Municipal Library of Prague — Attraction in Prague

My husband and I were silently walking into the library and not actually taking a picture of the books. Now I must mention we are not white and an elderly Czech lady saw me entering the library and said , “ This is for us and that is for you. Got out, you people don’t come here.”. She was pointing at the tall column of books expecting me to stick to “what tourists do”. I did not understand her anger and questioned why she was angry. She said “why not, don’t you know the reason”. After this she started mumbling what sounded like curse words in Czech. We didn’t want trouble and walked away. Now watching all this was a random man who started approaching us and mumbling in Czech. He got really close (completely crossing personal boundary space) and eventually stamped my husband’s foot and then ran away into the library. We immediately tried to reported this to librarian but he either didn’t know English or didn’t seem bothered. All we requested was to report the man who abused us verbally and physically. He was witness to this act by the way so he saw it. No help was provided. Disgusted by this whole experience and clearly we were not welcome there so we left. That man followed us outside. What the hell!!!!! Why? He again continued abusing us, pushed my husband, then showed the middle finger at which point it was necessary to click a photo of him in case things got worse and needed to report him to the police. He was away when the photo was clicked but ran towards us saying ‘no photo no photo’. It looked like he was going to attack my husband so I got in the way. He tried to snatch my phone but failed so he yanked my cap off and threw it on the road. A few concerned locals saw this and approached us to make sure we were ok. He ran on seeing them. Few things - we have travelled around Europe and had good experiences including in Prague but this has been the first racist experience and it’s a shame because it doesn’t make us feel safe. This was in a very touristy place too. As someone being abused, should we just keep quiet and not question people doing wrong? If the library is only for locals why are the doors open for all? Keep card readers to ensure only members are allowed. This might make locals hate tourists a little lesser. Was it wrong to take a photo of an abuser?? Absolutely not!!!!! Wrong is wrong and has to be addressed. Period.

Edit- this is the official Prague city tourism website which clearly states - “a public general library that...

It is for me a 5/5 library, and it deeply saddens me that this library gets so much low star reviews from tourists, because first of all, this is a library, not a sightseeing spot. While the book tower is popular and cool, people primarily go there to read and study, and not to sightsee.

Beautiful, well-equipped library, with a wide selection of printed resources - from books, to magazines, to newspapers. There are also resources for kids, books and audiovisual ones, there's a space dedicated to where kids can do activities. There's a keyboard/organ for playing music, and computer stations, desks for studying with power outlets, a coffee vending machine, too, is available. The seats are comfortable and clean, and there are outdoor benches for reading under the sun when the weather permits. The library also organizes a lot of activities, concerts, and film-watching, book clubs, etc. Registration is required for borrowing and reserving books - 80 czk for a year, but if you just want to study there, or read inside, entrance is free. The staff are kind and helpful and they do their best to speak in English for their non-Czech-speaking users. It is a valuable facility for the people, old and young alike. I go here a lot, and I will continue to go here as often as I am able.

There's usually a line outside, but take note that that's for the photo-taking. There is no line for entering the library.

No one's stopping anybody from taking photos of the book tower, but one should manage their expectations. This is first and foremost, a library, not a...

The loudest library I have ever seen.

The staff is nice. The layout is nice. But the noise and lack of respect dims what is nice.

First issue are the doors. The doors are heavy and no one holds the doors. Every-time someone goes to bathroom or a staff member goes in a staff only door, you know that the door is going to crash and make a loud noise which can be heard throughout the library.

Second, cue the tourists. It is increasingly turning into a tourist attraction point. I understand the tower of books is a nice attraction at the entrance but that does not give the tourists the right to come in to the library, walk around, take photos and talk. Seriously people, have you never seen a library in your lives? It would be nice if the tourists were not given access to study parts of the library. A card reader on the doors would solve this.

Third, general lack of respect of some people. Who in their right mind starts talking on their phone in the middle of a library? Then they go on to start having some snacks. Why is this normalised? Then, some people apparently have no issue talking to each other in a loud voice.

Overall, if you are looking for a quiet place to study, read a book or do whatever, this place is...