Royal Libraries

These are libraries owned by the nobility and the government, mostly in European countries. Many are quite ornate, reflecting the historical state importance of the owners. Some are open to the public for visits.

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6301
gettyimages.com

A room in the King's private library in Windsor Castle. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images), circa 1940.

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6302
panaramio.com

The library at Fountainebleu Castle, one of the largest royal chateaux. The impressive room was originally constructed as the Gallery of Diana by Henry IV (1553-1610) for his wife, showing the myths of the Roman goddess Diana. The gallery measures 260 feet in length and is 22 feet wide. Napoleon III made a library of this room in 1858. It houses 16,000 volumes from the library of Napoleon I.

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6303
sheilaomalley.com

El Escorial Library at El Escorial in Spain. El Escorial is a historical residence of the king of Spain, northwest of Madrid, and was built by Phillip II of Spain in the 1560s. It functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school. The library, designed by Juan de Herrera, is located in a great hall 180 feet long by 30 feet wide by 32 feet tall, with marble floors and beautifully carved wood shelves. The frescoes on the vaulted ceilings were painted by Pellegrino Tibaldi, and depict the seven liberal arts: Rhetoric, Dialectic, Music, Grammar, Arithmetic, Geometry and Astronomy. The library contains more than 40,000 volumes, including Philip II's personal collection.

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6404
life.com

The opulent home library at Festetics Castle in Hungary, built in 1650 and as large as Versailles. In the library is the non-royal Hungarian Prince George Festetics, Lord of Keszthely, clad in tuxedo while going over a family album in September 1938. I really love old library photos.

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