Strahov Monastery & Baroque Library Guide: Opening Times, Tickets & Insider Tips (2026)
Strahov Monastery is the oldest Premonstratensian monastery in the Czech Republic, which was originally founded in 1140. But, the main reason, I think, why tourists visit the monastery is the beautiful Baroque Library, which looks like something from a Harry Potter film set.
There are also amazing views of Prague from the park below the monastery, which are definitely worth seeing. The monastery is one of my favourite places to stop before continuing to Prague Castle or walking down the hill to the historic Lesser Town.
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My favourite way to visit Strahov Monastery
I always add Strahov Monastery to my itinerary, when I walk from my flat close to Kinsky Garden to Petrin Hill and then to Prague Castle. It’s quite a long walk, but the views of Prague are so worth it!
You can walk around the monastery buildings and outside park gardens for free any time, which to be honest is sometimes all you want. You can also visit the main church – either for a service or to view the church from the main glass door any time.
The extra guided tour or visit to the library will give you more historical context and understanding of the place if you have the time in your itinerary.
What you need to know before you visit the Strahov Monastery
If you are visiting the library because you want to have a look inside or take some amazing photos of yourself inside the library, you’ll be disappointed.
When I visited, I found that all the entrances to the library and the hall are roped off and you can only take a photo in front of the door. There is quite a lot of people waiting to take picture, so you need to be quick too.
It’s sometimes possible to go inside the library rooms on a privately organised tour, but the numbers are very limited and not widely advertised.
The original tour of the monastery used to include the inside of the library halls, but recently the tour doesn’t include more access than what you get (or rather not get) when you pay for the library ticket only.
The Strahov Monastery Tours & Prices
You have two options here: You can either do the whole Monastery complex tour, including the library, picture gallery and church or just buy a ticket for the Library itself. The full ticket is 350 CZK and the entrance to the library only (non-guided) is 180 CZK.
I’ve previously done the whole monastery guided tour and I found it very interesting, as you get to see the inside of the monastery complex including the inner courtyards.
More recently, I wanted to just re-visit the library, as I was slightly short of time. You can visit the library at your own pace and since there are really just a few rooms to look into and walk through a long corridor, you probably only need 30 minutes at most.
My Local Tip – Hidden Gardens & Best Local Beer
The Strahov Monastery, similar to the Emauzy Monastery or Bila Hora Pilgrimage Church Monastery is still run by the monk’s order, so any money you spend here goes directly to the order and to preserve this amazing historical site.
Apart from buying the tickets, I’d also suggest stopping for a light lunch or even just a drink at the monastery restaurant called ‘Na Pekle’ which is on the side of the monastery (as you walk towards Petrin Hill). There is a nicely secluded beer garden called ‘V Raji’ with views of the church and great cold beer and homemade lemonade. And what’s best it’s surprisingly not overly touristy with reasonable prices too!
The Norbert Brewery, opposite the Strahov Monastery is owned privately and doesn’t belong to the monk’s order anymore, although the buildings used to be of course part of the monastery complex. It’s one of the best places to taste a great beer in Prague and definitely worth visiting. The monks used to brew their own beer, but this stopped when the whole monastery became nationalised after the 2WW. The brewery buildings are now used by an independent brewery, which since 2000 has been brewing its own craft beer following the tradition.
If you have the time, don’t miss the beautiful views from the gardens below the monastery. You get an amazing view of Lesser Town, the Prague Castle and the rest of the Prague in distance. This is definitely one of my favourite views of Prague and one I can never get tired of.
The fascinating history of Strahov Monastery
The Premonstratensian monastery was founded in 1140 by King Vladislav II and Bishop Jindřich Zdík from Olomouc. The current Baroque appearance dates back to the second half of the 17th and 18th centuries. The monastery was restored after 1990 and it’s now back in the ownership of the monk’s order.
The monastery complex includes the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the Church of St. Roch, monastery buildings, library buildings, and utility buildings. There are also monastery gardens below the buildings, a restaurant (on the side of monastery towards the Petrin Hill) and a hotel that belongs to the monastery, which is converted from a church (across the street as you walk down to the Prague Castle).
The Strahov Monastery Picture Gallery
Abbot Ziedler founded the Strahov Picture Gallery in 1835 and collected artworks from the 14th to the 19th century. This collection with more than 1500 paintings, is considered the most valuable monastic collection in Central Europe.
The Strahov Monastery Library
The library of the Premonstratensian Monastery at Strahov is one of the most valuable and best-preserved historical libraries, with collections totalling nearly 300,000 volumes. It is divided into two halls – the Classicist Philosophical Hall and the Baroque Theological Hall. It is also the second oldest church library in the Czech Republic (the first one was founded in the 10th century and is in the nearby Brevnov Monastery).
