Médiathèque Jacques Chirac

Since 2002, the Médiathèque Jacques Chirac has been housed in a contemporary building designed by architects Dominique Lyon and Pierre du Besset.

The library boasts exceptional antique collections, including a rich collection of medieval manuscripts on parchment, as well as 3,000 booklets and almanacs from the Bibliothèque Bleue, published in Troyes and sold by peddlers. The library also offers 110,000 documents on loan, as well as a wide range of cultural events.

The Grande Salle, on the left-hand side of the building, contains 50,000 printed books from the former ecclesiastical libraries. In Troyes, these include the 4,600 printed books belonging to Canon Jacques Hennequin, kept in the Cordeliers convent, and the medieval manuscripts belonging to the Pithou brothers, in the Collège de l'Oratoire.

The vast majority of the ancient manuscripts copied and decorated in the workshop of the Abbey of Clairvaux, since its creation by Saint Bernard in the 12th century, inventoried in 1472 by Abbot Pierre de Virey (1,790 manuscripts, of which 1,115 have survived), are preserved here. This collection, which formed one of the major libraries of the medieval West, is now the largest and best-preserved medieval collection in France. In 2009, it was included in UNESCO's "Memory of the World" register, which aims to protect the world's documentary heritage of universal value, reflecting the diversity of languages, peoples and cultures, and mirroring the world and its memory.
Nationalized at the time of the French Revolution, the library's collections were enriched by donations and bequests in the 19th and 20th centuries. These include Abbé Hubert's 18th-century German books, Dr. Carteron's local history documents and the Far East collection bequeathed by diplomat Victor Collin de Plancy.
A permanent exhibition, freely accessible during opening hours, traces the history of these heritage collections. It features some one hundred original documents, including medieval manuscripts, printed books, art objects and animated films.
The works are listed in the computerized catalog.

Last updated on 09/01/2025 - Troyes La Champagne Tourisme