The Stuttgart City Library, or also the City Library on the Mailänder Platz, is it really worth visiting?
Where is it located?
The Stuttgart City Library is located in the city of Stuttgart, which is one of the biggest in Germany, with the location in the south of the country.
The library is less than one kilometer away from the central station, so it is really easy to reach it by foot.
Besides sunday, it is open from 9am to 9pm, so you have plenty of time during the day to visit it.
What is so special about this library?
It is a quite new library, since the end of 2011 it is open to the public. It is one of the most modern in all of Europe and it is possible to find 500.000 books, movies and so on.
The design is from the outside just a big cube and when you are walking inside, you see a big square filled with exactly nothing. Around those three floors, you are able to find books already, but it seems like nothing special. This empty space should represent the heart of the library.
When going to the fourth floor, you see the reason for coming to visit this library. An open space, which you can tell while looking at the picture, that it looks special.
My experience
Actually from seeing pictures on Instagram and never being in Stuttgart, it was an idea while visiting family in the south of Germany.
Stuttgart was on the way. Many people are saying how amazing the city is, so why not?
When seeing the library from the outside and the first three floors, I thought that it was the wrong place. It was not what I expected to see. There was also no sign, with “go upstairs to find what you are looking for”. I was checking the internet again and it seemed like it was the right place.
Still the hour walk, from the place I was staying, should not be for nothing. I walked upstairs and then saw it.
It looked just amazing and really cool. Also important to know, when going upstairs, you are also able to go on the accessible rooftop, with a view over the city and neighborhood.
Besides the different topics, where you can find probably everything you are searching for, it is also possible to study there. Behind the great looking part, are the books located. In almost every section, there was a possibility to study and have some peace.
Not many tourists went, on the day I was there, most likely locals, who studied, or just searched for a book or movie to rent.
Summary
It is a free entrance, very central and you are able to see a unique library. When you are in Stuttgart, for a small amount of your trip, you should check out the library. It is also nice to just sit down and read a book, while you enjoy the peaceful environment.
I didn’t go to all libraries, but when talking about unique ones, I doubt that there is a library in Germany, which is more unique than that one.
In Germany, you are able to find many libraries and also many, which are beautiful, but usually they are most likely in an old style.
But the Stuttgart City Library is just unique in a modern type of style, which makes it interesting for younger people to visit a library, in my opinion really important.
I would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
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Germany Stories: Stuttgart City Library – most unique in Germany?
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