Bohemian Paradise

~The day after my exploration of Prague Castle, my seminar group boarded a bus and took a rather harrowing ride of several hours to the city of Liberec, near the northern border of the Czech Republic. There, we visited the Regional Research Library (Krajská vědecká knihovna), a large public library that is also a branch of the Czech national library system.

^ The library was built in the year 2000, and is architecturally unique with its large glass walls and wide interior spaces.

^ Here's part of the public section of the library. The stairs continue up for several more stories, containing a coffee shop, a colorful area for children and young adults, and large open areas with tables where I saw many students studying. There are also large vaults beneath and to the sides of the public section, which contain the document depository area.

The depository contains a notable collection of "Germano-Slavica" and "Sudetica", which are books and periodicals written in German that concern Czech territory, written between 1848 and 1956 (as you can see on the map at the start of this post, Liberec is very close to the German border).

We were given a tour of the entire building, and I think it's a beautiful example of library design, with bright areas that are accessible and attractive to the public, while also of use to serious scholars.

^ Attached to the Krajská vědecká knihovna is a modern synagogue, built on the ruins of a synagogue destroyed during "Kristallnacht", the Night of Broken Glass, which was actually two nights: November 9-10 of 1938. On that night, gangs destroyed hundreds of synagogues, and thousands of Jews were murdered and many others were shipped off to concentration camps. The above synagogue, attached to the library, symbolizes a reconciliation between Jews and the Czech nation.

We were also given a tour of this synagogue. Although you can't see it from the above picture, it's built on a hill, so once you enter, the hallway spirals down the hill. When we entered the main religious chamber, I had to take off my hat and put on a paper yarmulke. To be honest, I wasn't comfortable doing it and nearly refused.

At the bottom of the synagogue, there is a bright community area with books and toys for children; there is also a display of an ancient, damaged Torah scroll saved from when the original synagogue was destroyed.

^ This bizarre "still life" sculpture is on the top of a bus stop shelter outside of the library.

After finishing our tour of the Liberec library and synagogue, we boarded the bus again and went to Prachov Rocks (Prachovské skály), a national park also known as the "Bohemian Paradise".

^ First, we stopped at a large inn and were served lunch. This cat outside of the inn was very affectionate.

^ Prachov Rocks is appropriately-named: it consists of light forest littered with massive rock pylons, many of them leaning against each other to create canyons and hills.

^ I felt dwarfed by the tremendous rocks, which seemed ready to tumble down at any moment.

^ The park is wild and verdant, alive with animals, insects, and plants growing from every nook and crevice.

<-- Near the beginning of the path that most of my seminar group elected to walk along, we came across this strange totem pole sitting in the woods. I have no idea what it's doing there, or what the carvings mean, if anything. What a whimsically-placed object! I couldn't resist posing for a picture.






Huge rocks leaning together result in impromptu tunnels, leading steeply upward into the park. An overly-large person would have serious trouble navigating this path!








^ From the top, we had a great view of Prachov Rocks. From here, I was reminded of Zion National Park in Utah.

^ Atop the hill, at an observation area. Yeah, it's a Bohemian Paradise...in more ways than one.

^ From the observation area atop the hill, I could see these mountaineers bravely climbing one of the larger rocks. It looks like this rock has already been climbed and claimed for the glory of the Czech Republic.

^ Also visible from the observation area was this ruined castle in the distance. Above, you can see two of its remaining towers, and part of the collapsed wall.

^ Descending through the narrow, rocky path. This staircase was very steep--notice how everyone is keeping a hand on the railing. Covered by the massive rocks, the temperature was noticeably cooler than the oppressive heat above.

^ After a long day of tours, hiking, and riding the bumpy roads in a bus with a very bad driver, it was time to head back to Prague.

Coming Next: Exclusive photos from the interior of the National Opera House, plus the library and Castle of Kroměříž!