On the way, we stopped at the Zlatá Koruna monastery, which has a library of rare prints and old books, from as far back as the 13th century.
This collection is not open to the public -- only to "experts" (like us!) -- and they have a unique approach to handling the books. Most rare book libraries have strict usage rules, including wearing gloves when touching the items. Here, they believe that books are meant to be touched and looked at, not locked away. (Of course, I'm sure they realize that the "experts" they allow in will be respectful and careful.) in this picture, the head archivist, Mgr. Jindřich Špinar, is holding an original book from Venice in 1470.
Here we have a reproduction of one of the oldest books in the Czech Republic, the codex of a bishop.
This is the first known drawing of Prague, which has been very important to historians.
The collection is housed on the top floor of this tower.
We also toured the cloisters and the church. We were given giant slippers to wear on the cold floors.
One of the hallways in the cloisters. Note that the walls are leaning slightly outward; during the communist regime, the monastery was used as a warehouse and factory which degraded the building structure. Today, iron bars extend from wall to wall to help hold it together.
The courtyard of the monastery.
The altar of the church, which is devoted to the Virgin Mary.
A 400-year-old tree outside of the monastery.
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