What are the most beautiful libraries in the world?
Libraries are special places. Small and welcoming, made entirely of dark wood, as if from a school of magic, or airy and huge, with windows that receive the natural light typical of modern and contemporary buildings. Still others have thousands of manuscripts from past centuries and are a bit like museums, but museums of books that you can look at. In all cases, they are places of knowledge and shared knowledge. We need students, curious readers, male and female readers from all over the world, and there are more. Many libraries are public and, therefore, by definition, belong to everyone.
But what are the most beautiful libraries in the world? Well, the answer is not easy. From Scandinavian universities to medieval abbeys, from the libraries of Middle Eastern cathedrals to the libraries of major Chinese institutions,. An eight-point reasoned list tries to give an answer. Here it is: we start with a library that is very close to us but that very few of us Italians know about. The library of the ancient abbey of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
1) Library of the Abbey of St. Gallen in Switzerland
It dates from the 8th century and is entirely in the Baroque Rococo style. We are talking about one of the oldest monastic libraries in the world. In German, they call it “Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen” and it is an integral part of the abbey.
2) The George Peabody Library, in the United States
This public and university library is located in Baltimore, United States. Specifically in the historic cultural district of Mount Vernon. Its architecture is spectacular; the balconies from which you study and read offer postcard-worthy views of the interior.
3) Public Library in Stuttgart, Germany
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Germany also has one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. We are talking about the Mailänder Platz city library.
4) The New York Public Library, in the United States
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This wonder is one of the largest in the world. The fourth largest in the world to be exact. It has many branches spread across the city and boasts a total of over twenty million books. Immensity.
5) Admont Abbey Library, Austria
Admont Abbey, very close to Italy, is a large monastery about a thousand years old. Very ancient and with a library (this one built in the eighteenth century), which with its domes is definitely one of the most beautiful in the world.
6) “Oodi” bookstore in Helsinki, Finland
The Oodi Library in Helsinki is the most prestigious library in all of Finland, but its interior structure is particularly remarkable. It’s a big prism on the outside, but on the inside it almost looks like a big spaceship. Spacious and very white.
7) “Eye” bookstore TIianjin Binhai, in China
Finally an Asian library. Chinese to be honest. Let’s talk about Tianjin Binhai. It is also called “the eye” because of its very peculiar shape, which includes a large ball of light.
8) Trinity College Library, Ireland
And at the end of this overview of the most beautiful libraries in the world, there is an Irish one. We are in Dublin, at the famous Trinity College. Here is the legendary “Old Library”
