I ♥ TGM

~After touring Strahov and Brevnov monasteries, my seminar group disbanded for the day. I joined a group headed for the nearby Prague Castle, the seat of the executive branch of the Czech government and one of the major tourist attractions of Prague. Rather than a single building, Prague Castle is in fact a complex of several interconnected buildings, including a palace, three churches, royal stables, a monastery, and manicured gardens.

Just outside of the castle, in the appropriately-named Castle Square, is this famous statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia. An immensely popular man and important historical figure in the Czech Republic, Masaryk is colloquially known by the initials "TGM", in the same way that Americans refer to President Franklin Roosevelt as FDR or Kennedy as JFK. In some Prague gift shops, I saw T-shirts with pictures of Masaryk marked, "I ♥ TGM".

By the way, don't forget that March 7th is TGM Day!

^ The main gate into the castle. Let's take a closer look at parts of this image:

^ The gate into the castle off of Castle Square is adorned with two sculptures of Fighting Greek Titans (which, by the way, would be a great name for either a rock band or a college football team). The sculptures were made by Ignac Frantisek Platzer in 1770.

^ The gate is flanked by two ceremonial guards. Like the guards at the gate of Buckingham Palace, the Czech guards must remain absolutely motionless throughout their one-hour shifts. I was at the gate during the changing of the guard ceremony, where the master-at-arms escorted the next guards out and relieved the previous guards. Just before the new guards took up their positions, they faced the interior of their guard huts and jumped around a bit, rubbing their faces, because of course they aren't allowed to move around at all for the next hour. The guard who relieved the above soldier was wisely wearing sunglasses.

Immediately upon entering the castle complex, visitors are confronted by the towering bulk of the Cathedral of St. Vitus, the largest church in Prague. Its construction began in 1344 on the order of Charles IV, but it wasn't finished and properly consecrated until 1929 (!). Even in its unfinished state, it was and remains the most important church in Prague, and was the site of royal coronations. Many Bohemian monarchs are buried the tombs below the cathedral.

Despite its name, the cathedral is dedicated to not one but three saints: St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas, and St. Adalbert. Note the large, circular window in the center of the above image; this is the gigantic stained-glass Rose Window.

There was a small fee to enter the cathedral, which presumably goes towards the massive maintenance costs that such a building requires.

^ Czech out the front doors of the cathedral. They must have taken forever to make.

^ A closer look at the frieze above the main door to the cathedral. Impressive.

^ This gargoyle stands watch over the main doors.

^ If you thought the cathedral looked big on the outside, take a look at the interior. I felt like an ant crawling around in a giant's house.

^ Almost every window consists of beautiful stained glass.

^ Some more stained glass, from the front of the cathedral over the altar.

^ I may be wrong, but this doesn't look like stained glass to me. I think it's painted glass, but it looks, if anything, better than the stained glass.

^ Golden shrines and artwork cover every niche of the building. The amount of wealth that went into the construction and outfitting of this cathedral boggles the mind.

^ Yet another niche of gilded religious artwork.

^ This unusual silver sculpture occupies a large area on the left side of the cathedral.

^ Near the previous sculpture, this silver angel helps hold up a tapestry.

^ This booth was (is?) used by priests at the cathedral to deliver homilies to the faithful below.

^ The Chapel of St. Wenceslas, located in a walled-off sub-section of the cathedral. Dating to the 14th century, the Chapel is the religious focus of the entire cathedral. The artwork on the walls depict the Passion of Christ cycle, while a nearby locked and guarded door leads to the (publicly inaccessible) Bohemian Crown Jewels used in coronations. I did not get to see the Jewels; in fact, they have been on display only nine times in the twentieth century. They are kept in a septuply-locked safe whose seven keys are held by top government officials.

^ This massive organ dwarfs that of Zlata Koruna Monastery.

After being awed by overwhelmingly large and ornate religious art, I needed a break. That's when I spotted the fellow on the left, perched in a dark corner of the cathedral. In my opinion, he's got the right idea: sure, the cathedral is pretty and all, but after seeing it, what you really need is a drink. Preferably, something strong.




Coming next: the Public Library of Liberec, and a walk through the "Bohemian Paradise" forest of Prachov. Stay tuned to Debonair David!

Strahov part 2, plus the Secrets of Brevnov Monastery

~Directly behind the Theological Hall of Strahov Monastery is the famed Hall of Curiosities. Back in the days before formal museums, wealthy people often maintained "Curiosity Cabinets" in their homes, filled with items ranging from the mundane to the exotic that they found interesting.

