The National Library's manuscript collection includes around 15,000 items, ranging from ancient times to the early 20th century. The core of the collection comes from medieval Prague University libraries, later part of the Jesuit Klementinum library. Additional manuscripts came from the dissolved Jesuit colleges and monasteries closed under Joseph II. In the 20th century, major acquisitions included Greek papyri, Oriental manuscripts, and manuscripts from the Lobkowicz, Széll-Kubelík, and Thun-Hohenstein libraries. After WWII, more materials were added, such as parts of Adalbert Stifter’s literary archive and manuscripts from the Osek Abbey and the Zittau Municipal Library. More recently, manuscripts from the Teplá and Cheb monasteries have been acquired.