Archdiocesan Library Eger in Lyceum, Catholic library in Lyceum, Eger, Hungary

The Archdiocesan Library Eger in the Lyceum building holds more than 200,000 volumes, including manuscripts, religious works, and academic texts spanning several centuries. The collection is organized across multiple reading rooms and serves both researchers and students interested in religious and scholarly subjects.

The library was established on December 28, 1793, and became a central resource for Catholic education in the region. It emerged from efforts by the Archdiocese of Eger to strengthen theological and scholarly teaching in the area.

The ceiling fresco shows the Council of Trent, with Alfonso Salmerón preaching above the entrance door; Bishop Károly Eszterházy had it painted by Johann Lucas Kracker and his son-in-law József Zach in 1778. The 24 gilded relief portraits on the bookcases are by the Eger sculptor Vencel Halblechner, among them Werbőczy, Pázmány, Copernicus and Columbus.

To access special collections, you need to register at the entrance, and staff members are available to help guide you through the materials. The librarians can answer questions about what is available and where to find what you are looking for.

The shelving was designed by Jakab Fellner and built between 1778 and 1780 by the Eger joiner Tamás Lotter from upper-Hungarian oak, kept in its original colour. No metal was used to fix its structural elements. Two hidden stone spiral staircases of 40 steps each, in the northern corners, lead up to the gallery.