Stahov Monastery

On Saturday we took a walk to Strahov Monastery and spent the better part of the afternoon looking at the sights there. It's so great that we can walk from our apartment to such an amazing site. The area was not at all busy, which I suppose is the nice thing of doing sight-seeing in mid-January. We got lunch at a restaurant right next to the monastery which was, as we expected, quite overpriced but the kids had to eat so it was the best option. A British couple sitting near us began taking some pictures of Ali because Ali kept looking hamming it up and smiling at them. Oddly, as members of a tour group walked past they noticed this and began taking pictures of us as well. I assume they were only doing so because someone else was taking pictures of us. I'd be very curious to hear what their explanation is for those pictures when they return home to Japan.

Members of the Premonstratensian order first came to Strahov in the 12th century although much of what we saw there now reflects updates done to the monastery in the 18th century. The complex is primarily comprised of a library, a church and a convent. The most amazing part are the two main halls in the library. Both have absolutely stunning ceiling frescoes and are completely filled with thousands of old texts, paintings, and amazing wood work. It's amazing to think that hundreds of years ago these rooms were simply the library for the orders' monks. The church is almost as impressive with its amazing frescoes and detail work throughout. The convent has some rooms in nearly their oldest form which helps one feel just how long a monastery has been in this location. Then you step in to the summer refectory, the monastery dining hall since 1687, and see the amazing artistic influences that came later. The dining hall ceiling is covered in a beautiful fresco and there are paintings of many important figures in the history of the monastery covering the walls. You can read more history here.

After walking through the monastery grounds we walked down the long hill to Mala Strana, stopping for hot chocolate, coffee, and juice for the girls, before taking the tram back home. It's so relaxing knowing that we have so much time to see the sights in Prague that we can spend a whole day on just one of them.

View our pictures of Stahov Monastery