The Most Spectacular Libraries Around the World
New York CityThe heart of the library is the Rose Main Reading Room, a cavernous volume that stretches nearly two city blocks long beneath 52-foot-high ceilings. Abundant natural light streams in through windows and ceiling murals depict the sky, making the space feel almost as inviting as sitting outside. Despite the room’s formal feel, it’s equally popular with studious readers and casual visitors in search of Wi-Fi.
The Most Spectacular Libraries Around the World
Sankt Florian, AustriaThe library’s interior is a masterwork of Baroque architecture with elaborate carved-wood bookcases and balustrades with gilded details. A ceiling fresco by Bartolomeo Altomonte, completed in 1747, presents allegorical subjects who watch over the great room from the clouds.
The Most Spectacular Libraries Around the World
PragueWith elaborate ceiling frescoes and spiraling wood columns topped by gilded capitals, there is no mistaking the aptly named Baroque Library’s grand ambitions. Containing a selection of unusual oversized globes, it offers a reminder of its former patrons’ quest for worldly knowledge.
The Most Spectacular Libraries Around the World
PragueHome of the National Library of the Czech Republic, the Clementinum is housed in a series of historic buildings, the oldest dating from the 11th century. Today the most frequently visited structures are the ones that were built in the 18th century, including the 223-foot-tall astronomical tower, which was used as an observatory until the 1930s.
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