The Permeke Library ( nl, Bibliotheek Permeke) is the main

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Belgium. The library is open 7 days per week and visited by about 2,200 visitors a day.

History

The library is named after Oscar Permeke, a cousin of

Constant Permeke Constant Permeke (; 31 July 1886 – 4 January 1952) was a Belgium, Belgian painter and sculptor who is considered the leading figure of Flanders, Flemish expressionism. Biography Permeke was born in Antwerp but when he was six years old the fa ...

, who used to run the

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

Permeke Motors in the building previously. In 1982, the Permeke garage went bankrupt and closed its doors. The library opened on 22 April 2005, the last day on which Antwerp held the title of

World Book Capital The World Book Capital (WBC) is an initiative of UNESCO which recognises cities for promoting books and fostering reading for a year starting on April 23rd, World Book and Copyright Day. Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital carry out act ...

. The public library located at the ''Lange Nieuwstraat'' had closed on 1 September 2004. The poem ''Binnen'' by Belgian writer and poet

Bart Moeyaert Bart Peter Boudewijn Moeyaert (born 9 June 1964) is a Belgian writer. Early life Moeyaert was born in 1964 in Bruges as the youngest of seven brothers. He is named after the character Bartje in the book series by Anne de Vries and after Baudo ...

is on display in the library.

References

External links

* {{coord, 51.22174, 4.42133, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:BE, display=title Libraries in Belgium 2005 establishments in Belgium Libraries established in 2005 Buildings and structures in Antwerp