Bibliotheca Thysiana, Leiden

Bibliotheca Thysiana, Leiden IMG

Interior of the Bibliotheca Thysiana in Leiden, founded in 1653

The lawyer Johannes Thysius (1621–1653) left a legacy of 20,000 guilders for the construction of a public library to house his collection of books. Designed by the architect Arent van’s-Gravensande in the Dutch Classical style, the Bibliotheca Thysiana in Leiden is the only suriving 17th-century building in the Netherlands that was designed as a public library. It is now part of Leiden University Library.

above: Bibliotheca Thysiana, Leiden, colour photograph, 2006, Leiden, photographer: Pepicek; source: Wikimedia Commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leiden-bibliotheca-thysiana.jpg. Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

below: Interior of the Bibliotheca Thysiana in Leiden, colour photograph, 2006, Leiden, photographer: Paul G. Hoftijzer; Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Germany license.