Prague City Tourism adds a unique tourist route through the Clementinum to its offer

Prague City Tourism adds a unique tourist route through the Clementinum to its offer

Prague – Prague City Tourism in cooperation with the National Library of the Czech Republic are launching a new route through the premises of Prague’s Clementinum, starting on 1 April. The Baroque Tour can be taken exclusively with a qualified guide, giving tourists the chance to admire the unique building including the Baroque library. This special tourist route, including the Astronomical Tower of the Clementinum, will thus join the eight monuments for which Prague City Tourism is currently responsible. The operators expect over 50,000 visitors to the Clementinum in the course of the year.

“The National Library of the CR is quite unique, not only in its services to readers and researchers but also in terms of its historical location. I am delighted that it will open up to Prague tourists. The Baroque Library tour will surely be among the highlights of a visit to the Clementinum for both visitors and inhabitants of the city,” says Minister of Culture Martin Baxa. 

“I am thrilled that Prague City Tourism is extending its offer to include a tourist route at so popular a location, adding a new dimension to the cooperation between the city and the Czech Ministry of Culture. This route will contribute to our long-term goal of presenting Prague as a premium European destination with a wealth of history and culture,” adds Jiří Pospíšil, Deputy for Culture and Tourism. 

For Prague City Tourism, it also means a new level of cooperation. “Collaborating with the National Library of the CR is a crucial step towards providing tourists with the most comprehensive services possible. The new Baroque Route will promote less famous historical sites, to which we hope to attract visitors interested in local history, while also offering exclusivity and access to places that most tourists never get to see,” says František Cipro, Chairman of the Board of Prague City Tourism, of the collaboration, adding: “Tourists often focus on Charles Bridge, but few of them are aware that there is something this spectacular waiting for them mere steps away. We want to give visitors an alternative and perhaps even ease the impact on this exposed location.” 

The new route, which concentrates chiefly on the Baroque aspects of the Clementinum’s history, takes visitors to places that are off-limits on their own, which is why the tour can only be taken with a Prague City Tourism guide. Visitors will discover the Baroque Library Hall, the Astronomical Tower and the Meridian Hall, which offers a view of the late Renaissance astronomical mechanisms from the time of Rudolphine Prague. 

Tomáš Foltýn, General Director of the National Library of the CR, notes: “The Clementinum is among the most important national cultural monuments, not just in Prague but in the Czech Republic as a whole. Yet it is not merely a silent witness to the cultural prestige of previous generations and the charm of Baroque architecture – it is a living space that promotes education and the intellectual evolution of European society. For the National Library of the CR, cooperation with Prague City Tourism is a unique opportunity to spread awareness of these values among other groups of visitors to Prague’s city centre.” 

This collaboration will extend the already rich array of facilities that Prague City Tourism takes care of. In addition to the Old Town Hall, which is a consistently popular tourist destination, these include both Charles Bridge towers, the St. Nicholas Bell Tower, the Petřín Lookout Tower, the Mirror Maze at Petřín, the Powder Gate Tower and the New Mill Water Tower. 

The tour takes about 50 minutes and starts at intervals of 30 to 60 minutes. As with the other towers which PCT manages, there will be an early-bird discount. The Clementinum tourist route will also be included in the Prague Visitor Pass offer.