![]() There are also special United Nations and European Union collections. The library's collection includes documents on the topics of law, politics, history, literature and many other areas. The book shelves, window frames and some of the furniture are original from the early 1900s as well. Some of the decorations and motifs in the library match those in the rest of the building, for example the carved roses decorating the ceiling of the library can also be found in the Vadászterem ('Hunter Hall') of the Parliament. The library moved in in 1902, and just like the rest of the Hungarian Parliament it was designed by Hungarian architect Imre Steindl. It's a public library open to those wishing to study or read from its massive collection, just don’t expect to bump into any politicians as they mostly use another library. As you can see on the images there are ornate decorations, ceiling-high shelves of books (the highest of which are accessed via the gallery) and furniture which complements the space perfectly. The library is located on the Danube-side of the Parliament, and from within there's a view right onto the river. What a stunner! This is certainly one of the most astoundingly beautiful libraries in Hungary. The two special collections libraries have restricted access, details here. It looks onto an inner courtyard with a giant tree.Īddress: Budapest 1051, Arany János Street 1.Īccess: The main library is open to the public, find details here on using the library's facilities. Finally, up the grand staircase of the Academy is another special collections library, this time for the Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books. Its reading room dates back to the 1950s and was designed with Islamic motifs in mind. The second library of note here is in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences building (accessed via Széchenyi Square) where you can see the Oriental Collection's library. Among its huge collection, we were able to flip through an original newspaper from 1867 - the Budapest Napló (“Budapest Journal”). The building, which now houses the library, had actually been a block of residential apartments (designed by ) but it was significantly renovated to house the core collection of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences’ library. The library's design is of a classic style, and the view from some of its windows over the Danube are simply beautiful. While the Academy’s main library was established in the 1820s, the library moved into the building on Arany János Street in the 1980s to have more space. There are three reading rooms to note within the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. They also offer guided tours for a small fee if it's arranged in advance. We should note that this library is part of a network of libraries running under the acronym 'FSZEK' and many others of these libraries are sure to be beautiful!Īddress: Budapest 1088, Szabó Ervin Square 1.Īccess: It's possible to visit the library by purchasing a visitor's ticket or by registering for membership. It is named after Szabó Ervin, who helped develop the public library system in Budapest. We have to say that these are likely to be some of the world’s most beautiful reading rooms, and if you're looking for something to read, there are more than one million documents in this library's vast collection. The reading rooms are of different styles (see images), for example, the dark brown room with spiral staircase had been a smoker's room when it was still a Palace, while the gold room was originally for the lady of the house (can you spot about six little gold birds on the ceiling?), the silver room was for the man of the house, while there's also a long ballroom and a special wood-carved room - all of which can be accessed by the public as part of the library. Although the building suffered damage, huge renovations to the Metropolitan Szabó Ervin Library have restored it beautifully. In 1927 the Budapest City Council purchased the Palace, which is a very fine example of Hungarian Neo-Baroque architecture, and in 1931 the library moved in. We started our tour to the right of the main public entrance where we saw a fantastic caryatid by sculptor János Fadrusz these sculpted miners looks like they’re holding the entire building on their shoulders. This library is housed in what was once the Wenckheim Palace, which was built in the late 1880s to the designs of Artúr Meinig. This library is phenomenal and many don’t know that some of Budapest’s most beautiful reading rooms are open to the public here. ![]()
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