The Librije

Public reading room from the 16th century

The Librije is one of the most important cultural-historical monuments in the Netherlands and beyond. As one of the oldest libraries in the Netherlands, built between 1561 and 1564 following the model of the book halls of two medieval monasteries in Zutphen, it still breathes the atmosphere of centuries past. To prevent theft, the books were chained in place, making the Librije a chain library. In fact, it is the only surviving original public chain library in the Netherlands. An important aim of the Librije was to keep people aligned with the ‘true’ faith by encouraging them to read ‘good’ books.

The Librije functioned as a public reading room for thirty years. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it became a private library for ministers and members of the town council. In the 19th century, the Librije fell into neglect. Towards the end of that century, it was rediscovered as a monument of scholarship and history. Since 1984, it has been managed by a foundation: the Librije Walburgis Church Zutphen Foundation.