Bibliothèque nationale de France

Coordinates: 48°50′01″N 2°22′33″E / 48.83361°N 2.37583°E / 48.83361; 2.37583
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The oval reading room at the Bibliothèque nationale de France

The Bibliothèque nationale de France is the National Library of France in Paris.

History[change | change source]

The National Library of France was founded at the Louvre by Charles V in 1368. It grew under Louis XIV and opened to the public in 1692.

Following a series of regime changes in France, it became the Imperial National Library and in 1868 it moved to new buildings on the Rue de Richelieu. In 1896, the library was the largest collection of books in the world.[1]

In 1988, President François Mitterrand agreed to build a new modern library. It now contains more than twenty million volumes.

Manuscripts[change | change source]

The library has 5,000 Greek manuscripts and the Jikji (the oldest printed document with movable type).[2]

References[change | change source]

  1. Dunton, Larkin (1896). The World and Its People. Silver, Burdett. p. 38.
  2. unesco.org

48°50′01″N 2°22′33″E / 48.83361°N 2.37583°E / 48.83361; 2.37583