De Librije (Zutphen)

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Librije with historical book stands.

The Librije in Zutphen is a historical library ( chain library ) and an important cultural and historical monument of the Netherlands .

The library

The canons of Walburgiskerk in Zutphen had amassed a large collection of books at the end of the 15th century, new spaces were needed to house them. Around 1490, at the same time as the south chapel was built, it was decided to build the Librije in the church.

In the mid-16th century, the two churchwardens Conrad Slindewater and Herman Berner suggested dominated by the Counter-Reformation to build a new, large library in the ambulatory of. People should be kept in the “true faith” by “good literature”. This building, for which two Zutphen monastery libraries served as a model, was realized between 1561 and 1564. The Librije then served as a public reading room for around 30 years. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was a library for preachers and councilors. After that it was forgotten and was rediscovered at the end of the 19th century as a monument to the history of science and culture. It can best be compared with the Biblioteca Malatestiana in Cesena.

The Librije Walburgiskerk Zutphen Foundation has existed since 1984 . She is dedicated to the maintenance of books and historical library furniture.

The book inventory

Today the library comprises 741 books from the fields of theology and church history, law, ancient and humanistic literature and historiography; The core of this collection is made up of the books purchased by Slindewater and Berner. The older books (16th century) are presented on the historical lecterns , the later acquisitions are in bookcases.

The Librije owns:

  • seven manuscripts
  • 85 incunabula (printed in Venice, Basel, Strasbourg, Deventer, Cologne, Lyon, Mainz and Nuremberg)
  • 501 prints from the 16th century, mainly from Cologne and Basel
  • 134 prints from the 17th century, mainly from Amsterdam and Leiden
  • 13 18th century prints

The importance of the Librije, however, is not primarily due to its collection of books, even if there are a few rare copies among them, but to the fact that a collection of books from the 16th century still exists in its original context at the historical location.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Librije bestaat sea dan 450 years! Accessed January 31, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Stichting Librije. Accessed January 31, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b De boekencollectie. Accessed January 31, 2018 .

Coordinates: 52 ° 8 ′ 22.2 "  N , 6 ° 11 ′ 46.4"  E