Clementinum
The Clementinum (Klementinum) is a former Jesuit college in the Old Town of Prague between Křižovnické Square and Karlova Street. It is the second largest building complex in Prague after Prague Castle.[1] The complex is administered by the National Library of the Czech Republic.[1][2]*
History
The Jesuits came to Prague in 1556 and settled in the former Dominican monastery by the Church of St Clement, which gave the complex its name.[1][3] The site had previously held 32 houses, seven courtyards, three churches, a monastery and several gardens.[1] The college complex was built from 1653 and completed in the early 18th century. Carlo Lurago, Francesco Lurago, Giovanni Domenico Orsi and František Maxmilián Kaňka worked on it.[2] After 1622 the Jesuit college merged with Charles University, and from 1654 the Charles-Ferdinand University existed.[1] In 1928–1930 the architect Ladislav Machoň adapted part of the complex for the National Library.[2]
Buildings
The complex includes the Church of St Saviour, the Church of St Clement and the Italian Chapel.[2] The Church of St Saviour was founded in 1578 and the first services were held in it in 1582. The portico facing Křižovnické Square was built in 1654, with statues by Jan Jiří Bendl.[4] In a courtyard stand the monument to the mathematician and astronomer Josef Stepling from 1780 and the statue of a student commemorating the defence of Charles Bridge against the Swedes in 1648.[2]
Astronomical Tower and library
The Jesuits rebuilt the Astronomical Tower from 1749, and the building reached its top in 1751.[3] At the top stands a statue of Atlas carrying a globe, from the workshop of Matthias Bernhard Braun.[3] Meteorological observations have been made regularly at the Clementinum since 1775, thanks to Josef Stepling.[3][1] From 1842 to 1928 true noon was signalled to Prague from here.[1] The Baroque library hall holds about 27,000 volumes, mostly theological literature. To keep a stable temperature and humidity, visitors only look into the hall from the door.[1] The guided tour of the Astronomical Tower, the Meridian Hall and the library hall is run by Prague City Tourism.[1]
People
Bohuslav Balbín, Stanislav Vydra and Josef Stepling worked at the Clementinum. Josef Jungmann and Václav Kliment Klicpera taught at its academic grammar school, and Josef Kajetán Tyl and Jan Neruda studied there.[2] The Heritage Catalogue of the National Heritage Institute lists the Clementinum as a national cultural monument.[2]
Sources
* The sources are collected and the preliminary text of this entry is drafted with artificial intelligence, on the instruction of the editorial staff; the entry has not yet been verified by an editor — report a mistake.