Klementinum

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  • Address
    Mariánské náměstí, Staré Město
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  • Phone
    603 231 241
  • Transport
    underground rail: Staroměstská

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Lonely Planet review

To boost the power of the Roman Catholic Church in Bohemia, the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand I invited the Jesuits to Prague in 1556. They selected one of the city's choicest pieces of real estate and in 1587 set to work on the Church of the Holy Saviour (kostel Nejsvětějšího Spasitele), Prague's flagship of the Counter-Reformation and the Jesuit's original church.

The western façade faces Charles Bridge, its sooty stone saints glaring down at the traffic jam of trams and tourists on Kižovnické náměstí.

After gradually buying up most of the adjacent neighbourhood, the Jesuits started building their college, the Klementinum, in 1653. By the time of its completion a century later it was the largest building in the city after Prague Castle. When the Jesuits fell out with the pope in 1773, it became part of Charles University.

The Klementinum is a vast complex of beautiful baroque and rococo halls, now occupied by the Czech National Library. Most of it is closed to the public, but you can visit the baroque Library Hall & Astronomical Tower (%221 663 111; adult/child 100/30Kč; h - Mon-Fri, - Sat & Sun) on a guided tour. Gates on Křižovnická, Karlova and Seminářská allow free access to the Klementinum's courtyards, which offer a less crowded alternative to Karlova if you're walking to or from Charles Bridge.

The Klementinum's Chapel of Mirrors (Zrcadlová kaple) is a popular concert venue (programme and tickets are available at most ticket agencies). Dating from the 1720s, the interior is an ornate confection of gilded stucco, marbled columns, fancy frescoes and ceiling mirrors - think baroque on steroids.

There are two other interesting churches. The Church of St Clement (kostel sv Klimenta; hservices & Sun), lavishly redecorated in the baroque style from 1711 to 1715 to plans by Kilian Dientzenhofer, is now a Greek Catholic chapel. Conservatively dressed visitors are welcome to attend the services. And then there's the elliptical Italian Chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Vlašská kaple Nanebevzetí Panny Marie), built in 1600 for the Italian artisans who worked on the Klementinum (it's still technically the property of the Italian government).