The exhibition called “Prague, The Crown of Bohemia, 1347–1437″, which was shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and about which we wrote back in October, can now be seen at the Prague Castle under the name “Charles IV - Emperor by the Grace of God”. It runs from February 16 through May 21. Jeff and I went to see it a few days after it opened.

A Little Confusion

I feel that both of the exhibition titles are a bit misleading. Had I gone to the Met, I would have expected a collection of exhibits on “Prague in the Middle Ages”. When we headed to the Prague Castle last week, I looked forward to seeing lots of artifacts directly related to “Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor” - his decrees and writings, his garments, jewels, things he took on his travels with him… In fact, the exhibition is neither about Prague, nor about Charles IV. It is important to read the full title of the event because the most fitting description of what you will see is contained in the part that follows below the main header.

Jeff and I aren’t the only ones who didn’t bother reading the all-important small print. I know about Czechs who are planning on taking the train across the country to see “the Charles exhibition” (toho Karla as they say).

So What Is It About?

The exhibition takes place in two locations: the Prague Castle Picture Gallery and the Theresian Wing.

• Prague Castle Picture Gallery

The picture gallery houses a collection of mainly religous artifacts from the 14th and 15th century. The prevailing types of exhibits on display are:

- Medieval panel painting: images of the Madonna, portraits (none of Charles IV), altar decorations
- Wooden and stone sculpture: Madonna with Child, crucifixion, pietà, saints, altar statues
- Illuminated manuscripts: manuscript of a Czech Old Testament, liturgical books, typography, page decoration
- Gilded artifacts and smith craft: busts of saints (St. Peter, St. Ludmila, St. John the Baptist, etc.), reliquary crosses, monstrance
- Stained glass: coats of arms, saints
- Textile: mainly the chasuble (liturgical garment)

Some of the artists whose works are presented are Master Theodoric, Petr Parléř (the architect of St. Vitus Cathedral), Master of the Michle Madonna, Master of the Třeboň Altar, and a few others. The artist is unknown in many cases.

• Theresian Wing

The exposition in the Theresian Wing is called “Life at the Court of Charles IV”. It contains exhibits of a non-religious nature and items used in people’s daily lives across the kingdom. You can see fragments of stone pillars and tiles, mill stones (including a large mill stone that was used in the building of Charles Bridge), smithcraft and woodcraft objects, household equipment, tools, shoes, etc. There is also a copy of the textiles that were retrieved from the tomb of Charles IV. The exposition is accompanied by interesting written commentary (in Czech and English) about life in the 14th and 15th century.

Educational CD-ROM

Each ticket comes with an excellent CD-ROM, which alone is worth the cost of admission. It is available in several languages and contains detailed information and high quality photos of more than 100 of the exhibits. It also includes information on medieval Prague and Europe of the Luxembourgs (both with interactive maps), Charles IV (his ancestors, wives, personality, important activities, etc.), the reign of his sons and the late Luxembourg era. A historical timeline covers the historical events, figures and important milestones of art and culture in the period 1306 - 1498 in the Holy Roman Empire, the Czech Kingdom, the rest of Europe and the world.

The exhibition website is at www.karel-iv.cz.

I finally visited the Strahov Monastery in Prague, which is something I had wanted to do for a long time. I’m really glad I’ve seen it. The exteriors have been restored to pristine beauty and parts of the interiors are breathtaking.

The Convent

First I took a peek inside the gorgeous Strahov Church, which was not open to visitors, but gave me a preview of what’s to come. I began my tour of the monastery in the building of the Convent. I loved the different rooms on the ground floor, especially the winter and summer refectories, but also the cellar-like romanesque rooms from the 12th century. The Strahov Picture Gallery occupies the first floor. I didn’t particularly care for the grim religious and mythological scenes, gloomy landscapes and dark portraits that are displayed there and that can almost make one feel uneasy.

The Library

Next I bought a ticket to see the famous library. It holds 280,000 books, the oldest and most valuable one being the Evangeliary (a liturgical book containing portions of the Gospels), which dates to the middle of the 9th century. The book is covered in red velvet and its front is decorated with precious stones and ornaments that were added in the course of time. The center of the cover is adorned with a cross, supposedly a gift from king Charles IV. The Evangeliary on display is a somewhat recent copy, but don’t think you’re being shortchanged. When the copy traveled to an exhibition in Germany in 1999, it was supposedly insured for 1.5 million deutschmarks!

An interesting part of the Strahov Library exposition is the xylotéka, a collection of 68 “tree books” made by Karel of Hinterlagen around 1825. Each “volume” is really a box representing and documenting one European tree. The box cover is made from the wood of the tree and is covered with its bark. If you opened the box, you would find different parts of that tree - a root, a twig, a leaf, a dried piece of its fruit, etc. The boxes are protected behind glass though, so you can only see them from the outside. The Strahov xylotéka is one of the two such collections in Europe.

I learned all this from one of the library staff who, after prompted, started telling me a lot of interesting and in my opinion essential facts about it. The strange thing is that had I not asked, I would have left with absolutely no information. It’s a pity that such an important and beautiful institution does not make it easy for its visitors to learn about the treasures contained inside.

I highly recommend visiting the Strahov Monastery. You can easily do it on the way to the Prague Castle. A tour of the Convent and Library will take you 15 - 20 minutes each and you’ll need another 30 minutes or so if you include the Picture Gallery.