An elaborate two-story rococo hall inside an 11th-century abbey is so ornate that it is considered one of the world’s most beautiful libraries.
Wiblingen Abbey is a grand monastery located south of the city of Ulm in the south German state of Baden-Württemberg. It was founded in 1093 for the Benedictine monks. It became widely renowned for its discipline, in particular its “scriptorium,” a room where the monks produced highly detailed, illustrated works of literature.
The plan for a two-story library in the northern wing of the abbey emerged in 1740 under Abbot Meinrad Hamberger. According to the author Jacques Bosser in his book, “The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World,” the abbot wanted a space that would “awaken a new desire and a new love for spiritual and learned exercises among the monks.”…