The National Library of Romania ( ro, Biblioteca Națională a României) is the
national library of
Romania. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in
Romania. The construction cost was €110 million.
History
The roots of the library can be found in
Saint Sava College Saint Sava College was one of the earliest academic institutions in Wallachia, Romania. It was the predecessor to both Saint Sava National College and the University of Bucharest.
History
It was the continuator of the Princely Academy from Buchare ...
library. Saint Sava College library was opened in 1859 when 1000 French volumes were archived. After the
1859 Union, the library was officially made the national library (Biblioteca Națională, later Biblioteca Centrală - National and Central library, respectively). In 1864 the library was renamed Central Library of the State (Biblioteca Centrală a Statului).
In 1901 all the collections were ceded to the
Romanian Academy Library. As a result, from 1901 to 1955, the Romanian Academy Library was the national library. In 1955, the State Central library was organised, having the attributes of a national library. In 1989, after the collapse of the communist regime, the State Central Library was once again renamed to Biblioteca Națională a României.
New building
In 1986, a new, larger location began to be built for the library, between
Piața Unirii
Piața Unirii (; ''Unification Square'' or ''Union Square'' in English) is one of the largest squares in central Bucharest, Romania, located in the center of the city where Sectors 1, 2, 3, and 4 meet. Part of the Civic Centre, it is bisected by U ...
and Nerva Traian. The initial lead architect was
Cezar Lăzărescu
Cezar Lăzărescu (October 3, 1923 – November 27, 1986) was a Romanian architect and urban planner. Starting in the years after his graduation in 1952 and until after the 1977 Vrancea earthquake, he conceived a significant number of buildings ...
, who died in 1986 before the building was finished. Shortly after 1989, although some parts of the building were finished or in an advanced state, due to lack of funding, the construction had stalled for several years. In 2009 the project was reassigned to the
Ministry of Culture, which completed the construction in 2011 and set the official opening date to take place in 2012.
Mission
The National Library is a cultural institution under the supervision of the
Ministry of Culture. Its goal is to administer the national patrimony of publications, by purchasing and preserving documents and making them available to the public for research or personal study.
Collections
It has several special collections, including:
* Bibliofilie (Rare books);
* Manuscrise (Manuscripts);
** Including the
Codex Aureus of Lorsch kept at Batthyani Library in Alba Iulia;
* Arhiva Istorică (Historical Archive);
* Periodice românești vechi (Old Romanian newspapers);
* Stampe (Prints);
* Fotografii (Photographs);
* Cartografie (Maps);
* Audio-Vizua (Audio-visual).
Statistics
* 13,000,000 items;
* 162
incunabula
In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
;
* 20,054 Romanian and foreign old books;
* 10,964 Romanian and foreign rare books;
* 29,350 audiovisual documents;
* 36,759 old and modern manuscripts;
* 47,745 serials;
* Over 800 prints;
* 70,000 original photographs.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Romania
Libraries in Romania
Buildings and structures in Bucharest
Unfinished buildings and structures in Romania
Libraries established in 1859
Library buildings completed in 2011