Humboldt Library, Public library in Tegel, Reinickendorf district of Berlin, Germany.
The Humboldt Library is the district central library of Reinickendorf, built as a long hall on the east bank of the Tegel harbour. Its exterior is marked by a classicist-inspired entrance decoration; inside, a three-aisled hall with exposed steel and concrete framing holds two-storey book walls of painted and natural hardwood. A large west window looks onto the harbour basin, the Sechserbrücke and the Tegel lake.
The library was planned for the International Building Exhibition 1987 after a 1980 competition on the Tegeler Hafen, in which the jury awarded first prize to Charles Willard Moore's design. Construction began in 1986 and the building opened in 1989. Soft mud layers forced founding on bored piles, and Moore shortened the design by ten metres to cut costs; the district covered a 4.5 million mark gap. It is named after the brothers Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt.
The library is named after the brothers Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt; a monument to them by Detlef Kraft has stood in front of the entrance since 1997. Since 2017 the annual Reinickendorf crime night "Tatort Tegel" has been held here, with up to 300 visitors, and the "Krimifuchs" prize for crime literature is awarded in cooperation with the Association of German Writers. The long-running reading series "Lesezeichen" brings well-known authors to present new works.
The building is easy to reach and its interior is set up so that visits run smoothly with clear signs and logically organized areas. Plan enough time to explore the different levels and make full use of what is available.
The building's long hall continues the axis of the Tegel harbour, and its west side is dominated by a large window looking onto the harbour basin, the Sechserbrücke and the Tegeler See. Since 1997 a monument to the brothers Humboldt by Detlef Kraft stands in front of the entrance.
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