Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) | Richelieu

The Bibliothèque nationale de France at Richelieu occupies an entire city block, defined by its massive, rectangular footprint between rue de Richelieu and rue Vivienne. This site began as the seventeenth-century palace of Cardinal Mazarin, a minister to the French crown, before becoming the home of the Royal Library in seventeen twenty-one. It served as the central repository for the nation's books and manuscripts for over two centuries, growing by acquiring a copy of every work published in the country.