State Library Aarhus

The former home of the Danish State Library in Aarhus is a brick building which has been elaborately decorated in many different styles. It stands at a central, prestigious location in the centre of Aarhus.  Symbols of wisdom and knowledge feature at several points in the building, for example, in the relief of a woman watering the tree of knowledge above the main entrance and the owls on the roof gable.  

The cornices, ornaments and decorative elements are made from Oberkirchener Sandstein®. Following the relocation of the State Library to a newer, larger quarters, the national archive for industry moved into the former library building in 1962.  The detailed ornamentation in the reading room, created by Karl Heinsen-Reistrup, is particularly impressive.