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). In 2005, it was merged with the Danish National Library for Science and Medicine, now the Faculty Library of Natural and Health Sciences. The official name of the organisation 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. Of course special rules apply for use of rare and valuable items.

The old building of the Slotsholmen site was built in 1906 by Hans Jørgen Holm. The central hall is a copy of Charlemagne's Palace chapel in the Aachen Cathedral.
In 1999, a new building adjacent to the old one was opened at Slotsholmen, known as the Black Diamond. The Black Diamond building was designed by Danish architects schmidt hammer lassen. Named for its outside cover of black marble and glass, the Black Diamond building houses a concert hall in addition to the library. 

This new building was opened 1999. It is formed by two black cubes that are slightly tilted over the street. In the middle of them, there is an eight storey atrium whose walls are white and wave-shaped, with a couple of transversal corridors that link both sides, and balconies on every floor. The atrium's exterior wall is made of glass; so, you can see the sea; and, on the opposite shore, you can see Christianshavn's luxury buildings.

Three bridges connect the Black Diamond with the old part of the Royal Library; those three bridges (two small ones for internal transport and a big one with the circulation desk) go over the road. In the ceiling of the big bridge, there is a huge painting by Danish painter Per Kirkeby.

On a curious note, between 1968 and 1978, the library saw one of the largest book thefts in history. Someone had managed to steal some 1,600 historical books worth more than $50 million, including prints by Martin Luther and first editions by Immanuel Kant, Thomas More and John Milton. The theft remained undetected until 1975. Between 1998 and 2002, the thief succeeded in selling books worth some $2 million at various auctions.The case was finally solved in September 2003, after a stolen book had surfaced at Christie's auction house in London. The thief, a head of department of the library's oriental department named Frede Møller-Kristensen, had died in February 2003. His family then became careless in selling the remaining books. At a coordinated raid of the family's homes in Germany and Denmark in November 2003, some 1,500 books were recovered. In June 2004, his wife, son, daughter-in-law and a family friend were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 18 months to three years; the friend was acquitted on appeal. In April 2005, a daughter of the thief was also found guilty.

The main reading room of the Library is a great example of classic Library interior design, and is worth a visit. Though do remember that this is a working library and don't disturb the readers inside. I ended up just peeking through the glass doors that give access and also some interesting framing for my pictures.
For this time I will leave you with an image of the fountain in the middle of the garden that leads to the original building of the Library. This was taken on our last day there, and it had just stopped raining when I shot this using the fisheye lens and a tripod so I could make the water smooth as silk and capture the reflections. This update is coming way too late, but I hope to make it up to all of you by publishing the last posts in this series during the next seven days.
Until next time,
Keep wandering this rock of ours....
APN