Few things bring color to my life other than nature, which even though might only focus on green scenery most of the time, still feels like being enough to keep alive my inner kid and happy mood. In fact, I always said that making me happy is fairly easy since I’ve never been one of those girls who enjoy makeup and all kinds of beauty routines but rather doings sports, reading, gaming, travelling and spending time accompanied by pets, family or friends.
Obviously, these are just a few of my passions but I am quite a different girl with basic needs and passions who will never ask for luxury experiences in order to feel alive or like enjoying life.
And on a similar note, the National Library of Technology from Prague did a fairly good job bringing lots of smiles to my face by mixing lots of color and books in a chill and quiet atmosphere that felt like the best place where we could hide from the crowded spots of Prague on a hot day of the summer autumn.
I’m not sure if this is a thing or not, but the happiness of saying it from my very own point of view is even bigger. There are many things that impressed me when it comes to Prague, but what I noticed is that it really stands out with its libraries, whether they are old ones, modern or some looking so much different from anything seen before, which obviously, turn a building created with a very well determined purpose into a interesting place for the tourists.
Perhaps you have already guessed that my visit to the National Library of Technology did not happen with the purpose of reading or buying a book, but for the reason mentioned before, namely, that it’s such a unique-looking place. And the thing that you can do it for free as a tourist, makes things even much more enjoyable.
Happy or not, there weren’t many tourists during our visit but rather students or people who went to the library for reading. I liked that aspect as I am not a fan of crowded places for tourists and I like enjoying less known parts of the world but in this case, I still wonder why the library is so underrated when it comes to tourists since you can visit it for free in comparison with the locals and students who need to buy a subscription to enter the library.
You can get your free ticket from the first floor of the library from one of those ticket machines. I don’t remember very well the process of doing so but I know everything was pretty quick and intuitive, getting our tickets in no time and then passing the gate which transposed us into a whole new world where drawings with hidden messages and lots of color felt like the new home for the next couple of minutes.
You can get the most of the library from the last floor there being 6 in total, but none of the other floors are less interesting as there are quite a few things exposed that will catch your attention more or less, especially if you are a 90s kid and got to see old computers, enjoy music and seeing a piano makes your day, as well as if you enjoy futuristic art which involves 3D printing and you can admire this action being done in real-time.
However, as much color and interesting things were catching my attention from one moment to another, the real art that stole my heart was represented by the simple and mediocre drawings surrounding the whole place. These not only that felt very familiar since we have a similar place where I’m currently living, but they are also meant to share powerful messages in a different way than through words.
Yet a thing that perhaps won’t be understood by everyone, but with a bit of imagination and an IQ over the average, you will feel down inside your heart most of these messages that make the grey walls less boring.
After admiring bits of the drawings while making it to the last floor, we looked out for a place where we could rest, enjoy everything in silence and take a break from our routine of exploring Prague that day, as it felt like one of those places that no matter how much you are going to travel, you will never find something alike.
Happily, there are hundreds of resting places inside the library, so no matter how crowded the building is, you’ll always find a place just for you and there are countless options to consider depending on your needs and preferences.
The single rule that you must respect here though, is to keep quiet, just like it applies in pretty much any library in the world.
But since we had a fairly full day of different destinations and places to explore that day, a bit of silence felt more like bliss than a rule to follow, which made it such a special place where to spend a while.
But if you are really looking for a place where to find your next book, then keep in mind that the National Library of Technology from Prague has a bit over 1,500,000 unique books, so time is the single one you will need in this case in order to spend a while reading.
The main purpose of the library was to provide plenty of resources in the science and technology fields for the campus of students located nearby.
But as we are part of evolution and modern times do apply pretty much everywhere, along with the 600,000 science and technology books the library shelters, we also add: 10,000 journals, 70,000+ eBooks, 50,000 eJournal titles, dozens of various specialized eResources, and 490,000 digitized materials (book pages, journals, historical maps). Source
A less known aspect though, is that despite its modern look, the original National Library of Technology was set in 1718 as a collection of books belonging to Christian Willenberg who is the first Engineering Professor of the Czech Estates.
Century by century the collection of books kept growing changing its building known as the shelter of books countless times. after World War II the library was moved to Clementium which is another important library of Prague that we had in plan to visit during our stay but it turned out closed because of some local holidays.
However, gathering more books and sources of knowledge never stopped, so after a while, even Clementium seemed like not big enough for this kind of resources so two more storage facilities were bought between 1974 and 1981 each with a capacity of holding 200,000 volumes.
Happily, in 1990 the Czech Ministry of Education finally approved to build the current construction which started in 2006 and was finished in 2009. Now it’s home to a lot more books than what one would expect, and there are still spaces available to collect even more.
In addition, the library serves as a social and cultural center, with frequent lectures, educational tours, events, and exhibitions.
So, even if you are looking for research, study, silence, or simply to hang out in a less known part of Prague but which seems like a real gem and oasis of silence, make sure not to miss National Library of Technology. It’s definitely something that you won’t see every day.
In order to reach National Library of Technology from Prague, you need it to make it to Prague 6 district which you can chase by taking the green Metro line and then walk for a short distance.
Other places I’ve seen during my stay in Prague:
- The “John Lennon” Wall
- The Nustle Bridge also known as “The Suicide Bridge” of Prague
- Street Art in Prague
- The Dancing House
- Idiom Installation – the book tower of the Prague library
- Vyton Naplavka and Palackého Most
- Grotta, Prague (Havlíček Gardens)
- Vyšehradské Sady (Vyšehrad Gardens)
- National Library of Technology
more coming soon…
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Gabriela Travels 