Post by pledm on Sept 25, 2007 10:21:46 GMT -5
PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Codex Gigas, also known as the Devil's Bible -- a medieval manuscript said to have been written 800 years ago with the devil's help -- has returned to Prague after an absence of 359 years. And Czechs were eager to see it, officials said.
The priceless piece, considered the biggest medieval book, was taken from the Prague Castle by Swedish troops at the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648. It is in Prague on loan from Sweden's Royal Library in Stockholm. It was put on display last week under high security at the Czech National Library.
Its return to Prague for the exhibition, which runs through Jan. 6, was made possible after years of negotiations between Czech and Swedish diplomats, National Library spokeswoman Katerina Novakova said.
"We expected big interest from the public," Novakova said. "Now, we are 100% full."
Only 60 people an hour can enter an air-conditioned room in the library's medieval complex for a 10-minute look at the manuscript, which is inside a specially designed, unbreakable case, she said.
The priceless piece, considered the biggest medieval book, was taken from the Prague Castle by Swedish troops at the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648. It is in Prague on loan from Sweden's Royal Library in Stockholm. It was put on display last week under high security at the Czech National Library.
Its return to Prague for the exhibition, which runs through Jan. 6, was made possible after years of negotiations between Czech and Swedish diplomats, National Library spokeswoman Katerina Novakova said.
"We expected big interest from the public," Novakova said. "Now, we are 100% full."
Only 60 people an hour can enter an air-conditioned room in the library's medieval complex for a 10-minute look at the manuscript, which is inside a specially designed, unbreakable case, she said.