Admont Abbey Library, Styria, Austria
One of the world’s oldest and most ornate libraries is Admont Abbey, in Austria. Completed in 1776, the gilded designs, highlighted on a background of white, makes visitors feel as if they have entered a fairy tale. The Baroque-style library features colorful frescoes by Bartolomeo Altomonte and sculptures by Joseph Stammel, including his notable “Four Last Things” with figures representing Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. The Admont Abbey invites you on a mesmerizing journey with its more than 70,000 volumes and stylized architecture.
George Peabody Library, Baltimore, USA
Known as Baltimore’s ‘Cathedral of Books’, this beautiful library at Johns Hopkins University opened in 1878, featuring “six tiers of cast-iron balconies” and a marble floor, all illuminated by an enormous skylight. It’s named after the 19th century philanthropist, George Peabody, and holds a collection of more than 300,000 volumes, some dating from the Renaissance. The magical atmosphere of this gorgeous building makes it a very popular location for weddings.
Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK
One of the oldest libraries in Europe, the cathedral-like Bodleian Library, part of the Bodleian Libraries group, has been in existence since 1488. Among the masterpieces of British gothic architecture, the Bodleian Library contains more than 13 million printed materials, including maps and rare manuscripts; the Gutenberg Bible and the First Folio of William Shakespeare’s plays, published in 1623 after his death, are among the many items in this rich collection. The Bodleian Library serves as Oxford University’s main research library.
Stuttgart City Library, Stuttgart, Germany
This striking, futuristic library was inspired by the Pantheon in Ancient Rome. The contemporary, cube-like exterior features a glass roof and a monochromatic design that sets off the colors of the shelved books. The white-hued Library, opened in Stuttgart in 2011, has nine levels connected via sleek staircases that overlook a lofty atrium. When viewed from the interior, this avantgarde building resembles a reverse pyramid.
Kanazawa Umimirai Library, Kanazawa, Japan
Another notable name in our list is the contemporary Kanazawa Umimirai Library. The boxy exterior has a decorative grid with 6000 small circular blocks of glass; these not only allow light to penetrate, but also provide seismic isolation during earthquakes, to prevent damage to the building and the books inside. Opened in Kanazawa in 2011, the three-story library contains 228,000 volumes and offers visitors the pleasure of reading at the highest levels.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt
Set on the site of the Great Library of Alexandria, the most prominent library of the ancient world, the New Alexandria Library was a project long in the making and finally built in 2002. While it bears no resemblance to the earlier Alexandria Library, the new complex – which includes museums and a conference center – features a curved facade of gray Aswan granite facing the Mediterranean Sea; the main reading room has a glass-panelled roof. We agree that the new version of the Great Library of Alexandria is equally prominent.
José Vasconcelos Library, Mexico City, Mexico
This is probably the only library in the world inspired by both Noah’s Ark and a botanical garden. Built by Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, the José Vasconcelos Library is also known as “Megabiblioteca”, due to its massive size and complex interior structure. It was named for philospher, writer and politician José Vasconcelos, renowned in Mexico for popularizing reading.
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