Prague’s Klementinum, The Most Beautiful Library in The World

Prague’s Klementinum library is one of most beautiful libraries in the world, and it was opened in 1722. Though, aside housing more than 20,000 books for your reading pleasure, this location showcases unquestionably spectacular Baroque architecture. As you are checking various timeworn bookshelves, you can take a moment to look up and see Jan Hiebl's heavenly, Renaissance-style ceiling paintings. Between his splendid works, there’re symbolic designs that represent the significance of education, along with fanciful portraits of Jesuit saints. Hence, Hiebl's paintings in fact pay homage to the fact that the library was formerly a Jesuit university. Several of the school's rare, 17th-century books are still amongst its collection these days. That would easily explain why Emperor Joseph II's portrait is displayed at the head of the hall, since he was the one who arranged for eliminated monastic libraries to send their books to “Klementinum”. At present, Google has numerous of these volumes in their possession because they're scanning them for Google Books. In 1777, Maria Theresa declared “Klementinum” to be a public and university library. This permitted the Prague community to observer this local treasure in person, to marvel at the globes that line the center of the library, and to study Jan Klein's intricate astronomical clocks. Source: Charismatic Planet