Strahov Library

Two rooms. That's all it takes for Strahov to blow your mind. The Theological Hall and the Philosophical Hall of the Strahov Monastery Library are among the most beautiful rooms in the world, and they've been hiding up here on the hill above Prague Castle since the 17th and 18th centuries, quietly holding 200,000 volumes while tourists rush past on their way to the castle gates.

The Theological Hall came first, built between 1671 and 1674 with its Baroque ceiling frescoes painted by Siard Nosecky, a Premonstratensian monk who lived in the monastery. Every panel illustrates humanity's relationship with books and learning, accompanied by Latin quotations from the Bible. The stucco work is extraordinary, the walnut bookcases are original, and the collection of globes scattered between the shelves includes several that are centuries old.

The Philosophical Hall is even more staggering. Built between 1791 and 1797, it rises two stories high and is crowned by a ceiling fresco that took painter Anton Maulbertsch just six months to complete in 1794. The painting — "The Spiritual Development of Humanity" — traces the progress of science and philosophy from the ancient world to the Enlightenment across a vast, vertiginous surface. The walnut shelving was actually salvaged from a dissolved monastery in Moravia and rebuilt here piece by piece.

The Premonstratensians have been here since 1143, making Strahov one of the oldest continuously operating monasteries in Europe. The monks still brew beer in the monastery brewery — the St. Norbert microbrewery — which means you can follow up one of Europe's greatest libraries with one of Prague's best pints.