Strahov Monastery has an impressive curiosity collection, brought there from the estate of Karel Jan Erben in 1798. The collection consists of medieval Hussite weapons, archaeological remains, insects (such as a large beetle and butterfly collection, all neatly labeled and quite dead), and strange marine creatures, such as exotic crustaceans. There's even the remains of a Dodo bird.

In his book The Museum of Lost Wonder, Jeff Hoke lauds this mostly-vanished tradition because the objects kept in Curiosity Cabinets had meaning for the people who put them there, who in turn were free to closely examine the objects by touch, smell, etc. (something you cannot do with most museum exhibits).

^ This Cabinet is located next to the Strahov Evangeliary. When I was taking the picture, what interested me most was the collection of pine cones placed in the cubbyholes at the bottom of the cabinet, but later research uncovered something far more interesting about this "Xyloteka". Quoting from this site:

"A xyloteka, in this case, is a set of books carved and fabricated by an anonymous monk in 1825 entirely from wood. In fact, each volume in the 68-volume set is made from the 68 different tree species growing in the Czech Republic in the early 1800s.

The books were encased behind glass doors so I couldn't get a close-up look, but it appeared that the 2-inch spines for the books were carved from stout branches and the covers were attached using flat sheets of wood. The hollow chamber inside each book contained a leaf from the tree, a very dry sample of the fruit, and a twig showing the tree's bud structure."

What a cool idea! I wonder if there is a xyloteka for North Carolina? If not, it should be made.

^ A crossbow. Invented in antiquity, the crossbow was rediscovered in the late middle ages, but its armor-piercing capabilities were so great that the Church heavily regulated the use of these weapons as dishonorable and unbalancing (imagine them as medieval atomic bombs). Interesting fact: the term for a crossbow maker is an attiliator, who was among the highest-paid medieval craftsman.

^ This blurry picture shows a coat of chainmail armor. Clearly, it's seen better days. I wonder if the holes are from rust and decay, or arrows?

^ This one's for you, Mom: a cabinet of unusual teapots!

After walking through the extremely squeaky floor of the Hall of Curiosities, we reached the other library of Strahov Monastery: the Philosophical Hall.

^ Impressive, isn't it? The Philosophical Hall was built in 1782, under Abbot Václav Mayer, and contains more than 42,000 volumes on the topics of philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, history, and philology.

^ The vividly-painted ceiling mural in the Philosopical Hall, completed in 1794 by the Austrian painter Franz Anton Maulbertsch. It depicts the history of mankind, so let's take a better look at its various parts:

^ This is a reference to Acts 17:23, in which the indefatigable St. Paul travels to Athens and complains to the city's philosophers about the existence of an altar dedicated to an "unknown god" (IGNOTO DEO). Paul then insists that the god is no longer unknown, and proceeds with his evangelical Jesus spiel.

^ Alexander the Great (in the middle, wearing the horsehair-crested helmet), is tutored by Aristotle (in the white robe).

^ Socrates, one of the world's greatest philosophers, is given toxic hemlock to drink after being convicted of "refusing to recognize the gods recognized by the state" and "of corrupting the youth." The penalty was death by poisioning, a sentence which Socrates carried out himself.

^ This slightly blurry picture shows Moses displaying the Ten Commandments to the Jews, who look oddly clean and well-dressed after fleeing hundreds of miles from Egypt and walking through the Red Sea and the Sinai desert wasteland. Ah, but I wonder which set of Ten Commandments Moses is showing them?

^ This combination cabinet/bookcase was a gift to Napoleon from his second wife, Marie Louise, who was the daughter of the Emperor of Austria (which at the time included the territory of the current Czech Republic). I assume he told her to leave it in Prague.

^ Another one of the ever-popular secret doors that exist in every old Czech library. Do you see what look like rounded sets of books on the shelves in the middle? They're actually fake books, concealing the hidden spiral staircase behind them, which leads to the second floor of the Philosophical Hall.

Beyond the Philosophical Hall is a room displaying several open books. Here are a few of the more interesting books from that collection:

^ A beautifully-illuminated text, with bright gold paint.

^ A book of noble genealogies. Note the family tree on the left.

^ An illuminated bible, with scenes from the text pictured on the left.

^ A book of constellations, with the name and position of each star in the constellation recorded on the right side. The constellation above is Sagittarius.

On the way out of Strahov Monastery, I took one more picture of Prague from atop the hill:

^ On the left, you can see the castle complex that houses Prague's executive government branch, as well as the huge St. Vitus Cathedral (which I will post pictures of next time).

