Monday, June 9, 2008

Book Ends

It’s not every day you are surrounded by Homer and Aristotle, the great Greek storyteller and philosopher. But when you are standing in front of the Bavarian State Library on Ludwigstrasse, you should expect the royal treatment. The entire street was built in early Italian Renaissance style and commissioned by Kind Ludwig I. The first thing you will notice is the uniformity of all buildings along this stretch of the street. The next you will notice is the four huge statues at the entry of the library (the others are historian Thukydides and the medical scientist Hippokrates). Then you may discover that the library is one of the largest in the German-speaking world with 9 million books, and celebrating its 450th anniversary. Finally, you will discover that despite the fact that most people in Munich are quite friendlz, not all of them are - as these two prove in immediately turning away from the photo. Oh well, say cheese to an amazing history, architecture, and collection of books.

2 comments:

Kris McCracken said...

This looks like a great place to visit.

Eve in Munich said...

Hi, well it worked. You are now listed on my blog under: "other Munich sites". I really enjoy your blogs. They are so packed full of detailed and accurate information.
I know a joke about the library statues
A little boy asks his dad while they are driving past the library "who are those 4 guys?" Dad pondered and said: "those are the four "3 wise men"! ;-)
Greetings, Eve