Historic Libraries of Europe [antikvár]

Visitors from foreign countries, scholars, merchants and young gentlemen accompanied by their priváté tutors always made a point of going to see the libraries of the cities through which they travelled. Two hundred years ago one of the finest sights of a princely residence was the collection of objects of virtue, including books; "learned things, curios and other rarities of nature and of art" were a favourite attraction at this time. Bibliophiles and book collectors would ask to be shown valuable manuscripts and rare books and would be amazed by the "vast confusion and great quantity of dust". Others again would extol the beauty of the library which served a useful, but alsó a decoratíve and recreational purpose. Admiringly they would consider the rows of volumes bound in pigskin, or linger lovingly beside ornamenta curiosa, the globes and timepieces, the optical mirror or electrical machine or, in the Royal Library in Berlin, the famous Ottó von Guericke's air-pump and hemispheres. Natural history specimens such as stuffed animals, skeletons and fossils were alsó much favoured. The noble owner himself would often appear in person to show the treasures of his establishment to "strangers of rank and distinction". For example an old document in the University Library at Rostock records that in the year 1795: "Serenissimus Regnans, His Highness the Heir Apparent and 16 others, somé strangers, somé court attendants, came hither from Doberan expressly in order to examine the library, at once returning to Doberan again." Everywhere libraries were a place of pilgrimage for savants, artists and foreigners and were admired and extolled as "pleasure pavilions of the book". A wealth of curious precepts helped the traveller to prepare for these cultural tours, to conduct himself judiciously and resourcefully in foreign parts and to apply the knowledge and erudition there gained. For example, the collector and bibliophile Herr von Uffenbach practised writing with a pencil inside his pocket so as to be able to take notes unobserved or make sketches of curious machines. A Göttingen professor of history composed a "Guide to the Art of Travel for young Scholars in order that they may view Libraries, Numismatic Cabinets, Chambers of Antiquities, Picture Galleries, Cabinets of Natural History specimens and Cabinets containing Works of Art to their best Advantage", while in 1786 Friedrich Kari Gottlob Hirsching produced a guide to libraries which informed the visitor what, in each, was "worthy of note and where, on their shelves, he might best satisfy his tastes". At somé universities there were actually lectures on how and how not to use libraries and how to improve one's knowledge of books. In embarking here on a tour of libraries we shall be concerned not so much with the rare objects and curiosities contained in these famous European collections, but rather with the manner in which they are housed, the beauty and history of the buildings - classified according to the origin of individual rooms or their stylistic and historical associations -, with their appointments and their many and varied artistic mementoes. This calls less for precepts than for a brief survey of the history of libraries and their buildings, so that the traveller may know where to go, where to linger and what to look for. For more than two thousand years the great creations of the humán mind, preserved in the form of written texts, have been collected, stored and classified in libraries, there to be used by future generations. The word "library", which in its Latin form originally designated no more than a book case, has come to include, not only the building as such, but alsó the actual collection of books. Today a synonym for treasure house and armoury of spiritual richness of ideas, it is the abiding memory of the humán race, storehouse of information, insight and experience, and a disseminator of knowledge and culture. The creation and development of libraries reflect the great intellectual movements and historical events of by-gone centuries. In Europe the first libraries were förmed by the Church. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, side by side with the monastic and ecclesiastical libraries and in conjunction with the founding of universities there grew up secular collections which, throughout the Middle Ages, were the bearers and disseminators of knowledge.