Bibliothèque Mazarine

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The “Collège des Quatre-Nations”, seat of the Institut de France

The Bibliothèque Mazarine in Paris ( 6th arrondissement ) is the oldest public library in France. Taking into account the will of its founder, the French cardinal and minister of Italian descent, Jules Mazarin (1602–1661), it was opened in 1691 in the east wing of the Collège des Quatre Nations (1662–1688), which had been completed three years earlier according to plans by Louis Le Vau and made accessible to the public.

The establishment of the college was also initiated by the cardinal, who wanted to find his final resting place there. Since 1805 it has been the seat of the Institut de France , which was founded in 1795 and was previously located in the Louvre. In addition to the public “Bibliothèque Mazarine”, it also manages the “Bibliothèque de l'Institut”, the use of which is reserved for members of the five academies and recognized researchers. The Bibliothèque Mazarine is maintained with funds from the budget of the French Ministry of Education.

Duration

Book (1789) that was presented as an award to a student at the “Collège des Quatre-Nations”

The Bibliothèque Mazarine has about 400,000 works, mostly from the period from the Middle Ages to the 18th century, including numerous manuscripts and 2370 incunabula , including as a special rarity, a copy of the 42-line Gutenberg Bible belongs. Because of its location, this copy is known as the “Bible Mazarine”. Remarkable are also elaborately decorated book covers, under which reveal many personal emblems of Cardinal: Lictors bundle , the ax, three stars and a cardinal's hat.

The holdings go back to the extraordinarily rich personal collection of rare books by the bibliophile Cardinal Mazarin. Due to the necessity to go into exile during the Fronde of the Princes in 1651 and 1652, he lost his first collection, which was compiled with the help of the librarian Gabriel Naudé (1600–1653) since 1643 and which was already available to scholars and writers. With Naudé's successor, François de la Poterie , he rebuilt the library in the Palais Mazarin (today Bibliothèque nationale de France , Rue Richelieu) and decided on March 6, 1661, three days before his death, to protect it from further diversion, the future “Collège de France” to store the rare books and their artistic bindings.

When the “Collège des Quatre-Nations” was declared a “Collège de l'Unité” during the French Revolution and then alternately as a prison, seat of the “ Comité de Salut Public ” (welfare committee), “École Centrale Supérieure” and École des Beaux -Arts , the library not only remained untouched, but its holdings were complemented by works that had been confiscated from aristocratic palaces and monasteries.

Reading room

Reading room

The reading room has a capacity of 140 seats in the incomparable setting of the authentic Mazarins library, whose cabinets, like the book covers, are decorated with the cardinal's emblems. The windows offer a unique view over the Seine and the Pont des Arts , with the lofty facade of the Louvre in the background.

Librarians and directors of the Bibliothèque Mazarine

First Bibliothèque Mazarine (private collection of Cardinal Mazarin):

Bibliothèque Mazarine in the Collège des Quatre Nations:

literature

  • Isabelle de Conihout, Patrick Michel (ed.), With a foreword by Hélène Carrère d'Encausse and an introduction by Christian Péligry: Mazarin, les lettres et les arts. Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine, and Saint-Rémy-en-l'Eau, Editions Monelle Hayot, 2006, ISBN 2-903824-53-3 .
  • Paul Guth: Mazarin, France's rise to world power. Heyne Verlag , Munich, 1976, ISBN 3-453-55029-3 .

Web links

Commons : Bibliothèque Mazarine  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 48 ° 51 ′ 26 ″  N , 2 ° 20 ′ 13 ″  E