The largest library in Finland, incidentally one of the oldest in Europe, began to take shape as early as the 17th century, but it was located in the then capital, the city of Turku. Later, when Helsinki became the country's administrative center, the book repository moved there as well, and a large building was constructed especially for it in 1844.
The interior of the library, designed in a classical style, is a true work of art: paintings on the walls, murals, lots of wood – everything as befits a true kingdom of books. It is very beautiful and spacious here, comfortable tables and chairs have been provided for readers, and books are easy to find thanks to the well-thought-out shelving system.
The volume of material kept within these walls is impressive – more than five million books, newspapers, magazines, and microfilms! In fact, not everything is housed in the library building, there are separate storage facilities, some of them even located outside Helsinki. Printed editions and manuscripts from different centuries are of incredible value, so they are carefully cataloged and preserved. An underground storage facility of epic proportions occupies four floors with a total area of more than 10000 sq.m.
Interestingly, Helsinki is also home to a unique collection of books published in the Russian Empire in the 19th-20th centuries. Thanks to the fact that Alexander I once ordered that every printed publication from Russia be sent here, the National Library of Finland became a truly unique archive.
