Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries
OpenerWhether you go to the library to read, research or reflect, these 16 libraries around the world are stunning places to do it.
0/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
PeabodyGeorge Peabody Library. Baltimore. Maryland, USA – Located at the historic Johns Hopkins University, the George Peabody Library was designed by architect Edmund Lind and built in 1860 as part of the Peabody Institute, before becoming a public library in 1967. Today it’s one of the most prestigious libraries in the United States. Described as a “cathedral of books” for its stunning neo-Grec interior, it features a black-and-white marble floor, 6 tiers of stately cast-iron columns and ornamental railings with gold details. And the best part? The library can be booked for weddings – the stuff of every romantic book-lover’s dreams. [Photo: Bestbudbrian/Wikimedia Commons]
1/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
TianjinTianjin Binhai Library. Tianjin, China – Is it the set of some futuristic sci-fi film? Not quite: it’s the largest library in the world! Designed by Rotterdam-based MVRDV studio, the Tianjin Binhai Library’s 5 levels occupy an area of 33,700sqm, which provides more than enough space for its winding white shelves brimming with books from floor to ceiling. The library captures your attention – and imagination – even before you step foot inside, with the eye-shaped atrium watching you through the building’s glazed facade. [Photo: junaidrao/Flickr]
2/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
trinityTrinity College Library. Dublin, Ireland – With a history dating back 400 years to the founding of the renowned Trinity College, this stunning library is often equated with its most famous chamber: the 65-metre Long Room, which houses such masterpieces as the Book of Kells (a famous 9th-century Christian manuscript) and the Brian Boru harp (one of the three surviving medieval Gaelic harps). Think the Long Room looks familiar? It bears a striking resemblance to the Jedi Temple archives featured in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, though the film’s creators maintain that any likeness is purely coincidental.
3/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
real gabineteReal Gabinete Português de Leitura. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Located in a neo-Gothic building in the centre of Rio de Janeiro, the “Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading” was founded in 1837 by a group of 43 Portuguese immigrants seeking to promote culture in their community; today, the library houses the largest and most valuable collection of Portuguese literature outside Portugal. Visitors will gawk at the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that line the stunning Reading Room, built in the Neo-Manueline style and featuring a gorgeous chandelier and an iron skylight that allows light to fall through into the interior. Housing a collection of paintings, sculptures and ancient coins, and situated just a 15-minute walk from Tiradentes Palace, a visit to the library is highly recommended – even if you can’t read Portuguese. [Photo: gameoflight/Flickr]
4/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
StuttgartStuttgart Stadtbibliothek. Stuttgart, Germany – South Korean architect Eun Young Yi is the mind behind the Stuttgart City Library, which opened in 2011 on Mailänder Platz, to the north of the city centre. The library’s almost overwhelming cubical structure – with pale concrete framing a block pattern of frosted glass bricks – was the source of much criticism, and yet the interior design is undoubtedly a feast for the eyes: a 5-storey gallery hall lined with walls of books showcases a quadruple helix of staircases and various reading areas, all bathed in natural light from the glass roof.
5/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
IKMZIKMZ. Cottbus, Germany – Designed by Herzog & De Meuron architects to feature many different flows of movement, the library of the Technical University of Brandenburg (BTU) owes its celebrity not only to its original architectural style and amoeba-like floor plan, but also to its ability to fit seamlessly into our high-tech world. IKMZ was built to be one of the most technologically capable libraries in the world, offering for example an entire section dedicated to e-books and magazines that can be viewed online, as well as 600 multimedia workstations available to users. [Photo: mdjevbb/Flickr]
6/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
New YorkNew York Public Library. New York City, New York, USA – Set amidst the bustle of some of the busiest streets of Manhattan, this stately marble structure seems to disregard the giant skyscrapers that tower above it. Designed in the Beaux-Arts style and completed in 1911, the building has become one of the top free attractions in the Big Apple, drawing visitors who come to see the coffered ceilings of the Rose Main Reading Room and share the same space with historical manuscripts, like an original copy of the Declaration of Independence and a Gutenberg Bible. If you, too, want to explore the library’s beautiful spaces and storied past, join a guided tour or grab an audio guide – both are free of charge. [Photo: JiahuiH/Flickr]
7/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
TripitakaTripitaka Library In Haeinsa Temple. South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea – Legend has it that the Buddhist temple of Haeinsa was founded in the early 9th century by two monks returning from China, but it’s not the origin story that makes this UNESCO World Heritage Site so interesting, it’s what’s inside: the temple’s library is home to the Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of Buddhist scriptures carved onto more than 80,000 wooden blocks in the 13th century. Though the texts have been transcribed into digital form and are being reproduced in copper, nothing beats a visit to this library to view the original 700-year-old scriptures in person. [Photo: Arian Zwegers/Flickr]
