Clementinum

The Clementinum was a Jesuit College in Prague. The extensive Baroque building is situated on the Charles Bridge (or its Old Town Bridge Tower ) in the old town and now houses the Czech National Library and several academic institutions.

History

The Jesuits came at the invitation of the Emperor Ferdinand in 1556 to Prague. The Jesuits from the emperor a vacant dilapidated convent where they should build a university as a rival to Utraquist Charles University. In the first decades of the Prague Jesuits suffered under constant financial problems. Students and teachers lived under very simple conditions in the ruined monastery. With the onset of the Counter-Reformation in Bohemia, the Order of the 16th century was increased donations and was able to carry out restoration work and establish first new buildings. 1616 Clementinum the Catholic University was charged. After the defeat of the Bohemian estates Uprising ( 1621), the Jesuits took over the leadership of the old Prague University. Emperor Ferdinand III. then merged in 1654 with the Clementinum the Charles University.

1653-1726 built the Jesuits then submissions received large building complex in Baroque style and used it as a dormitory and classroom facility. The surface of the Klementinum is about 2 ha, including the public religious buildings Mirror Chapel, St. Clement 's Church and Salvator Church, the Baroque library, and the astronomical tower, which can also be visited. In the observatory, especially time and position observations were carried out.

Since 1752 meteorological measurements were made, and from 1775 daily weather observations were recorded. 1751 Mathematics Museum opened its first director Joseph Stepling was. After the dissolution of the Order of the mathematical Museum continued the work at the observatory, which in 1953 formed the cornerstone of the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences.

With the dissolution of the Jesuit order in 1773, the Clementinum came into government hands. Empress Maria Theresa had to continue to operate the observatory, built in 1781, the National Library, the went over the old book collections, and handed parts of the building of the University for use.

The oldest Mozart Memorial in the world, known as the Mozarteum, originated in 1837 in Clementinum and is part of the music library.

Today

Today is the seat of the Clementinum Národní knihovna České Republiky, the National Library of the Czech Republic. It also houses the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Due to its highly endangered by the flood of the Vltava situation that currently plans to relocate the National Library on the Letna plateau. The winning competition design by Jan Kaplicky, an example of blob architecture, but is still in heated discussion.