Hjørring Library

When I was young, my brother and I were frequent visitors of the Ashgrove Library. We would spend hours reading books, collecting tallies for the MS Read-a-thon, writing 'books' on the typewriter and quizzing each other on facts from the encyclopaedias.

We loved it, and thought it was the best place in the world. Nothing could top it.

Well, I think I can now safely say that 10 year old Lauren and Thomas were very wrong! I visited the Hjørring Library with my host dad Nils yesterday and was blown away.

It has been open now for four years, and is a pretty magical place. The entire interior is connected by red 'tape', which at times acts as a functional shelf, and in other areas is simply decorative. There are little coves throughout that have interactive videos and games for children and adults alike. Quiet areas that come standard with any other library are themed so you can feel as though you are escaping to another time and place. It's really wonderful.

Of course, the library was designed by Danish architects and decorated by Danish interior designers, which is evident in the intelligent simplicity of the space. Every area has its own individual function, yet it all works together to create a very organic, playful and inspiring space.

It's not often that a town can boast a library as a tourist attraction, but Hjørring can... and trust me, the inner 10 year old in you will thank you for taking the time to visit :)

Side note - The library has actually been recognised internationally for its creativity in design, and will have visitors from the Louvre in Paris coming to check it out in the next few months. Not too bad for a town of only 25,000 people!