The world's most beautiful library uses 'bats' to preserve old books and manuscripts

The Biblioteca Joanina library used colonies of bats as a natural deterrent against insects that could potentially feed on old books and manuscripts there.

The Biblioteca Joanina Library of the University of Coimbra, Portugal is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. The name of the library is also very special because it is named after the king of Portugal – Johann V.

The Biblioteca Joanina library is known as the most beautiful library in the world.

The library is luxuriously designed, with three splendid rooms decorated by famous Portuguese artists. In the center of the library is a portrait of King John V.

The Biblioteca Joanina library used colonies of bats as a natural deterrent against insects that could potentially feed on old books and manuscripts there.

Unusual for a colony of bats to often live behind the bookshelves of one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, the curators of this historic wonder say the flying rodents provide an indispensable service - They eat insects that can damage old books.

And with some of these almost priceless ancient manuscripts, it's no wonder that bats are seen as useful guardians.

There are many species of insects known to be paper rodents, and they pose a great danger to libraries like the Biblioteca Joanina.

Thankfully, the bats call this place an activist as a natural form of pest control. They are nocturnal, so won't bother library visitors during the day, but as soon as the sun goes down they begin to fly out from behind old bookshelves and catch insects just before swooping out of the building past. open window.

No one knows when the bats moved to the Biblioteca Joanina Library, but many believe they have been around since it opened, hundreds of years ago. Information about the presence of bats here can be traced back to at least the 1800s.

What many people are always curious about is what happens to all the droppings that bats normally leave behind. This is something libraries have had to deal with for centuries.

Every evening, the original 18th-century furniture is covered with animal skins, and in the morning the cleaning staff scrubs the floors. The mess they create is seen as a small price to pay for the exceptional service bats provide.

Because bats are nocturnal, visitors are unlikely to see them when they visit the library, but some say to wait on the steps that lead from the library to the nearby cobbled square any night you visit. You are bound to see this rodent fly out of or back into the building.