Shortly after leaving Strahov Monastery, my seminar group visited the nearby Brevnov Monastery, which was the first friary (a monastery of friars) in the Czech Republic. We were given a brief tour, then led into the underground area where an archaeological dig is uncovering the remains of a much-earlier church built on the same site (the current monastery dates to the 18th century).

Photography was prohibited while underground...but that didn't stop me, your intrepid blogger, from bringing you these exclusive pictures of the secret underground of Brevnov Monastery:

^ The wall and columns are part of the foundation of the original church. It's interesting (and a bit disturbing) to note how deep underground they've sunk over the centuries. This makes me wonder how much of our own civilization will be underground centuries from now.

^ This is part of the crypt, presumably for the priests of the church. It seems that previous visitors have taken to showering him with coins, not that they do him any good now.

Next: Prague Castle!

Strahov Monastery, part 1

~On Sunday, the day after my visit to Kutna Hora to see the Ossuary and the Alchemy Museum, I attempted to visit an art gallery in Prague but got lost near the Castle and ended up walking around for most of the day, which was a pleasant enough experience in itself.

That evening I attended an opera at the State Opera House, one of Prague's three main opera venues. The show was "The Flying Dutchman" by Wagner, which tells the story of a sailor damned to sail the seas forever, or at least until he finds a woman who can be eternally faithful to him (hint: the opera has a happy ending). I had a bad seat, but it fit my budget, only costing the equivalent of around eight U.S. dollars. And I could hear everything just fine, which was the whole point of going.

^ The statue in the background depicts the famous astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler, who worked in Prague. You may recognize the person in the foreground.

With the weekend over, the seminar schedule again took effect. Our first destination on Monday was the famous Strahov Monastery, located in the southern section of Prague. Strahov Monastery contains not one, but two of the most famous libraries in the Czech Republic. My seminar group was given a tour of both.

^ Prague, taken from outside Strahov Monastery. As you can see, the monastery is on a hill on the outskirts of the city.

^ An unusual map of Europe on a wall in Strahov Monastery. Naturally, Prague is the "heart" of Europa.

^ The first library we toured was the Theological Hall, which dates back to 1679. It now contains over 18,000 volumes, including many editions of the Bible and biblical translations, along with theological texts. In my opinion, this is the best-looking library that I had the pleasure of seeing on my trip.

^ The books here are arranged by subject. Notice the sign above the bookshelf that reads "Classis Civilistica": classics of civilization, I assume.

^ The paintings on the ceiling of the Theological Hall depict man's quest for knowledge, which I think is a very enlightened view for a religiously-themed library. This scholar is hard at work ("vigilant") trying to puzzle out who knows what. Notice the owl on his left, a symbol of wisdom.

^ More ceiling art. These cartographers are attempting to chart the world correctly.

^ On a slightly darker note, these gentlemen are pondering the nature of death and mortality.

^ Speaking of gloominess, this statue of St. John the Revelator sits at one end of the Theological Hall. Why so gloomy, John? Perhaps because he's just received a vision of the End of the World, and it's not pretty.

One interesting thing to note about the statue is the book he's holding in his left hand. It looks like it's in a bag, but it's not; instead, the leather cover of the book stretches beyond the book itself, so as to be conveniently carried.

^ Some more ceiling art, this time depicting the process of learning. Notice the adult teaching the kid his ABC's in the lower-left.

^ A literal "book case" in the center of the Hall, used to store valuable books. It opens up to form a convenient desk for reading.

^ Yet another reading aid, this machine can hold multiple books, which can be rotated on a wheel to quickly change from one book to the next. I imagine it's great for research.

^ These locked cabinets sit over the doors leading into the Theological Hall. They were once used to hold "Libri Prohibiti", books which were placed by the Catholic Church on the Index of Prohibited Books. Catholics were not allowed to read prohibited books without special permission from church authorities. Prohibited items were "quarantined" in vaults such as these until scholars received proper permission to peruse them.

After speaking with the tour guide about these vaults and the Index of Prohibited Books, I decided to write my seminar paper on the subject. It's titled, "Index Librorum Prohibitorum: The History, Philosophy, and Impact of the Index of Prohibited Books", and you can read it here. Let me know what you think of it.

^ A beautiful old manuscript of medieval music. The format of musical notation has changed over time, but it's not too hard to work out the notes of this illuminated text.

^ Finally, the most valuable item in the collection of Strahov Monastery: a 10th-century, jewel-covered New Testament known as the "Strahov Evangeliary". Sure, it's pretty, but the cover is so bumpy that it can't fit properly on a shelf.

Next: The Philosophical Hall of Strahov Monastery, and the Hall of Curiosities!