National Library of Kosovo
The National Library of Kosovo (Albanian: Biblioteka Kombëtare e Kosovës) is the highest library institution in Kosovo established by the Assembly. It is located in Pristina.
The mission of the National Library of Kosovo is to collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the documentary and intellectual heritage of Kosovo. The library holds exhibitions and holds an archive of Kosovar newspapers. It also provides a number of other services. It is known for its unique history, and the style of the building designed by Croatian architect Andrija Mutnjaković followed by controversies about the outside appearance of it.
According to the architect of the National Library of Kosovo the building is meant to represent a style blending Byzantine and Islamic architectural forms. In other sources there are statements from the actual architect that “this project which is linked to the tradition of pre-Romanesque architecture of the Balkans, was being considered among other project for the Sarajevo National Library building”.
By others this building is seen as a reaction to the impersonality of International Style and an attempt to combine modern means with regional traditions and rural architecture, but also as a Modern-Metabolist style.
Despite the official statements of the architect about the style of the National Library of Kosovo there are many other controversies when it comes to the appearance of the building and its meaning. One of the most famous versions is the one that connects the domes of the building with the national Albanian hat “plisi”. This was the reason why Serbian politicians reacted very strongly about the appearance of the building.
Another version is that this project was meant to reconcile the relations between Serbians and Albanians. Its domes are a combination of existing Turkish baths in Prizren and Patriarchate of Peć.