Cultural Night 2024
Meet the past, experience the present and learn more about the future. Bring the whole family to a sparkling night of culture when we open the doors to a journey through cultural heritage.
Why are there virtually no books in The Black Diamond when it is a library? Are computer games really cultural heritage? And did Lenin, the former Soviet leader, really have a permanent place on chair No. 9 in the historic reading room?
You can look forward to finding out all that and much more when we open the doors to this year's Cultural Night in The Black Diamond. Right up until midnight, you can explore the library's buildings and meet some of those who work every day to preserve and disseminate our vast collections of books, music, sheet music, games, manuscripts and much more.
UKRAINIAN DIARY – Photograph of Boris Mikhailov from 1966 to today
Experience this year's big photo exhibition in The Black Diamond with one of Eastern Europe's most influential photographers.
The camera and us – the human being in photography 1839-2021
Denmark's first permanent exhibition on the history of photography with humans as motif.
TREASURES in Royal Danish Library
Explore Royal Danish Library's greatest treasures in our permanent exhibition TREASURES. We have free entrance.
Photo: Julie Laurberg
Meet a photo celebrity from the past
At Royal Danish Library we have a huge photo collection. And photography in particular gets special attention at this year's Cultural Night, when one of Denmark's very first reputable photographers, Julie Laurberg (b. 1856), comes to visit. With her, she takes her partner Franziska Gad, a large-format camera and a lot of old photos from their collections - and not least a lot of tall tales from her time as a portrait photographer for Magasin Du Nord and later as Royal Court Photographer.
Death watches, animal skins and Ude & Hjemme – preservation of cultural heritage
One of the library's most important task is to preserve our cultural heritage. But how exactly do you do that? You can find out more when some of our most skilled conservators show how they deal with damage to historical papers, among other things. You can also experience how manual bookbinders work with some of the techniques that result in the finished bound book. Or hear about all the dangers that lurk when you have to preserve historic materials – from long-tailed silverfish to water damage.
Photo: Det Kgl. Bibliotek
Creative workshop on board games
Under the enormous ceiling painting by Per Kirkeby, it is all about board games. Come along to a creative workshop where you can make your own board game die. You can also try playing old and new board games when the Board Games Bureau comes with their game experts and guides us through iconic games. They will also showcase historical games that your parents or grandparents may remember from their childhood. The activity is particularly for children and other childlike souls.
Music in The Diamond
On the crossbridge in the atrium – under the huge mirror ball – you can enjoy Wayne Siegel's new work Sky Mechanics, written for The Black Diamond's 12-channel loudspeaker instrument, and four singers from the vocal ensemble AVOPA, who will sing along with the celestial work at selected times.
Explore the house
Royal Danish Library is a historic building full of secrets and fine details - and it certainly does not get any less impressive after dark. For the cultural night, the doors are open until midnight, so there is plenty of opportunity to explore. Notice, for example, how The Black Diamond – which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year – is built together with the historic part of the library from 1906.
You can also see, for example, the huge mirror ball sprinkle star dust in the Atrium, the illuminated trees in the Library Garden, and visit the Old Reading Room, where many historical figures have thought big thoughts.
This evening the doors to our large concert hall the Queen's Hall will also be open, so you can try to stand on stage in one of Northern Europe's best chamber music halls. Here you can also see exhibition models of The Diamond from the time it was built.
