A library is a sacred space indeed.
It’s a sanctuary where you lower your voice and let your mind soar. Whether modest or sublime, a library is the ideal haven from the busyness of everyday life. A shrine where you can be transported to a destination of choice by none other than a magical collection of words – on a medium that was once a living tree – and the fertility of your imagination. O noble sacrifice, o noble ritual!
To celebrate National Library Week in South Africa, I’ve compiled a collage of several of the world’s most hallowed libraries. Libraries where the architectural magnificence inspires mute reverence, allowing the tightly-shelved tomes to whisper wisdom from forgotten eras.
My favourite grand library is the Bibliothèque Nationale de France which I was fortunate enough to visit while doing research. This library is home to one of the largest collections of manuscripts in the world. (Incidentally, in French, a ‘librairie’ is a bookstore.) Enjoy the visual feast.
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
The Grand Mafra Palace, Portugal
Strahov Abbey Library, Prague
The Bodleian Library, Oxford
