Grandiose Baroque Library in Prague Is a Stunning Kingdom for Books

Above photo source: Sean Yan

Prague's Klementinum library opened its doors in 1722 and has easily become one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. It offers a reading spree as it houses over 20,000 titles, but its true treasure lies into its architecture and decoration.

While you're studying various timeworn novels, you can take a moment to look up and admire Jan Hiebl's heavenly, Renaissance-style ceiling paintings with the symbolic designs that represent the importance of education, along with fantastic portraits of Jesuit saints and walk through the corridors that hosts Jan Hiebl’s astronomical clocks.

Hiebl's paintings actually pay tribute to the fact that the library was originally a Jesuit university. Many of the school's rare, 17th-century books are among its collection today. Now, Google has several of these volumes in their possession because they're scanning them for Google Books that gives the opportunity to search and preview millions from libraries and publishers worldwide.

In 1777, Maria Theresa declared Klementinum to be a public and university library, allowing its treasure to be seen and discovered by everyone.