Malmö City Library

Named one of the twelve most beautiful libraries globally by IFLA

Malmö City Library was opened in 1905, initially under the name "Malmö Library and Lecture Association". In 1927, the city of Malmö took over responsibility for the library, which had its premises in Hotellet Tunneln.

In 1946, both the adult and children's libraries moved to the Red Castle, which was built in 1901, and was originally a museum, and design by John Smedberg and Fredrik Sundbärg.

Already in the 1960s, the library had grown out of its premises, and Malmö's management raised the issue of a new library.

In the mid-80s, a new library was planned at Triangeln. It was stopped in 1991, and instead, an architectural competition was prepared to build a further central library west of and adjacent to the then library. The Danish architect Henning Larsen's proposal won.

Construction began in March 1994 and on 31 May 1997, Prime Minister Göran Persson inaugurated the new library. Stage two was the renovation of the old library building, and even then, Henning Larsen was the responsible architect.

On 24 September, 1999, the new old City Library was completed. The library has been named one of the twelve most beautiful libraries globally by the library organization IFLA, and in Sweden, it has been awarded the prestigious Kasper Salin Prize.