imprisoned most of its monks. Returned to the order in 1989, the monastery underwent massive architectural restorations to repair damage caused by years of neglect. Inside the monastery's main gate, you can visit a 17th-century church, housing a valuable collection of artworks from the Gothic era, and the famed library's two halls. Linked by an elaborately decorated passage, the two halls contain a collection of nearly 3,000 original manuscripts. Put Strahov Monastery into our Prague day trip planning app to see other points of interest to visit during your vacation in Prague.
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Tours to Strahov Monastery
Strahov Monastery reviews
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Unbelievable art, history and the LIBRARY was spectacular!! Lovely day to walk and tour the Treasury and Picture gallery. I had no issues with my visit. Very nice staff, easy to follow the...
Unbelievable art, history and the LIBRARY was spectacular!! Lovely day to walk and tour the Treasury and Picture gallery. I had no issues with my visit. Very nice staff, easy to follow the... more »
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I was not very impressed with visiting Strahov Monastery. The entrance was very poorly marked. We finally found the library and there is not tour available yet we saw a tour later on. The information.... more
I was not very impressed with visiting Strahov Monastery. The entrance was very poorly marked. We finally found the library and there is not tour available yet we saw a tour later on. The information.... more »
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We were lucky enough to have a private tour of the library. It was AMAZING. I have read that others weren't allowed in the library, and there were people there when we were there that weren't...
We were lucky enough to have a private tour of the library. It was AMAZING. I have read that others weren't allowed in the library, and there were people there when we were there that weren't... more »
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Gallery ticket is worthwhile, because you can visit the summer refectory with its ceiling fresco. The gallery itself is just boring art. Without booking a tour, the library ticket allows you to look into the library but not go inside. This gives you 70% of the experience, but if you really want to take photos, book a tour of the library. I will do that next time The extra fee for photo permission was not enforced.
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The library was a real disappointment. Although old, they miss the liveliness that klementinum does. The cabinet was a collection of random items it seemed. Most impressive is the walk. Make the walk, visit the park and church, but don't waste money on the library.
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Family ticket is advertised as "2 adults + max 3 children)". So I went with my wife only and we were denied the option to get that ticket because "we didn't bring a child". But nowhere it says that you need to bring a child, so it feels like we are being ripped off. Bear this in mind in case you planned to get the family ticket. Having said that, yes, the gallery and the library are beautiful AND overpriced, but I would still consider them worth of a visit. Coming only to see two rooms of a library that you can't even enter would seem pointless so I would advise to go for the combined ticket.
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It is very hard to recommend paying for anything else but the restaurant at Strahov Monastery. The regular admission (without tour) to the library is a joke, as you are not allowed to enter the library rooms. The gallery is a better deal but nothing exceptional if you're not a Christian art nerd. On top of the high ticket price you're asked to pay 80 CZK/1 € for the rest room. You would have thought the times of tourist rip-offs are over. The monastery grounds themselves are nothing exceptional of you've seen other monasteries in Central Europe. The brewery is pretty good though.
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The artwork on the ceiling is very beautiful. There are a number of other attractions near by as well. You can take a flight of stairs down to reach the Prague castle. Sundays is mass so access will be restricted.
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