The Museum of Literature in Moravia
Breathtaking monastery library
The Rajhrad monastery has always served as a centre of culture and learning. The permanent exhibition of the museum presents Moravian literature over the past 10 centuries. The jewel of the exhibition is without a doubt the restored historical library. It holds medieval manuscripts and modern literature. In total, an incredible 65,000 volumes!
The museum offers an exhibition of literature written here in Moravia - from the oldest manuscripts from the end of the 9th century to modern greats such as Masaryk, Seifert, Nezval and Kundera. You will find many unexpected treasures in the museum. One of them is the correspondence of the Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha, who came from nearby Ivančice. The extensive correspondence stored here in the museum proves that he did not forget his birthplace even in the times of his greatest fame and liked to visit. Among the old treasures, there is for example the antiphonary of Queen Elizabeth Richeza of Poland from the 14th century.
A mechanical historical globe and a hexadecimal clock are best sellers among visitors. How were manuscripts on parchment created? This is what the film rendition set against the backdrop of a medieval scriptorium will show you. In the multimedia exposition you will hear Old Slavonic, the language essential for today's modern Czech language.
