Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library

The Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library (Dutch: Erfgoedbibliotheek Hendrik Conscience) is the repository library of the city of Antwerp. It is named after the Flemish writer Hendrik Conscience, whose statue adorns the library. The library conserves books and magazines to keep them available permanently. The history of the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library, which was called the City Library until 2008, goes back to 1481. The collection contains more than one million books. The primary collection areas are Dutch literature, history of the Netherlands, early printed books (pre-1830), Flemish folk culture, art in the Netherlands, and works about Antwerp ("Antverpiensia"). History The library originated in the fifteenth century, Over the centuries, the collection grew steadily. In the nineteenth century, the library expanded significantly. Today the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library possesses a vast and versatile collection. Ancien regime In 1481, city secretary Willem Pauwels donated his collection of 41 books to the City of Antwerp. In 1505, the collection was placed in Antwerp City Hall. This original collection was lost in 1576, when the city hall caught fire during the Spanish Fury, when mutinous Spanish troops plundered the city.