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ArtsThe wondrous Codex Gigas - aka. the Devil's Bible - goes on display in Prague

21-09-2007 13:59 | Jan Velinger, Milena Štráfeldová

Codex Gigas, photo: CTK Exhibitions like this one are once in a lifetime: the loan of a famous Bohemian tome officially known as the Codex Gigas (but also as the Devil's Bible) to Prague. According to historians, the book, one of the largest medieval manuscripts in the world (almost a metre tall and half a metre wide), was completed some time in the 13th century at a Bendectine monastery in east Bohemia. The tome, once considered to be the eighth wonder of the world, is the oldest Czech chronicle written in Latin. Despite its devilish moniker, the Codex is by no means a satanic bible: the name comes from an accompanying legend and a famous depiction of the devil inside. It contains transcripts of the Old and New Testaments as well as a number of other medieval documents. More

Current AffairsDevil's Bible goes on display in Prague after three century absence

18-09-2007 16:32 | Joshua Singer

'Devil's Bible' The largest historical book in the world is to go on show at Prague's Klementinum Gallery on Wednesday. Known as the 'Devil's Bible', it was written in what is now the Czech Republic in the early thirteenth century, and during the Middle Ages was regarded as a wonder of the world. Plundered from Prague by Swedish soldiers during the Thirty Years War, it is now to return to the city temporarily after an absence of over 350 years. Joshua Singer has more.  More

MagazineMagazine

21-04-2007 | Ian Willoughby

Potato beer, photo: CTK This week, a Prague microbrewery makes a new beer from an unusual ingredient: potatoes. What's causing a commotion in Czech kitchens, if it isn't washing machines? Prague's woods can't cope with the number of people using them for recreation, while ramblers shouldn't be too surprised if they see hedgehogs with antennas sticking out of their backs. And the innovative 1960s "automatic cinema" is to be revived.  More

Current AffairsBorrowing the Devil's Bible

05-10-2005 13:57 | Daniela Lazarová

Devil's Bible The Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek was in Sweden this week, and he made a most unusual request. He surprised his host, Prime Minister Goran Persson, by asking to borrow the Devil's Bible, one of the artefacts that was stolen by the Swedish army from the Czech lands during the Thirty Years War in the mid 17th century.  More

ArtsValuable Czech manuscripts stolen in Thirty Years War on show at Swedish Royal Library

02-07-2004 | Ian Willoughby

Swedish Royal Library, photo: Author In this edition of the Arts we get to see two remarkable manuscripts stolen from the Czech Lands by the Swedes during the Thirty Years War. The first is the intriguingly named Devil's Bible. The second is a religious text in the hand of the great Czech reformer Jan Hus (in Latin but with anti-German jibes written in Czech in the margins). We also learn about the circumstances under which the manuscripts and other artworks were stolen by the Swedish Army in the mid-17th century, and whether there is any chance it might some day be returned.  More

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