Holy Library Lookbook

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Let’s celebrate this Holy day with a Holy Lookbook.
Here are some beautiful and inspirational libraries from
Holy locations all over the world.

Admont Abbey (Austria)

Familiar? I think Disney may have been inspired… 😉

Abbey library of Saint Gall (Switzerland)

A stunning and warm library. During a fire in 937, the Abbey was destroyed, but the library remained intact.

Waldsassen Abbey (Bavaria, Germany)

The intricate engraving work engulfing this library takes my breath away.

Westminster Abbey Library (United Kingdom)

The Library and Muniment Room houses the extensive and historic collections of books, manuscripts and archival material

Vorau Abbey Library (Austria)

There is something just absolutely magical about this library.

The Vatican Library (Rome)

Formally established in 1475, (although much older) it is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. It currently has 75,000 codices from throughout history, as well as 1.1 million printed books, which include some 8,500 incunabula.

Melk Abbey Library (Austria)

Melk Abbey Library, Austria

The Melk Library was orginially a palace. The library has two floors and around 80,000 volumes of priceless works.

Wiblingen Abbey Library (Germany)

Is this the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow..? I adore the beautiful vibrant colors of this library.

El Escorial Abbey Library (Spain)

The library was a Renaissance statement of power, majesty, prowess, and intellectual world leadership designed for both the preservation of the old (binding multiple cultural histories into a single Catholic Spanish culture) and discovery of the new.

Göttweig Abbey (Austria)

Göttweig Abbey library, Austria

The wood work on this library and contrasting simplicity is gorgeous.

Einsiedeln Abbey Library (Switzerland)

The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, the title being derived from the circumstances of its foundation, for the first inhabitant of the region was Saint Meinrad, a hermit. I could very easily become a hermit myself with this as my haven!

I hope you enjoyed these beauties, have you ever visited an abbey library?

44 thoughts on “Holy Library Lookbook”

  6. That’s a gorgeous idea, beautifully implemented. I once interned for a few months at the University of Salamanca’s Publishing House (Spain). The University has a beautiful, austere, general library. You might find the following of interest (in castellano):

    https://bibliotecas.usal.es/en/biblioteca/general-historica

    A couple of clickable photographs here:

    https://bibliotecas.usal.es/en/node/1086/galeria

    As in many countries, in Spain religion and learning were inextricably combined.

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  12. These libraries are amazing. I have been to the one in Melk Abbey and it blew me away. I imagine this is what heaven would look like. (It makes an appearance in my next book, Amanda on the Danube – The Sounds of Music.)

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  14. What a beautiful collection. I’m very temepted to design a trip for myself going from one of these beauties to another. I might never be heard of again though.

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  21. Instantly recognised Admont Library. As I have been born in the area, I once also took pictures of this impressive storage location for books. All those leather bound treasures, most of them handwritten and with lots of painted precios pictures or ornamental first paragraph letters.
    Great post.

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