The Most Spectacular Historical Libraries In The World

They are wonderful spaces that treasure great jewels. Authentic guardians of the knowledge of humanity. But these historic libraries are more than shelves filled with priceless treasures, they are themselves works of art. We are going to visit the most beautiful.

1. Library of the Monastery of El Escorial, Spain

Founded by Felipe II in the Monastery of El Escorial, it gathers the humanist spirit of the time. For this reason, its main room is a place designed for study, with maps, mathematical instruments, armillary spheres or astrolabe, as well as hundreds of books by ancient authors. Without forgetting its decoration, in which the magnificent frescoes, the marble tables and the beautiful shelves stand out.

2. Joanina Library of the University of Coimbra, Portugal

It is the great treasure of the University of Coimbra, a baroque work sponsored by King Juan V of Portugal.  It is structured in three fabulous rooms whose walls are covered with oak wood shelves. And a curiosity, a colony of bats lives here, they are the ones who are in charge of keeping insects at bay that could damage its fabulous bibliographic collection.

3. Royal Portuguese Reading Cabinet of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

It was Portuguese immigrants who founded this library in 1837. However, the building that houses it is later, it was built in the Neo-Manueline style at the end of the 19th century. In it , the spectacular Reading Room stands out, with three levels and a careful and ostentatious decoration. A wonderful corner that you surely could not imagine in a city like Rio de Janeiro.

4. Historical Libraries: Admont Monastery, Austria

It is the largest monastic library in the world and one of the most beautiful. A huge room 70 meters long and 14 meters wide that houses about 70,000 volumes, some of them of enormous value. But not only do you have to look at the shelves, also at the ceiling, formed by seven domes magnificently decorated with frescoes alluding to the stages of human knowledge.

5. Library of the Monastery of Saint Florian, Austria

It belongs to one of the oldest monasteries in Austria. Construction began on the library in the mid-18th century and houses more than 130,000 works. A space where you can also admire fabulous marquetry works made of noble woods and ceilings beautifully decorated with frescoes. During the Nazi occupation it was feared for it, since it was occupied by the German army.

6. National Library in Prague, Czech Republic

It is within the grounds of the Clementinum, one of the most important historical buildings in the Czech capital. Spectacular, with its ornate baroque decoration and its atmosphere from another era. Do not miss the frescoes, its Solomonic columns, or the terrestrial globes that are in the center of this spectacular room. One of the most beautiful historical libraries in the world.

7. Trinity College Dublin Library, Ireland

We don’t go to the oldest university library in Ireland. It stresses its magnificent Long Room, built at the beginning of the eighteenth century. On its shelves are stored about two hundred thousand volumes, the oldest of the university, including the Book of Kells , a Latin manuscript from the 9th century. And along the salty, dozens of busts that seem to guard it.

8. Library of the St. Gallen Abbey, Switzerland

It is the oldest library in Switzerland. Since its foundation, this monastery had an outstanding role in the arts and sciences, as well as an intense copying activity. Thanks to this, it has a magnificent collection of manuscripts, some of them from the 8th century. Its beautiful baroque room alone houses more than 50,000 volumes, including manuscripts and printed books.

9. Austrian National Library

It has almost eight million volumes and occupies one wing of the Hofburg Palace. But if there is something that stands out, it is its amazing main room, 80 meters long and crowned by a dome decorated with impressive frescoes by the court painter Daniel Gran. A spectacular room in keeping with the splendor of Vienna at the beginning of the 18th century.

10. Adelaide State Library of South Australia

The last of the historical libraries that we are going to visit is in Australia. It opened its doors in 1884 and has several buildings, although the most impressive is Ala Mortlock, with its nineteenth-century decoration and its unique glass ceiling.

Cover photo: Gareth Cooper / Flickr.com