A historic hall in the Klementinum for CZK 20: a quiet study room with Wi-Fi in central Prague
How to get into the General Study Room of the National Library of the Czech Republic with a one-day ticket, when it is open, what to bring and what to leave in the cloakroom. Checked against the library's price list and rules, including two points often misreported on social media.
Too noisy at home, cafés too expensive and no free seat in your local library? In the Klementinum, a few minutes from Charles Bridge, there is a study room with 205 seats in the historic former summer refectory. A full day's entry costs CZK 20. The tip is circulating on social media, so we checked it directly in the National Library's own documents. On two points the facts differ from what people usually say.
1. Where it is and how to get in
- Address: Mariánské náměstí 190/5, Prague 1, Klementinum complex, entrance A, ground floor.
- The General Study Room (Všeobecná studovna) is one of the National Library's reading rooms. It is not a tourist tour but a working library.
- You buy the one-day ticket in the Service Hall (Hala služeb), which is in the same entrance and open to everyone. Then you go through the turnstiles.
- The ticket is valid on the day you receive it and lets you look around the library and use the reference collections in the study rooms.
2. What it costs
- One-day ticket: CZK 20.
- One child up to and including 14 years accompanied by an adult: free.
- Holders of a TP, ZTP or ZTP/P disability card and the personal assistant of a ZTP/P holder: free.
- If you plan to come regularly, a reader's card pays off. On-site registration including the card costs CZK 210 (age 26–69), CZK 110 (age 15–25) and CZK 10 (age 70+). Anyone over 15 with a valid ID can register, so foreigners with a passport or ID card can too.
- Prices per the National Library's price list valid from 1 April 2024.
3. Opening hours
- General Study Room: Monday to Friday 9:00–22:00, Saturday 9:00–19:00, closed on Sunday.
- Service Hall, where tickets are sold: Monday to Saturday 9:00–19:00, so for an evening session arrive before 19:00.
- Closed on Wednesday 28 Oct 2026, Tuesday 17 Nov 2026, from 24 to 26 Dec 2026 and from 31 Dec 2026 to 2 Jan 2027.
- Each study room has its own hours and some close earlier. Current times are on nkp.cz under Otevírací doba.
4. Cloakroom and bags: a rule, not a request
People often say staff “may ask” you to leave your jacket. The library rules are stricter: before passing the turnstiles everyone must leave outerwear, bags and briefcases in the cloakroom or a lockable locker. You may take in only a small hand bag within the size limits posted at the entrance and must show its contents on request.
- The cloakroom accepts bags up to 25 × 35 × 45 cm and 10 kg. Larger bags go into a locker in the vestibule.
- Don't leave cash, jewellery or other valuables in the cloakroom. The lockers are not meant for valuables either.
- Collect your things no later than 15 minutes after closing time.
- You can take your laptop, phone and wallet into the study room in a small hand bag or in your hands.
5. Study room rules worth knowing
- Laptops are allowed and there is Wi-Fi. Power sockets can be used as capacity allows.
- Phone calls are not allowed in the study room, nor is playing sound through a speaker.
- Food and drink may not be brought in. You can keep closed containers in a locker in the study room's anteroom during the day.
- Each person may take only one seat. If you leave for more than 30 minutes and the room is full, staff may free your seat.
- When all seats are taken, the ticket does not guarantee a seat and you must leave. Under the Library Rules there is no legal entitlement to a ticket or registration.
- Books from the collection must not be underlined, written in or taken out of the study room.
6. Things to watch out for
- Saturday: the study room is open until 19:00, not 22:00. It stays open until 22:00 only Monday to Friday.
- Cloakroom: under the Library Rules, leaving outerwear and bags is mandatory.
- Leaving and coming back during the day: the Library Rules only say the ticket is valid on the day of issue. If you want to step out and return, check with the staff.
7. Sort out your housing paperwork in peace
The study room is handy for practical tasks too. If you are just settling into Prague, you probably have a lease to read, a letter to your landlord or papers for an office. Here you get quiet, a desk, Wi-Fi and a printer.
- Printing: a black-and-white copy or A4 print on a self-service machine costs CZK 2 per page. In the General Study Room you can print your own files by arrangement with the staff, priced per the library's price list.
- A lease must be in writing (Section 2237 OZ). Before you sign, read it all and ask for an explanation of every point you don't understand.
- Check the deposit: the deposit and any contractual penalty together must not exceed three months' rent (Section 2254(1) OZ). When the lease ends, the deposit is returned with interest (Section 2254(2) OZ).
- Bring an ID document. You can't register at the library without one, and it helps when filling in forms.
