The building of the Latvian National Library

On August 29, 1919, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia decided to establish the Latvian State Library. The first director of the library was Jānis Misins. In September 1919, the Latvian State Library received a building at 26 Jauniela Street at its disposal. ^{[1] In} 1920, the library received premises opposite the Riga Castle on Pils Square , 2. 2. Subsequently, the National Library replaced ten buildings. On May 5, 1931, the National Construction Commission examined the Arsenal and found it suitable for books. In 1968, the general plan of the city determined a new place and soon a project created at the Latgiprogorstroy Institute appeared by architects Modris Gelzis , Viktors Valgums and Normund Pavars . " Soviet Youth " on April 17, 1976 passed the following words of Valgums:

We strove for this building to be a continuation of the modern ensemble of the left-bank part of the city, which is already outlined by the Press House, the administrative building of the Zapryba administration, and the Daugava hotel. The composition clearly identified functional groups, consisting of a sixteen-story book depository for 6 million volumes and a five-story building reading rooms for 1,500 readers. Nearby are the dining room and conference room. The building of reading rooms gives a particular architectural expressiveness to the library complex. Its facade facing the river resembles five large steps. Through a continuous glass wall and through a ceiling into which large windows-lanterns are mounted, streams of light pour into the halls. The premises of the help desk, catalogs are located in the depths of the floors. Four elevators, pneumatic mail, horizontal conveyors will minimize the time for issuing the ordered literature.

The project was never implemented.

In 1988, a competition was again announced, but not a single project was approved. After the meeting, the National Library Building Approval Commission decided to propose the design to the American architect of Latvian origin Gunar Birkerts . Birkerts agreed to work without a fee and developed a project that was immediately approved. From the Latvian side, Modris Gelzis has already taken up the project. In June 1 991, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Lithuania adopted Decision No. 175 “On the Construction of the Latvian National Library”, the next decision was made in June 2000 . On April 28, 2006, the preparatory phase for construction began. The design of the new building was named "Castle of Light" ( "Gaismas Pils" ). The building of the Latvian National Library, designed by architect Gunars Birkets, will be located on the banks of the Daugava River, opposite Old Riga . By its design, as conceived by the architects, the building evokes associations with the waves of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga , as well as sand dunes of coastal zones. The facade , with its sharp extremities, visually resembles the spiers of old churches in the Old City. Birkert's project was praised by UNESCO . ^{[2] [3]} In an interview with the Diena newspaper, architect Gunars Birkerts stated: ^[4]

“My thoughts are moving in one direction - the significance of the building and its impact on the Latvian people. It is already fulfilling its task. A sense of security, the creation of a certain self-confidence. The issue of identity. All this converges together, since the image of the library for a passerby is very convincing and impressive. I saw that the library in its own way really proved the strength of our people, which must again be found and continued. ”

The construction of the National Library began in June 2008 . The construction budget amounted to 114.6 million lats (together with value added tax - 135.2 million lats) ^[5] . Its largest positions were the roof and roof (13.9 million lats), filling elements of openings and facades of a special design (20.1 million lats). The opening of the “Castle of the Light” was planned on November 18, 2012 , but in 2010, part of the work was suspended, and the budget for construction was cut. In 2012, the organization conducting construction supervision expressed significant doubts about the financial stability of the general contractor; one of the enterprises included in the association-contractor protested ^[6] .

The Minister of Culture of Latvia, Helena Demakova, played an important role in lobbying the LNL project. In an interview, she explained that the project will also help integration: “The whole problem is that our society lives in two parallel information fields, and the library will be one for all. This will make it possible to unite society, although many do not want it ... Thousands of volumes of Russian literature, unique collections, Chekhov's archive are available in the library. There are both Orthodox and Old Believer funds. These are riches that for some reason are not customary to talk about ” ^[7] .

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  General view of the building

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  Design Element - Library Name

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  Interior - Main Hall

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  Concert Hall named after Imant Ziedonis

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  Commemorative coin with the image of the building

• Project "Castle of the Light"
• Baltic info

• Support Society of the Latvian National Library