Octopus? Jellyfish? Blob?

(Image from radio.cz 2009)

The image above looks to me, a little as though an alien has sneezed over Prague. This is what The National Library of the Czech Republic would have looked like today had everything gone according to plan.
I found this image by searching "czech national library design" in Google Images. I had been unable to find any relevant images in Creative Commons search.

In 2006 the library opened up an international competition to design a new building and in 2007 the award was given to the London-based architectural and design practice Future Systems. Future Systems was founded by Jan Kaplicky who was born in Czechoslovakia in 1937 but settled in London after the Soviet invasion.

Back at the beginning if this assignment I went to my local library to see what I could find on the National Library of the Czech Republic. I spoke to the librarian there and we found a few books that mentioned the library but didn't provide any information useful to my research. The librarian showed me 'Press Display' which is a fantastic tool that gives you access 1400 newspapers from 82 countries in 39 languages. But the papers are current so I was unable to find anything on this topic, Jan Kaplicky and his design for a new national library building.

Swinburne Library gave me access to many articles - newspaper and otherwise. I mentioned in my last post using Encyclopaedia Britannica online, which gave me information about the life of Jan Kaplicky.

I used Youtube to do a video search and found the trailer for the documentary on Jan Kaplicky.

Eye Above Prague, 2008

My Swinburne search led me to an article in Europe Intelligence Wire (Oct 17, 2010) on this documentary 'Eye Above Prague' that details its winning the documentary film section at the 26th International Film Festival in Warsaw in 2010. This article also provided a little bit of information on Kaplicky's personal life.Europe Intelligence Wire (Jan 5, 2011) outlined the fate of the project. That is, that it will never be realised.

Through the image search I mentioned earlier I also found an interesting article called Prague scraps library project admired abroad (CzechNews, 17 Dec, 2008). It mentions Prague politician's opposition to the project and how most of the domestic debate is around the appearance while internationally the design is regarded for its arrangement and functionality. What I did find through a regular Google search was that in Brno a bus shelter has been built as a tribute to Kaplicky who died on January 14th 2009 only hours after the birth of his second child. See the bus shelter here.

References
Rose, J 2007, 'Future Systems triumphs in Prague library competition', Building Design, 1761, p. 5, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 October 2011.

Kašpárek, M 2011, Octopus-shaped bus station: tribute to Jan Kaplický, Life in Brno, viewed 3 October 2011, <http://brnonow.com/2011/09/kaplicky-bus-stop/>.

Kaplicky, J 2008, Eye Above Prague, 15 September, viewed 25 September 2011, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpLy-XQSWlY&noredirect=1.

‘Kaplicky, Jan’ 2011, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica Online, viewed 8 September 2011.‘Kaplicky's Czech library project no longer counted with- director’ 2011, Europe Intelligence Wire, 5 January, General OneFile. viewed 3 October 2011.

‘Czech documentary on architect Kaplicky wins at Warsaw festival’ 2010, Europe Intelligence Wire, 17 October, General OneFile, viewed 3 October 2011.

Johnston, R 2009, What buildings could be like if they weren’t so horribly earthbound – UK exhibition commemorates architect Jan Kaplický, Cesky Rozhlas, viewed 3 October 2011, <http://www.radio.cz/en/section/arts/what-buildings-could-be-like-if-they-werent-so-horribly-earthbound-uk-exhibition-commemorates-architect-jan-kaplicky>.

CzechNews 2008, Prague scraps library project admired abroad, Centrum.cz, viewed 3 October 2011, <http://aktualne.centrum.cz/czechnews/clanek.phtml?id=625166>.

Klementinum

Where better to start my research than at the National Library itself? Unfortunately I am no longer in Prague so the library website is the next best thing. Fortunately for me it is available in English. Here we find a timeline that tells us that the first records attesting to the existence of St. Clement's Chapel date back to the 11th century.

Last year out of personal interest I happened to make a copy on the chapter of this library from the book The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World. So using the libraries' website, the chapter in the aforementioned book and some information from a few travel websites I will create my own timeline below.

11th Century
First records attesting to the existance of St. Clement's Chapel.

13th - 14th Century
There is a Studium Generale - a Latin school at a Dominican monastery which eventually merges with the Charles University (began in 1348).

1366
Charles IV (King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor) donates a set of codices (including the 1085 Vysehrad codex) to the university.

1556
Ferdinand I, emperor and king of Bohemia invites the Jesuits to Prague to aid his counter-reformation policy, and bestows upon them the ruins of the St. Clement's Dominican Monastery.
Here the Jesuit begin to build their college named Klementinum.

1618
Expulsion of Jesuits.

1620
Return of Jesuits after the Battle of White Mountain.

1622
Having attained much power, the Jesuits take over the administration of Charles University, rename it Charles-Ferdinand University and relocated the library to Klementinum.

1653
The Jesuits with their wealth and influence were able to begin expanding Klementinum. Three churches, more than 30 houses, seven farmsteads and several gardens were razed and expansion continued until the Jesuit order was dissolved in 1773. Over one hundred years, eight architects of Czech and Italian nationality built the second largest architectural complex in Prague (after Hradcany the Prague Castle). The library, which is housed in the former Jesuit college was installed by Frantisek Kanka between 1721 and 1727. The complex also included churches, schools, an observatory, theatre and printing press.

1773
The Jesuits left Klementinum to the university and the library was placed under the protection of Empress Maria Theresa. It became known as the Imperial-Royal Public and University Library.

1781
Prague printers hand in legal deposit copies to the library.

1807
All Czech printers must hand in legal deposit copies.

1837
Mozart Memorial is founded.

1848
Klementinum becomes a student fortress against the armies of General Windischgratz.

1918
The Public and University Library is taken over by the newly founded Czechoslovakia.

1919
The Czechoslovak Institute Bibliography is incorporated into the library.

1924
The Slavic Library is founded.

1929
The Slavic Library is transferred to Klementinum.

1935
The library is renamed the National and University Library and a law is passed stipulating the legal deposit copy duty.

1939
German occupation sees the close of Czech universities and colleges but the library continues under the name Municipal and University Library.

1958
All large libraries in Prague merge into a centralized one with the name State Library of the Czech Republic.

1990
The library is renewed and renamed the National Library.

I also attempted to find information on the library through Encyclopaedia Britannica without any luck but it did lead me to some information which may be useful in a future post.

References
de Laubier, G & Bosser, J, c2003, The most beautiful libraries in the world, Harry N. Abrams, New York.

Prague.net, 2008, Clementinum (Klementinum), Prague.net, viewed 16 September 2011, <http://www.prague.net/clementinum>.

1Pragueguide, 2011, Clementinum, 1Pragueguide, viewed 16 September 2011, <http://www.1pragueguide.com/clementinum.aspx>.