Renate Pfeiffer

Kungliga Biblioteket – The Royal Library

This month we will visit the Royal Library, beautifully located in Humlegarden in the centre of Stockholm. It is Sweden’s National Library and as such, it collects and archives in enormous underground repositories all printed material published in Sweden – not only books and magazines but also catalogues (Ikea!), postcards, instructions, etc. It also holds an extensive collection of research literature in all major languages.

The manuscript collection includes the Codex Gigas, also known as the “Devil’s Bible”, written and illustrated in Prague in the 13th century. Many of the oldest books were brought to Sweden as war booty during the 30‐yearswar. Another important acquisition was a large collection of Strindberg manuscripts received from the Nordic Museum in 1922. August Strindberg served at the Royal Library as a junior civil servant from 1874 to 1882.

Among the notable international people who studied at the Kungliga Biblioteket is the Russian revolutionary leader Lenin. He lived in Stockholm for several short periods during his exile. Our guide, Catharina Melldahl, will talk about the history and the objects of the Royal Library. We will visit the main rooms and the current exhibition on
the Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf (1858 – 1940). She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909.

Date: Thursday 17th APril
Time: 10.00 (please, be punctual)
Place: Kungliga Biblioteket, Humlegarden, close to Stureplan (The nearest Tunnelbana Station: Östermalmstorg ‐ Red Line‐ Busses galore)
T-Bana blue line, Kungsträdgarden, exit Jacobs Kyrka or Gallerian, go down Malmtorgsgatan. On the right side you see Utrikes Department Sophia Albertina Palats.
Cost: 30 SEK
Reservations: call or email Renate Pfeiffer