Prague has never struggled to draw visitors, thanks to its baroque streetscapes and deep cultural history, but one of its newest crowd magnets is unexpectedly modern. A sculpture made from thousands of books has become a social media trophy, sending tourists to the Prague City Library in numbers that have surprised even local officials. What was once a quiet installation people discovered by chance is now something many travelers plan around. For some, it is less about art appreciation and more about getting the perfect photo.
The piece is called Idiom, created by Slovak artist Matej Kren. It looks like a tall cylindrical tower built from roughly 8,000 books, with an opening shaped like a teardrop. Mirrors placed at the top and bottom create the illusion of an endless tunnel, so a quick glance inside feels like peering into infinity. The library placed it in the lobby back in 1998, where it stood for years without much fanfare.
That calm ended when the sculpture started circulating heavily on social media, especially TikTok, toward the end of 2022. Suddenly, what had been a local curiosity became a viral checkpoint. Thai tourist Pattapol Thongsaard described discovering it online and waiting in line on a cold evening just to photograph it. After capturing the classic shot of looking into the book stack, he also posed with friends for extra content to share on TikTok and Instagram.
@theblondegirlslife 📍Infinity Book Tower Prague. Te sorban állnál ezért több, mint 1,5 órát? 😳🤔 #theblondegirlslife #booktowerprague #infinitybooktower #praguetravel #booktok #librarytiktok #municipallibraryprague #expectstionsvsreality #traveltiktok #travel #prague #books #booktower #praguebook ♬ original sound – Our Awesome World 🌎
According to library spokesperson Lenka Hanzlikova, the craze can be intense during peak travel periods like Christmas and Easter. She said the library can see around 1,000 tourists a day coming specifically for Idiom, with queues stretching up to two hours. The situation has created a strange overlap between regular readers and camera ready visitors. Hanzlikova noted that some patrons find the hype funny, while others have ended up standing in line simply because they came to return books and got caught in the crowd.
To cope, the library has already designated one of its five entrances for tourists and is considering further changes. Charging an entry fee has been discussed, along with hiring a curator or staff member to manage the flow. Kren himself has said the current mania feels unusual, especially since the work was never intended to function as a mass tourist attraction. Even though Idiom has appeared in places like a Science magazine cover and Lonely Planet guides, he expected it might eventually fade into the background.
Another visitor, Ghazal Nour, an Iranian woman living in Italy, called the sculpture beautiful but questioned whether it was worth the wait and the cold. That tension seems to sum up the whole moment, a genuinely striking artwork that now sits inside a viral machine that can turn a quiet lobby into a destination.
Have you ever waited in line for a viral sight, or would you skip the queue no matter how famous it gets? Share your take in the comments.
