This year is the National Library’s 225th anniversary. To celebrate this, from March 28th onwards, we are counting down the 225 days until 8 November; the date on which the National Library was founded in 1798. We have planned various ways to mark the anniversary during these 225 days.
Museum wall, book journey and unusual objects
The celebration started with the unveiling of a museum wall in the central hall of the National Library on the first floor. You can read more about important milestones in the history of the National Library and discover all kinds of interesting facts. And the wall obviously features numerous beautiful pictures.
Online, we’ll be publishing a video series titled ‘The journey of a mediaeval manuscript’. It shows exactly what steps are taken when a mediaeval manuscript arrives in the National Library, before it becomes available to the public and researchers.
Later this year, you can attend lectures and read about some of the more unusual pieces in our collection. The invisible book, for example. So keep an eye on our special anniversary page and social media for all the latest information.
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Museum wall in the National Library, including a picture taken from a mediaeval manuscript.
Reissue of Flora Batava
In June, the National Library and Lannoo publishers will be publishing a special reissue of the Flora Batava, an overview of all the plants, fungi, mosses, weeds and flowers that grew in the Netherlands between 1800 and 1934. Together with the Huis van het Boek (House of Books), the National Library will also organise a Flora Batava exhibition. You can visit the exhibition in the Huis van het Boek from 22 April until 3 September.
Anniversary year
Lily Knibbeler, Director General, hopes that this anniversary year will make Dutch people feel proud of their National Library. "The KB is the National Library of the Netherlands. Together with our partners, we bring research, reading, discovery and lifelong learning within reach of everyone in the Netherlands. We have been doing this in various ways for the past 225 years, including by collecting as many newspapers, books and magazines published in or about the Netherlands as possible. This is worth celebrating. I hope that our activities in the months to come will show more Dutch people exactly what the National Library has to offer."
