Bibliothèque Mazarine

The Bibliotheque Mazarine stands as the oldest public library in France. Its origins trace back to the seventeenth century when Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the chief minister of France, decided to open his personal collection of books to scholars. While he was a powerful statesman, he was also a passionate bibliophile who tasked his librarian, Gabriel Naude, with scouring Europe to amass what became the largest private book collection on the continent. Even when Mazarin was forced to flee Paris during the civil unrest known as the Fronde, his commitment to this institution remained so strong that he worked to recover his collection after it had been looted and dispersed.