The library's night watch
In Mafra, old books are guarded at night by bats.
The story
The palace-convent of Mafra, northwest of Lisbon, has a huge library: about 36,000 volumes on wooden shelves that reach the ceiling. By day it is quiet and empty. But at night small bats fly out from behind the shelves and hunt the insects that eat paper and leather bindings. People say it has always been this way, but nobody knows when the bats moved into the library.
More
Context
The palace was conceived by King John V in 1711. The library was fitted out by the architect Manuel Caetano de Sousa (1742–1802), in the second half of the century. The books date from the 14th to the 19th century: first editions, old Bibles, atlases. Bats also live in another famous library, the Joanina in Coimbra. There, the tables are covered with leather at night so the bats don't soil them. The "disputed" label is here because the bats are real, but how long they have been in the library and how much they actually help the books, nobody has measured. The Palace of Mafra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019.
Bridge to today
Mafra National Palace (library)
Palácio Nacional de Mafra, biblioteca
The library can be seen on a visit to the palace; the bats avoid people.
Terreiro D. João V, MafraBridge to today: Mafra National Palace (library)
Sources (4)· links checked on
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: «Royal Building of Mafra – Palace, Basilica, Convent, Cerco Garden and Hunting Park (Tapada)»
- SIPA (Património Cultural): «Baixa Pombalina / Lisboa Pombalina / Baixa de Lisboa» · dates of the architect Manuel Caetano de Sousa (1742–1802)
- Amusing Planet: «The Bat Libraries of Portugal»
- Postal: «A Biblioteca do Palácio Nacional de Mafra, uma das bibliotecas mais importantes da Europa»