Chester Beatty Library, Art museum and library at Dublin Castle, Ireland
Chester Beatty Library is an art museum in Dublin Castle housing manuscripts, prints and rare books displayed across two main galleries. The collection holds items from Asia, the Middle East and Europe arranged in thematic rooms according to religious and artistic themes.
The Chester Beatty was established in 1953 at 20 Shrewsbury Road, Dublin 4, to house the collections of mining magnate Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The present museum opened in the grounds of Dublin Castle on 7 February 2000, the 125th anniversary of Beatty's birth, and was named European Museum of the Year in 2002.
The building bears the name of an American collector and now presents artworks from Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu and Christian traditions. Visitors can trace how different faiths expressed themselves through writing and visual art.
The museum sits near Dublin Castle and opens on weekdays from 10 to 17, on Saturdays from 11 to 17, and on Sundays from 13 to 17. Admission is free, and the rooms are accessible via elevators and ramps.
The collection preserves a rare copy of the first illustrated biography of the Prophet Muhammad and an ancient manuscript of the Gospel of Mani from the third century. Both pieces are among the few surviving examples of their kind worldwide.
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