Characteristics of the Strahov Collections
Undoubtedly the most significant is the renowned Strahov Library, which contains more than three hundred thousand book volumes, including 3500 manuscripts and nearly 1800 incunabula. Thanks to numerous donations and bequests, the size of the collection continuously grows, while professional cataloging and inventory of new acquisitions are ongoing. The library collections have always included a collection of graphics and drawings. This diverse collection was previously sorted only thematically, but after restitution in the 2010s, an inventory was created, and currently, digital copies of the collection are gradually being published. Although atlases are part of the library collections, a separate map collection was also created, containing individual maps mostly from the end of the 17th to the beginning of the 20th century. Among the valued collection items are several copies of Müller's map of Bohemia from the early 18th century.
Another significant collection is the collection of paintings, comprising one and a half thousand works from the Middle Ages to the present. While some were purchased with a collector's intent, many came to Strahov from churches formerly managed by the canonry. In the exhibition, visitors can admire exquisite liturgical items and textiles, which are also supreme examples of the high level of artistic craftsmanship. Thanks to the generous collecting activities of the Strahov Premonstratensians, the canonry also preserves items from monasteries dissolved at the end of the 18th century by Emperor Joseph II, such as the so-called St. George breviaries from the Benedictine nuns at St. George's at Prague Castle.
