Ten Incredible Libraries around the World
Shakeel Anwar
Sep 26, 2016 10:51 IST
Libraries are the incredible gift of and to mankind through knowledge and imagination that provide inspiration and help to work that little bit harder. Sometime it works as power house of knowledge because by accessing this, it increases realm of human’s imagination. Here, we are giving 10 incredible list of libraries around the world.
Ten Incredible Libraries and Book Shops around the World
1. Al-Qarawiyyin library
Source: www.techinsider.io
Location: Fez, Morocco
Founded by: Fatima El-Fihriya in 859 AD — around the time early forms of algebra were being invented
Books: It is a house of 4,000 rare books and ancient Arabic manuscripts written by renowned scholars of the region.
Special Features: It is the world’s first library which was founded by women. It is famous for its unique collection of ancient books and texts including a Quran from the ninth century.
2. Abbey Library of St. Gallen
Source: Wikimedia
Location: Switzerland
Founded by: Saint Othmar during 8th century.
Books: It contains 160,000 volumes of text dated the 8th century.
Special Features: It is one of the oldest and most important monastery libraries in the world.
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3. Bibliotheque Nationale
Source: thefunambulistdotnet.files.wordpress.com
Location: Paris, France
Founded in: 1461 AD
Books: It is a home of 14 million books.
Special Features: The library is consists of 4 open-book-shaped towers arranged around a dug-out mature forest courtyard.
4. St. Catherine's Monastery
Source: www.planetware.com
Location: South Sinai, Egypt
Establishment: It is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries libraries in the world that was built between 548 AD and 565 AD.
Books: It contains 3,000 religious and educational manuscripts and approximately 8,000 printed books, including first editions of Homer and Plato.
Special Features: It was built on the site where Prophet Moses has received the Ten Commandments of Prophet-hood during conversation to God in the miracle of the Burning Bush, and to climb Mt. Sinai (the Biblical Mt. Horeb, known locally as Jebel Musa).
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5. Royal Grammar School Chained Library
Source: www.lib.cam.ac.uk
Location: Guildford, England
Establishment: Middle Ages to approximately the 18th century
Books: More than 1600 million
Special Features: It was established during the era of renaissance when scholars and librarian want to share knowledge with masses but didn’t trust the public. So the concept of chained library was born which is also existed today i.e. Royal Grammar School Chained Library of Guildford, England where all books and volume of treatise are chained lock.
6. Admont Abbey Library
Source: twistedsifter.com
Location: Austria
Founded by: Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg in 1074 AD
Books: It has 1,400 manuscripts and 900 incunabulae.
Special Features: It is the largest monastic library in the world and known for its Baroque architecture, art, and manuscripts
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7. Vasconcelos Library
Source: img.buzzfeed.com
Location: Mexico
Establishment: It was designed by Alberto Kalach after winning International architectural competition and inaugurated on May 6, 2006.
Books: 50,000 million books with special collection of architecture
Special Features: It is known as Megabiblioteca due its gigantic structure which 409,000 sq. Foot in area. It was designed such that the entire library appears like Matrix-inspired dream because every book shelves seem to be suspended in mid-air due to crystal shelves.
8. Municipal Law Library
Source: forreadingaddicts.co.uk
Location: Munich, Germany
Establishment: Between 1867 and 1908 by Georg von Hauberrisser
Books: 17,500 books along with every possible treatise related to law
Special Features: It is one of the most beautiful libraries and best example of Gothic Revival architecture style in the world because it resembles a bright and warm forest to enjoy the magic of literature.
9. Epos Ship Library
Location: Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane and Møre og Romsdal in Norway
Establishment: 1963
Books: It has room for 6, 000 books
Special Features: It is world’s first floating library that is consists of a captain, three librarian and min one performer which is funded by the countries in the three countries.
10. National Library of the Czech Republic
Source: wikimedia
Location: Czech Republic
Founded in: 1722 by Kilian Ignatz Dientzenhofer
Books: 6,919,075 books in which 21,204 are manuscripts and 4,200 are incunabula
Special Features: Decorated with frescoes on the topic of Science and Art