Prem Castle was built before 1213. After the Udo Knights there were many owners, among them the Walseeis, Hallers, Habsburgs, and Porcia Dukes. This compact two-storey building with a ground plan in the shape of the letter L has a Romanesque nucleus with an extension and a smaller yard protected with a wall. The inner yard was decorated with Renaissance arcades. In the middle of the yard stands a small well. The entire structure is additionally protected with exterior Renaissance walls and cylindrical towers. A large cistern stands in the larger courtyard, between the castle and the exterior walls.
The area on the ground floor of the castle is cross rib-vaulted. Above it is the castle chapel, which was set up at the end of the 14th century. Modest console masques in it are reminiscent of Parler workshops. A large hall on the upper floor decorated with a wooden promenade gallery was rearranged before the last war by its owners, the Zuccolini family from Trieste. It was painted with unusual decorative frescoes on a dark background.
The castle houses local museum collections. The cylindrical towers of the outer walls have been arranged.
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.