8/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
MarcianaMarciana Library. Venice, Italy – Right next to the bell tower of St Mark’s Basilica stands the Marciana Library in all its glory. The spiritual foundation for the library was laid in 1362, when the poet Petrarch donated his books to the city. Later, in 1537, it would be given physical shape thanks to architect Jacopo Sansovino. Apart from invaluable historical manuscripts, the library is home to the Monumental Rooms featuring a rich collection of paintings by Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto. [Photo: Wolfgang Moroder/Wikimedia Commons]
9/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
LiyuanThe Liyuan Library. Jiaojiehe, China – Located on the edge of the village of Jiaojiehe, a couple of hours’ drive from Beijing, the Liyuan Library stands as an unflappable David against the Goliath bustle of modern Chinese life. Everything from the colour palette to the materials and construction techniques of this simple structure – panelled with irregular wooden sticks that filter the daylight – was designed by the Li Xiaodong Atelier to blend into the natural surroundings, taking ancient Chinese rural houses as a model for this peaceful haven of literature. [Photo: Forgemind/Flickr]
10/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
MalatestianaMalatestiana Library. Cesena, Italy – Housing texts that have seen more than 550 years of human history, UNESCO has credited this institution as “a rare example of a complete and marvellous collection preserved since the mid-15th century, just before the advent of printing in Europe.” A unique example of a monastic-humanistic library that has survived intact both in architectural structure and in book heritage, the Malatestiana is home to 250,000 volumes, among them the “world’s smallest text readable without a lens”: a 15×9mm letter from Galileo Galilei to Cristina di Lorena. [Photo: Davide Contenti/Wikimedia Commons]
11/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
WienLibrary & Learning Center WUEB. Wien, Austria – The entire new campus of the Vienna University of Economics and Business stands out for its remarkable futuristic architecture, but none of the structures deserve more note than its grand and flamboyant library designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. From the mind-bending façade to the interior – with its wide, spiral ramps and stairways leading from the entry area up through the OMV Central Library, which extends like a funnel through 6 stories of the building – the whole thing looks like an intriguing spaceship. Be sure to check out the top two floors, where a wide, glass-fronted student work area offers a breathtaking view over Prater Park. [Photo: Böhringer Friedrich/Wikimedia Commons]
12/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
MafraMafra Palace Library. Mafra, Portugal – At 88 metres long and 9.5 metres wide, this is the longest monastic library in the world. But it’s not the length, or even the magnificent Rococo architecture, that makes this 18th-century library stand out among its peers. Instead, it’s the colony of bats that reside behind the bookshelves, coming out at night to feast on bookworms, moths and other insects that would otherwise destroy the 36,000-piece collection of books. Note: If you’re not a scholar, researcher, historian or nocturnal flying mammal, getting access to the library could be difficult. [Photo: Rosino/Wikimedia Commons]
13/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
RampurRampur Raza Library. Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India – Rampur Raza Library was established in 1774 by Syed Faizullah Khan, whose personal collection of valuable manuscripts, paintings and rare books formed the nucleus of the collection – a nucleus that grew rapidly, thanks to the dedication of rulers who succeeded him, as well as the Government of India which now manages the collection. Once a qila, or castle, that housed Muslim rulers, the library’s stunning building now houses thousands of manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Pashto, Sanskrit, Urdu, Hindi and Turkish languages, as well as around 60,000 printed books in various Indian languages.
14/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
UNAMCentral Library of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Mexico City, Mexico – Completed in 1952, this library cannot go unnoticed – it stands out as a large vertical cube proudly displaying a mosaic mural by Mexican artist Juan O’Gorman. A visual tribute to Mexican history and culture, the mural depicts various scenes and themes, ranging from stylised representations of Tlaloc, the god of water, to symmetrical circles that allude to the Copernican and Ptolemaic theories of heliocentrism and geocentrism.
15/16
Culture
The World’s Top 16 Most Amazing Libraries.
AdelaideState Library of South Australia, Mortlock Wing. Adelaide, Australia – South Australia has been studious from the start: plans were in place for a public library even before the settlement was actually founded. Today, the crown jewel of the library is the recently renovated Mortlock Wing. Inaugurated in 1884, it’s a lovely example of mid-Victorian interiors, with its balconies featuring wrought iron balustrades adorned with gold, as well as a glass-domed clerestory allowing for natural light. Visitors affectionately refer to the Mortlock Wing as the “Harry Potter Room”, for its resemblance to the grand library of Hogwarts. Fittingly, the State Library has held marathon screenings of the Harry Potter films. [Photo: Jon Westra/Wikimedia Commons]
16/16
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.