The Alte Bibliothek (), nicknamed Kommode (

Commode A commode is any of many pieces of furniture. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has multiple meanings of "commode". The first relevant definition reads: "A piece of furniture with drawers and shelves; in the bedroom, a sort of elaborate chest ...

), is a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Bebelplatz The Bebelplatz (formerly and colloquially the Opernplatz) is a public square in the central Mitte (locality), Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Following World War II, the square was renamed after August Bebel, a founder of the So ...

in the historic centre of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It was erected by order of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

from 1774 to 1780 according to plans by

Georg Christian Unger Georg Christian Unger (25 May 1743 – 20 February 1799) was a German architect who was a pupil of the architect Carl von Gontard and served Frederick II of Prussia. Among his works were the Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam and the Gendarmenmarkt in Ber ...

and Georg Friedrich Boumann in

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

. Older plans by

Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, also ''Fischer von Erlach the Younger'' (13 September 1693 in Vienna – 29 June 1742 in Vienna) was an Austrian architect of the Baroque, Rococo, and Baroque- Neoclassical. Biography Joseph Emanuel was the son ...

for St. Michael's Wing of Vienna Hofburg served as a basis for the first freestanding library building of Berlin. Damaged during the Allied bombing in World War II, the former

Royal Prussian The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signi ...

Library was rebuilt from 1963 to 1969 as part of the Forum Fridericianum. Since then, the Alte Bibliothek has been home to the law faculty of the

Humboldt-Universität The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt, ...

.Königliche Bibliothek & Alte Bibliothek ("Kommode") & Institut der Humboldt-Uni
(in German) Denkmalamt Berlin

References

Further reading