The Strahov Monastery, situated just southwest of Prague Castle, was founded in 1143. The Premonstratensian order has used it nearly constantly since then (even yesterday I saw a monk in his white robes walking around), with only two major interruptions: between 1420 and the end of the 16th century, following the Hussite rebellion; and between the 1950s and 1989, thanks to the Communist regime.You can walk around the cloister and some of the adjacent rooms, and admire the extant Romanesque walls and a few columns. A lot of renovation was done in the 17th century, however, so the original vaulting is gone. There is a "secret" stairway (roped off, unfortunately): it's fitted into one of the walls between two of the Romanesque halls.
Upstairs is the art gallery (Strahovská obrazárna) that has holdings from the 15th-18th centuries. I believe that many of the works on display were commissioned or acquired by Rudolf II (read this article from the MMA for more info), however my absolute favorite piece there is a sculpture dated ca. 1500:
Pictured above is God the Father at the coronation of the Virgin (Bůh Otec z výjevu Korunování Panny Marie). Mary isn't present, and unfortunately neither are God's hands. Still, it's a really powerful piece, and other than the beautifully executed face I can't really explain why. I just like it.
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