Exhibitions - November 2024

Bibliotheca astronomica.
Astronomical Prints of the 15th–17th Centuries in the Collections of the National Library of the CR
October 18 - December 18, 2024

The exhibition presents rare astronomical books printed in the 15th-17th centuries kept in the collections of the National Library of the CR. Displayed are world unique prints from the first period after the invention of the printing press (incunabula) as well as books from the 16th and 17th centuries.  Among them there are books by famous astronomers, e.g. Johannes Regiomontanus, Peter Apian, Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe or Johannes Kepler. Visitors will learn how the letterpress helped spread astronomical knowledge and news about the events in the sky and how illustrations in astronomical and astrological titles were transformed in the first quarter of a millennium of the printing press. Featured are also newly discovered calendars from the 15th century and a unique astronomical clock.
The display not only shows the progress in astronomy in the aforementioned period but it also provides information about those interested then in astronomy and about the owners of the books. According to the ownership notes, supralibros or the book spines we could identify that the owners were scholars, doctors and libraries of universities, monasteries and noble families.
The exhibition has been prepared within the framework of the research project NAKI III The Roots and Fruits of European Science in Czech, Moravian, and Silesian Historical Library Collections.
Electronic catalogue to the exhibition is available here >>

The Klementinum Gallery
Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Admission free

Changes of the Klementinum in Photographs
August 5 - December 31, 2024

Photogallery

The presented photographs show the Klementinum area from the end of the 19th century to around the middle of the 20th century. They tell long-forgotten stories and remind of places that have disappeared or changed in connection with the reconstruction for the needs of the then Public and University Library.

Klementinum, Main Hall
Mon - Sat 9 am - 7 pm in the NL Opening Hours
Admission free

Threads of Memories – Destinies of Women in the Gulag
November 27, 2024 – January 31, 2025 (closed on 24 Dec – 1 Jan)

The exhibition presents everyday life in the Soviet camps in an unconventional way, from arrest to return to freedom. The main means through which the visitor can learn the details of the individual stories are photographs of unique objects and other exhibits that the women brought with them from the Gulag camps. The ball gown in which one of the women was arrested and spent many years in labor camps, embroideries, drawings, baby dolls, threads adapted for slicing bread – all this is the main motif of the 24 panels that make up the exhibition. The display panels are complemented by several original objects that are physically presented to the visitors.
The exhibition has been prepared by the Memorial and Gulag.cz organizations in association with the Slavonic Library. You can visit it on the ground floor of the National Library of the CR at the Klementinum from November 27, 2024, to January 31, 2025. After that, its display is planned at other sites throughout the Czech Republic.
An estimated 20 million prisoners were held in the Gulag, out of which approximately 13 percent were women. In 1941, women represented up to a quarter of the total number of prisoners. They suffered from demanding work, harsh conditions, violence from the guards, separation from their families, and in many cases their children were taken from them in the camps. Stories and objects selected according to individual themes illustrate the arrest, transport to the camp, life in the camps, relationships and fates after returning to freedom. They are a warning testimony of the horrors of the Soviet totalitarian regime.
The display is based on the original exhibition "Matěrial", which was organized in 2021 by the Memorial organization on the basis of its museum collection, before its liquidation by court in Russia. Memorial, in cooperation with Gulag.cz, adapted the exhibition for the Czech environment and supplemented it with references to the stories of Czech women who also went through the hell of the Gulag. For the first time, objects that were once made by Czech female prisoners of Soviet camps will also be exhibited.

Klementinum, Ground floor (gate A)
Mon - Sat 9 am - 7 pm in the NL Opening Hours
Admission to the exhibition for the NL registered users and those with a one-day Admission Ticket

Slavonic Library – A Hundred Years of Its Activity (1924–2024)
September 5 – November 8, 2024

Photogallery

The exhibition on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment commemorates milestones in the library´s history, important personalities as well as the most interesting parts of the library collections. Presented are also publishing, exhibition and organizational activities of the library including the participation in specialized Slavistic projects. Featured are unique materials from the collection of visual documents.

Klementinum, Ground floor (gate A)
Mon - Sat 9 am - 7 pm in the NL Opening Hours
Admission to the exhibition for the NL registered users and those with a one-day Admission Ticket