Dating back to the 12th century, the Strahov Monastery was founded by the Premonstratensians. In 1258 it was destroyed and had to be rebuilt. The newer monastery was built in Gothic Style. A Century later under the rule of Charles IV the building was included within the walls of the city. It was extended and decorated. Then destroyed by the Swedes at the end of the Thirty Years' War. Again the monastery had to be rebuilt and again in the 17th century it had to be built again. This time it was built in the neo-Classical style.
During a restoration process in the 1950s the remains of the Romanesque foundation of the first Strahov Monastery was found. Today as you walk through the Baroque gates, stands the statue of st. Norbert, who founded the Premonstratensians. Within the monastery you can found the Museum of National Literature which includes 5,000 manuscripts, 2,500 incunabula, 130,000 volumes, and a large quantity of maps, as well as Czech literature dating from the 9th century to the 18th century.
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