Norviliškės Castle (a former monastery, also called Norviliškės Manor) is a Renaissance style castle. It was first mentioned in 1586. In 1617 the owners donated part of the real estate land to Franciscans. Around 1745 they built a monastery and a church in Renaissance style. The monastery was reconstructed at the end of the 18th century by Kazimieras Kaminskis. After the November Uprising of 1831, Russian authorities closed the monastery and turned it into barracks for soldiers, and later to a boarding school for girls. The Church of St. Mary Compassionate Mother was closed at the same time as the monastery. A new wooden church was built in 1929.
For a long time the former manor stood abandoned. In 2005, reconstruction was started by an entrepreneur, Giedrius Klimkevičius, from Vilnius. The project is supported by funds from the PHARE program. The hopes are that the Norviliškės Castle will become a tourist attraction. It offers hosting for business conferences or weddings, hunting, shooting practices, and other activities, including music festivals.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.