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Royal Danish Library Treasures

Denmark’s ultra-modern library hides a treasury of rare, unique books.

Copenhagen, Denmark

The “Heart Book” is a collection of Danish folk songs, c. 1550s.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
An original Gutenberg Bible, 1454-1455, is on display.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
An original drawing by Herge, 1956, depicts Tintin and Captain Haddock.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
This beautifully illustrated Quran manuscript from Iran dates back to 1697.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
This is the spellbook (Cyprianus) of Cunning Soren, 1858.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The “Angers fragment” of Gesta Danorum dates back to 1200.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
A manuscript of “The Tinder-Box” by H. C. Andersen, 1835.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Read the magical spells of cunningman Søren Christensen.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
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Standing along Copenhagen’s waterfront is the Black Diamond, a Neomodernist complex completed in 1999 as part of the Royal Danish Library. It houses numerous public facilities in addition to the library, and one of its hidden gem is the Treasury.

Opened in 2009, the free exhibit is in an unassuming corner and can easily be missed, but enter the room and you’ll find an incredible collection of rare books, from a Gutenberg Bible to Audubon’s The Birds of America.

The Danish books on display are also impressive, including a 13th-century manuscript of Saxo’s Gesta Danorum, a heart-shaped book of love poems from the 1550s, a spellbook (Cyprianus) by cunningman Søren Christensen, and Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard’s personal diary. There is also an original Hergé drawing of Tintin and Captain Haddock in a visitors’ book of the hotel he had stayed when he visited in Denmark in 1956.

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The library is closed on Sundays.

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Published

January 23, 2025

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