France

Bibliothèque municipale de Metz

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Not far from the ruins of the parish church of Saint-Livier (13th – 16th c.) and opposite the former Benedictine monastery of Saint-Clément stands the Médiathèque du Pontiffroy, built in the 1970s as part of the redevelopment of a town quarter of Metz which had long retained its rural character. Architecturally a deliberate break with its surroundings, the Médiathèque has housed the medieval manuscripts, incunabula and new media under one roof since it opened in 1977.

The better protection afforded to the collections, together with the comforts offered by the new building to the far greater numbers of visitors today, are at least some consolation for the necessary move from the majestic but, unfortunately, far too small historical building in the heart of the old city centre. Here the municipal library had been located in the former chapel of the barefoot Carmelites, built in the last third of the 17th century, since 1803.