Treasures in the Royal Library presents a small selection of the many unique and diverse items that during the years have become part of the collections of the library. The selected works range from the Middle Ages to the present and come from all over the world.
      The overall aim has been to give an impression of the variety of the collections – a variety that has characterized the library since it was founded by King Frederik III about 1650. Frederik III strove to establish a distinguished collection of books and manuscripts of many kinds – beautiful, prestigious, rare, and exotic items – in keeping with the contemporary ideal of the princely universal library.
      The exhibition is divided into themes in order to make it easier to survey and to present each work as part of a greater whole. One such theme is the meeting of the Europeans with new continents from the end of the 15th century onwards, another is Oriental and Far Eastern book craft as illustrated by items collected primarily on scientific expeditions in the 19th and 20th centuries. The variety also comes across in a number of Bibles in several different languages, some from far away.
      However, the pivot is European. On display are mediaeval manuscripts – many of them lavishly illustrated – and elegant examples of early printing from about 1500.
      The Danish material – manuscripts, music, printed books – naturally occupies a special position. Sheets of music written by Carl Nielsen himself, a diary by H.C. Andersen, and Johannes V. Jensen’s manuscript of Kongens Fald (The Fall of the King) are among the national treasures on display. Other books and prints bear witness to Danish colonial activities in Tranquebar, the West Indies, and Greenland.
      The Royal Library holds works from all over the world, works that have been collected during the past 350 years. This variety reflects the close contacts between Denmark and Europe and the rest of the world since the Middle Ages – cultural, political, military, and colonial contacts. The exhibition of treasures in the Royal Library has much to tell about Danish culture and its connections to the surrounding world.

This web exhibition is the digital counterpart to the exhibition Treasures in the Royal Library that can be seen in the Black Diamond from 18 September 2003 to 30 December 2004.