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The Don Public Library is the largest book repository in southern Russia, an important cultural centre of the city, and of course, a masterpiece of architecture.

The Don State Public Library is one of the most famous buildings in Rostov-on-Don. Behind the brutalist façade lie bright interiors with fountains and gardens, and behind it is the largest and oldest book archive in southern Russia. The library hosts exhibitions and film festivals, and the square in front of the building is a popular meeting place for locals.

The library building looks as if it was constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, during the heyday of Soviet modernism. In reality, it is much younger: the Don State Public Library was only opened in 1994. However, the design project for the building was developed in the second half of the 1960s, and construction began in 1974. After 20 years of construction, the era of the Soviet Union had ended, and Soviet modernism had lost popularity, but this did not affect the appearance of the library.

The library was designed by a collective of architects and engineers led by Jan Sanis. The 16-storey tower of the book repository and the massive blocks of the reading rooms, clad in tuff and practically devoid of decoration, appear rough, leading to the library being referred to as a "citadel" and even a "warehouse" during its construction. The only decoration of the building is a relief by Wladimir Lemport, Nikolai Silis, and Juri Alexandrow, which frames the upper corner of the book repository. The monumentalists depicted the "faces of the geniuses of humanity" between book pages.

The project received awards at international library congresses in Berlin (1972) and Bucharest (1974). The UN also recognised the library as one of the best in the world.

Even more interesting are the interiors of the library. According to Sanis' vision, visitors should move towards the "light of knowledge" – from the dark foyer to the spacious reading rooms filled with natural light and plants. The gentle colour palette, various materials including wood and natural stone, as well as waterfalls and fountains contrast with the brutalist façade of the building. At the centre of the interior composition is a winter garden with a glass roof – a wonderful place for both relaxation and focused reading.

Although the library building was only opened to visitors in 1994, its book collection is much older: it began to be gathered as early as the late 19th century! In 1884, the authorities of Rostov-on-Don acquired three thousand books from a private collection. In January 1886, the Rostov Public Library was opened, housed in several merchant houses on Bolshaya Sadovaya Street. For a large part of its history, the library did not have its own building; the book repository was only moved into a single building in the 1970s. At that time, the construction of the current building began.

📍 The coordinates of the location (map point) are available here

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