Walk with me #4 : The private library full of ancient manuscripts
It's been a busy period so sadly I did not have time for a proper walk. However, the other weekend my husband and I received an unusual invitation which we could not refuse. To visit the private library of the Grand Seminary of Strasbourg and have a peek in the inner garden of the Cathedral! That was a very unexpected invitation, but very intriguing. I do love the antiquities and opportunity to see the collection of priceless ancient handwritten manuscripts is something that should never be turned down.
The library is private. It belongs to and is looked after by the Grand Seminary of Strasbourg. Before this visit, I had no idea about the existence of such place since normally it is not accessible to the public, but apparently, it is possible to arrange the visit.
Turns out that it is located in the building next to the Strasbourg Cathedral. The library has a huge collection of works including manuscripts from the medieval period, sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, and the modern era. The jewels of the collection are 238 "incunabula" (works written before the year 1500). The original manuscripts from the 10th-12th century - handwritten and illustrated by monks.
Hands-on 800 years old and more than 1 million Euros worth original manuscript.
Naughty naughty ...
More than 50% of the volumes are printed in Latin. The topics of course mainly covers religious matters: the Bible and commentaries, history of the Church, the life of saints, theology, liturgy, the art of preaching, catechesis and the rich section of works of devotion. The secular sciences are represented by philosophy, history, geography and finally letters (Greek, Latin, German, French).
Below the library, can be found the room for restoring paintings. Here is a couple of works waiting for their turn.
Finally, the secret little inner garden of the Seminary with the first and the oldest well in Strasbourg!
Undoubtedly that was a very enjoyable visit, that satisfied my curiosity on the brand new level. Also was a pretty good but difficult exercise for my French since we also got to hear the stories about quite a few items displayed there.
Thank you for joining me.
Much love <3
@gretum
I really enjoy old books. I wonder if there are any ancient scrolls in the collection. I'm especially fascinated with the early gospels written in Hebrew. There are only a few that are known to exist. @ironshield
I haven't seen any actual scrolls there and I believe the most works there are written in Greek, Latin, German or French. But I might be wrong.
What I would give to get invited to such a library. Great post :-)
Thank you very much for taking your time to have a look :)
The place is soooo beautiful and it's like taking you back in time. If I ever get to Europe, I will be checking out your libraries because I have seen many beautiful photos of libraries there, but this one is the best I've seen 😍
Thank you very much for such a lovely comment! :)
This looks like straight from a movie. Too bad you can't record smells.. I would love to have known what it smells like in there. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much :) actually it does have a little of this old book odor yes, but the temperature there is kept not very high so books are pretty well preserved.
Glad to see you on the Discord Channel - and Thanks for Sharing -ReSteemed
Thank you very much, really appreciate it :)
Wow these ancient manuscripts are so cool!!! A few of these pictures look like they belong in a Nancy Drew mystery game or something.
I was surprised that Strasbourg is in France because it sounds German! I'm really glad you didn't turn down the chance to visit so that you could share these photos with us.
Ancient history is fascinating. Have you ever gone to Egypt to see the ancient history/pyramids there? Do you want to? I haven't gone, but would like to
Thank you for taking your time to see my post :)
Actually I haven't been to Egypt but would love to and most probably one day will. Items with an old and long history does fascinate me as well. I am a curious human being so looking/touching them makes me wonder about days when they were made/used.
If you do not mind to answer about Strasbourg I'll quote some lines from my other post about it: "Strasbourg is the largest city in the French region called Alsace which is situated on the eastern side of France, right on the border with Germany. It is a unique piece of land with a long history of being a center of a dispute in regards to the ownership between these two countries. Due to that a very specific mix of French and German architecture, traditions, gastronomic legacy, and mentality has formed and coexist in a perfect harmony even today - Strasbourg is the perfect example of it. It is situated right on the border and due to the European Union, open borders policy to cross these two countries is not more difficult than literally cross a bridge through the river of Rhin." Source
I don't mind at all, thanks for sharing with me!
Fantastic! I love old books (even though they make me sneeze!). Beautiful photos. This is a treasure.
Thank you very much. Glad to see that people enjoy :)
That was a truly unique and incredibly EPIC #walkwithme Gretum!! I could just imagine the smell in there...I loved the artwork so much!
Thank you very much, indeed it was something really worth seeing!
That's amazing. I would love to go there one day.
If you have an opportunity - it is really worth it.
THOSE BOOKS ARE GORGEOUS! OH WOW!!! Out of the books that you saw there, which one was your favorite?
There were couple of books with engraved golden and metallic edges but it was promptly covered since explosion to light harms them so I couldn't take the picture. Pretty beautiful when you come to think of how old they are.