World’s Most Stunning Libraries

By Shreesha Ghosh

April 27, 2022

Stuttgart City Library, Germany

This library’s all-white inverted pyramid gallery hall lined with books is equally stunning and captivating, making it one of the city’s most photographed destinations. The library opened to the public in 2011. Its design resembles a cube within a cube and is decorated further with additional smaller cubes.

Image source: Alamy

Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt

This important library is considered a cultural centre on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The 11-storey library can contain up to 4 million volumes of books, whereas the design is timeless and bold. It has a vast circular form alongside the circular Alexandrian harbour.

Image source: Alamy

Rose Reading Room, NY Public Library

Widely considered to be the library’s main attraction, the Rose Main Reading Room spans 297 feet or nearly the length of a football field. Said to be the greatest masterpiece of Beaux-Arts style architecture in the United States, the New York Public Library was designed by Carrere & Hastings and opened in 1911.

Image source: Alamy

Prunksaal, Austrian National Library

Austrian National Library in Vienna is a historic national library with a grand 18th-century baroque hall and boasts several rare antique tomes. Prunksaal is the central structure of the imperial library. It was built by the order of Emperor Charles in 1726 and to this day remains beautifully decorated in baroque fashion.

Image source: Alamy

Taipei Public Library, Taiwan

It is a public library in Beitou Park, located in Taipei, Taiwan. It is known to be Taiwan's first green library that was opened in November 2006. It is a two-storey building constructed  to be eco-friendly and was designed by  Bio-Architecture Formosana. Its beauty is enthralling enough to distract you from reading!

Image source: Alamy

El Escorial Library, Spain

El Escorial Library, founded by Philip II, houses a rare collection of more than 4,700 manuscripts and 40,000 printed books. The library is a part of the building that is the most important architectural monument of the Spanish Renaissance. The interior was decorated by notable Spanish and Italian artists of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Image source: Alamy

Dublin’s Trinity College Library

This library serves Trinity College and the University of Dublin. It is a legal deposit or ‘copyright library’, under which publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications without charge. With two levels of floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves packed with books, this library dates back to the early 18th century.

Image source: Adobe Stock

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