The Gennadius Library ( el, Γεννάδειος Βιβλιοθήκη), also known as the Gennadeion, is one of the most important libraries in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, with over 110,000 volumes on Greek history, literature and art from Antiquity until modern times. The library is located at Souidias Street 61, on the slopes of

Mount Lycabettus Mount Lycabettus (), also known as Lycabettos, Lykabettos or Lykavittos ( el, Λυκαβηττός, ), is a Cretaceous limestone hill in the Greek capital Athens. At 277 meters (908 feet) above sea level, its summit is the highest point in Cen ...

, in central

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. The library is one of the two belonging to the

American School of Classical Studies at Athens , native_name_lang = Greek , image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos , latin_name = , other_name = , former_name = , mo ...

(along with the Blegen Library).

History

Its main founder was the Greek diplomat and bibliophile

Joannes Gennadius Joannes, Ioannes or John Gennadius (Ιωάννης Γεννάδιος, 1844–1932) was a Greek diplomat, writer, and speaker, best known for his donation of his collection of Greek books and art to the Gennadius Library. Early and personal li ...

(1844–1932), who initially donated part of his collection to the newly founded

National Library of Greece The National Library of Greece ( el, Εθνική Βιβλιοθήκη της Ελλάδος, Ethnikí Vivliothíki tis Elládos) is the main public library of Greece, located in Athens. Founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias in 1832, its mission is to ...

. Returning to Athens a few years later he was distraught to discover they had no reference to his donated items, and so he resolved to find a better home for his collection. While attending the

Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...

, American scholars showed interest in founding a dedicated facility in Greece. A dedicated neoclassical building was built, with financial support from the

Carnegie Corporation The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

, to house the 26,000 volumes donated by Gennadius. The building was designed by the New York firm of Van Pelt and Thompson, in the style of a classical temple with gardens. The library opened on 23 April 1926 and was named in honour of Gennadius' father, George Gennadius (1786–1854). Since 1999 the library has been expanded and modernised with air conditioning, a new auditorium, and an east wing. These were inaugurated in 2005 with new offices and storage areas for the Gennadeion Archives and the rest of the collection. These works were largely funded through fund raising in America, with

Lloyd Cotsen Neutrogena Corporation, trading as Neutrogena, is an American company that markets skin care, hair care and cosmetics owned by parent company Johnson & Johnson and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

as a leading benefactor. Some of the original Gennadius collection has been digitized and placed on-line, including his scrapbooks and ephemera.

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1926 1926 establishments in Greece Libraries in Athens Libraries established in 1926 Neoclassical architecture in Greece