There is also a religious exhibition in the entrance hall, which includes monstrances, chalices, and reliquaries from the Middle Ages to the present, as well as liturgical garments and richly decorated and embroidered vestments from the 17th century.
The oldest manuscript is the Strahov Gospel, dated to the year 860. The oldest part of today’s library, the Baroque Theological Hall, was built between 1671 and 1674. The main Classicist vaulted Philosophical Hall dates back to 1794 and its height spans two floors of the building. The halls are beautifully decorated with ceiling frescoes by Siard Nosecký and Anton Maulbertsch.
The Philosophical Hall
The larger Philosophical Hall (32 meters long, 10 meters wide, and 14 meters high) has a magnificent ceiling painting called “The Spiritual Development of Mankind.” This was created by the Viennese painter Anton Maulbertsch in just six months in 1794, with only one assistant.
The painting, amongst other figures, also shows the Czech patron saint, St. Wenceslas, holding a banner with the St. Wenceslas eagle in his left hand. To his right kneel other Czech patron saints, St. John of Nepomuk and St. Norbert, the founder of the Premonstratensian order. I’m mentioning this, because the monastery brewery is called St. Norbert, after the original founder of the order. St. Norbert remains are also buried in the main monastery church.
It’s interesting to see, that the highest rows of books are accessible only from a gallery, which can be reached by hidden spiral staircases in each corner, disguised as false book spines. There are books on philosophy, history, astrology, and mathematics here.
I also found out that, the hall was built on the site of granary. The library was originally where the current monastery kitchens are now, but over the centuries was moved and eventually found its place in the current building.
The Theological Hall
This part of the library has mainly books about theology. This might not be that obvious, but the Baroque design of the library is groundbreaking here by introducing shelves! That’s because before books were stored in wooden chests or flat on top of each other, and only in Baroque times, books begin to be stored upright.
Above the shelves, you can see gilded wooden carved decorations with wooden cartouches. These were the first library organising aids, as the pictures in the wooden cartouches with inscriptions indicated the type of literature stored on the shelves.
The hall also contains several interesting objects, such as a statue of St. John the Evangelist. In his hand, he holds something that looks like a shopping bag, but it is actually a book wrapped in a special bag binding, which was used for carrying books.
From the entrance, you can also see something that looks like a rotating shelf. It’s called the “compilation wheel,” which allows several books to be studied at once – the wheel would rotate, keeping the books in the same position so the reader could easily move between them. I guess that’s a historic version of a split-screen monitor!
Library Connecting Corridor and Cabinet of Curiosities
As you walk from one library hall to the next, the connecting corridor has displays of medical and legal literature books. At the end of the corridor, you can also see a copy of the binding of the Strahov Gospel.
There is also a large cabinet of curiosities, where the biggest rarity is a fantastic little dragon made from special cuts of a stingray. At the end of the corridor, above the door, you can see a portrait of Abbot Kryšpín Fucek, who made the upper course of the Vltava River navigable to Prague in the mid-17th century.
Practical Information for Visiting Strahov Monastery
Location: Strahovské nádvoří 1/132, 118 00 Prague 1
Opening Times: Daily: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Ticket Prices: Adults: CZK 180, Students/Seniors: CZK 110, Children (6-15 years): CZK 90, Family Ticket (2 adults + 2 children): CZK 350
How to get to Strahov Monastery from the centre of Prague
Since the Petrin Funicular is currently closed for a complete refurbishment and not scheduled to open until late 2026, the best way to get to Strahov Monastery is by tram.
The journey is very similar to the way to get to the Prague Castle. Take tram 22 or 23 from the city centre (e.g., from Národní třída (underground station line B) or Malostranská Underground Station A line) and ride about 20 minutes to the top of Prague Castle Hill and get off at the Pohořelec stop (2nd stop beyond Prague Castle stop). Walk towards the top of the hill and the entrance to the Strahov Monastery will be on your left.
You can also get the historic tram no 42, which has a very similar route as no. 22, but covers mainly the centre of Prague and Prague Castle.
If you are already near Prague Castle you can easily walk to Strahov Monastery from there, just follow signs to Strahov Monastery and it’s about 15-20 minutes walk (slightly uphill).
Strahov Monastery is also very close to the Petrin Tower, which is a lovely 15-20 minutes fairly level walk.
This blog post was originally written on 21 October 2024 and last updated on 2 April 2026
