Books and breweries Bergen has long been a center of learning and literature in Norway and collections of books have been stored and moved around for centuries. But it wasn't until 1871 that a real public library was opened in a building that was once a former brewery. This building prove to be too small for the growing collection of books so a new library constructed of stone and designed in a neo-Romanesque style by architect Olaf Nordhagen was opened to the public in 1917. The library still serves today and is the second largest library in Norway. The massive stones look like they can last for centuries and improvements and renovations are constantly taking place. The library has a nice café and many different rooms containing books, reference materials and displays. LIke most old libraries the emphasis was as much on aesthetics as practicality so the amount of books in the library isn't as large as the size of the building would suggest. However the library is well organized and has new and historic books as well as periodicals in different languages and a nice selection of music. Surprisingly you have to pay to use the bathrooms in the library but since we didn't happen to have any korna in our pockets the kind librarian let the two stupid and scruffy American tourists us use them anyway. A lovely and unique library that was built in the time of great library construction that took place in much of Euorpe and the United States. Libraries like this are historic treasures and will never be seen again. read more

See all