Valvasor Libeary
The Valvasor Library of Krško has been the central library of the Municipality of Krško since 1965.
The Library (Valvasorjeva knjižnica Krško in Slovene) uses five locations, in addition to the central library and youth department in the Old Town, there are units at Videm, Senovo and Kostanjevica na Krki. Since 1988, the central library has been housed in a former Capuchin monastery. Through the years, it has become a modern cultural, educational, informational and social centre of its local environment, pursuing the goals of ensuring and providing library activities benefitting all generations. The Library grants everyone the access to the sources of knowledge and information, and plays an active role in the development of modern-day reading culture and informatised society.
They foster the development of local studies and thereby the preservation of cultural heritage and traditions of the local environment, actively participating in lifelong learning, organise various activities for children and adults alike, and host cultural events for all generations. In the pursuit of their mission, they work with educational and other institutions, associations and organisations in the local milieu and further afield. In 2015, they had 165,000 volumes and its members borrowed over 380,000 titles, while welcoming over 120,000 visitors. The Valvasor Library of Krško is among the most frequented cultural institutions in the Municipality, it is a meeting place, the ‘living room’ of the town and as such indispensable while being very popular with its users.
The Capuchin Library of Krško
The Capuchin friars settled in Krško in 1644. Their intellectual activities prompted them to establish a much-needed library. The rich Baroque-era Capuchin library (Kapucinska knjižnica in Slovene) is a unique example of a monastic library preserved in its original form and composition (there are no comparable libraries of the type between Brežice and Ljubljana), and it still occupies the upper floor of the Monastery’s building, next to the premises of the Valvasor Library with its contemporary layout. The Capuchins of Krško were actively involved in education and medicine, therefore the Library contains many dictionaries, lexicons and medical books, as well as works from the fields of theology, philosophy, history, law, and biographies. The oldest volume is Calepino’s Dictionary of Latin, printed in 1502. In more than 3 centuries of its existence, the Library has amassed a collection of some 1,500 volumes, including the works of the illustrious Slovene-Italian Baroque-era preacher Tobia Lionelli (Janez Svetokriški in Slovene). The Library was renovated between 1980 and 1984 and has since then been open to the public. Both institutions curate the precious cultural heritage and provide guiding tours to visitors wishing to catch a glimpse of their treasures.
