Every 23 April, Catalunya fills with bookstalls, roses, and people celebrating Sant Jordi, a day devoted to love, literature, and the stories that shape us. Over the last 11 years, the EUI Library has made it a tradition to mark this occasion by offering roses to its users, in celebration of Sant Jordi and World Book Day.
This year, in an international context increasingly marked by renewed tensions, conflicts, and wars, the Library has chosen to focus on how damage to cultural heritage has profound, long‑term, and in some cases irreversible consequences for identity and collective memory. We translated this concept into a set of five thematic bookmarks, a curated book display, and an online featured collection. Through these initiatives, the Library seeks to encourage reflection on the fragility of cultural heritage and to reaffirm its role in safeguarding knowledge for present and future generations.
The bookmarks portray images from the destruction of cultural heritage sites during specific historical moments and illustrate how libraries, archives, and religious sites have repeatedly been placed at risk:
Kherson regional universal
scientific library (Ukraine, 2022–2023)
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–2023), Russian armed forces
shelled and occupied Kherson, damaging its regional library. Ukrainian scientific and cultural site are continuously put at
risk amid sustained attacks.
British museum (United
Kingdom, 1940–1941)
During the Blitz (1940–1941), Nazi German air forces (Luftwaffe) bombed London,
damaging the East Wing of the British Museum and King's Library Gallery. Hundreds of volumes were destroyed or affected in one of
the world’s leading cultural institutions.
Great Omari mosque (Gaza,
2023)
In 2023, during the war in Gaza, Israeli armed forces carried out airstrikes
that severely damaged
the Great Omari Mosque and its 13th century library. Historic
manuscripts and religious texts were lost or endangered.
Public library of Tolosa
(Basque Country, 1936–1939)
During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), Francoist forces damaged and dispersed the Tolosa
public library. Basque-language works and local archives were lost in a broader
campaign of repression
Vijećnica national and
university library (Bosnia, 1992)
In August 1992, during the Bosnian War, Bosnian Serb forces shelled and burned the national library of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Around two million books and documents were destroyed
Sant Jordi celebrates stories, but this year it also invites us to protect them.
As we walk among the shelves and choose a book for someone we care about, we are also invited to think of those who cannot: of libraries burned, archives lost, and communities whose cultural foundations are at risk.