The Rococo ceiling of the Theological Hall at Strahov Abbey was added 40 years after the room was initially completed; the masonry vaulting offered a degree of protection from fire – a huge problem in medieval and Renaissance libraries as coal or wood fires were used for heating. (Picture: Will Pryce)
View some unique libraries at their best. See more images at The most spectacular libraries in the world.
In the remote Buddhist monastery of Haeinsa is preserved the Tripitaka Koreana, the most complete corpus of Buddhist doctrinal texts in the world, dating from 1251. (Picture: Will Pryce)
Camouflaged into its surroundings, the library at Liyuan, two hours north of Beijing, has a facade of flexed twigs wedged between rusty steel rails. Inside, bookshelves are used as floor, stairs, seats and tables. (Picture: Will Pryce)
Portugal’s João the Magnanimous astonished the rector of the University of Coimbra by telling him that his request for help towards library facilities was too modest; the lavish result was financed with gold reserves that had been recently discovered in Brazil. (Picture: Will Pryce)