Copenhagen, Det Kongelige Bibliotek
Owner Id00015179
TypeCorporate body
Biographical dates - Period of existence1648 -
Variant NamesCopenhagen, The Royal Library, National Library of Denmark and Copenhagen, University Library
Copenhagen, Nationalbiblioteket, Københavns Universitetsbibliotek
Activity
Start (year)1648
NoteThe Royal Library (Danish: Det Kongelige Bibliotek) in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is the largest library in the Nordic countries.
It contains numerous historical treasures, and a copy of all works printed in Denmark since the 17th century are deposited there. Thanks to extensive donations in the past, the library holds nearly all known Danish printed works back to and including the first Danish book, printed in 1482.
The library was founded in 1648 by King Frederik III, who contributed a comprehensive collection of European works. It was opened to the public in 1793. In 1989, it was merged with the prestigious Copenhagen University Library (founded in 1482) (UB1). In 2005, it was merged with the Danish National Library for Science and Medicine (UB2), now the Faculty Library of Natural and Health Sciences. The official name of the organization as of 1 January 2006 is The Royal Library, the National Library of Denmark and the Copenhagen University Library. In 2008, the Danish Folklore Archive was merged with the Royal Library. it is open to anyone above the age of 18 with a genuine need to use the collections. Special rules apply for use of rare and valuable items.
The first librarian was Marcus Meibom, followed 1663-1671 by Peder Griffenfeld. Later librarians included J. H. Schlegel, Jon Erichsen, Daniel Gotthilf Moldenhawer (1787-1823 notorious for stealing numerous books to enrich the library collections) and Chr. Bruun.
An extremely important historical catalogue of the Royal Library is the 'Catalogi Bibliothecæ Thottianæ tomi primi pars I [- tomus septimus]' (København: 1789-1795). Count Otto Thott (1703-1785) was by far the single greatest private book collector in the history of Denmark and of inestimable importance for The Royal Library, since he bequeathed his collection of manuscripts and books printed before 1531 to the Royal Library.
Through a London book dealer, Thomas Osborne, Thott bought approx. 500 volumes of early printed books from the library of Robert Harley, first earl of Oxford and Mortimer (1661–1724), and his son Edward Harley, second earl of Oxford and Mortimer (1689–1741).
MARC Area Codee-dk
PlaceCopenhagen (Geonames Id: 2618425)
Profession / Type of InstitutionLibrary
CharacterisationRoyalty
Last Edit2016-07-02 16:44:13