Municipal Library Hanover, Public library in Südstadt-Bult, Germany.
The Municipal Library of Hanover is a ten-story building from the 1930s featuring distinctive red brick facades and vertical pilaster strips that reflect its internal steel framework. Inside you find reading rooms, computer workstations, and a large book storage area in the lower levels.
Architect Karl Elkart designed this building between 1929 and 1931 as one of Europe's first high-rise libraries with a five-story underground book storage system. The construction was groundbreaking because it proved that large book collections could be organized vertically in a tall structure.
The library serves as a gathering place for the neighborhood where readers from all ages find materials and spaces suited to their interests. The building's design shows how a public institution can bring diverse groups together in a shared space.
The library is centrally located in the Südstadt-Bult neighborhood and easy to reach by public transportation. It helps to check the website beforehand for current opening hours and services available on the day you plan to visit.
The facade is made of hard-fired clinker bricks in brown, red, and violet tones, showing how material can be varied to create visual depth. This is an excellent example of the Northern German Brick Expressionism movement, where brickwork was designed to be both functional and visually expressive.
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