In the Czech Republic, there are many fascinating and historically significant cultural monuments. Many are proudly listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge. Not far from these world-famous monuments lies another one, a unique jewel: the Baroque Library inside Prague’s Clementinum, which houses the vast and valuable collections of the National Library.

Today, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Slavonic Library, which is part of the National Library, I’m honored to announce a partnership between our institution and Google Arts & Culture. This collaboration is a harmonious fusion of cultural heritage and modern technology. Thanks to modern imaging methods and virtual tours in Street View, everyone will be able to visit the unique Baroque spaces of one of the most beautiful libraries in the world at any time, no matter where they are.

They can also view over 200 exceptional historical documents displayed on this occasion from the National Library’s collections, four digital stories and a Czech National Library puzzle party for creative souls. The virtual experience on Google Arts & Culture also includes the exploration of significant historical manuscripts that are usually not available to the public, such as the Vyšehrad Codex — one of the most valuable manuscripts preserved in the Czech Republic — and digitized treasures like Caspar Pflieger’s Star Globe and Sebastian Münster’s Map of the New World.

Working with Google is nothing new for us. Nearly 200,000 old prints have already been digitized by Google in previous years. I am delighted that by working with Google Arts & Culture we can breathe new life into the Library’s collections and make them available to the general public around the world in a stunning virtual presentation.

You can read more in an article by Tomáš Foltýn, Director of the National Library of the Czech Republic, at: http://bit.ly/3Qo090r.