The Long Room in Trinity’s famous Old Library has placed 7th out of 24 buildings named in a recent ranking by travel magazine Time Out.
The list, released this summer by the magazine, includes famous architectural marvels such as the Taj Mahal, Sagrada Família, and Frank Loyd Wright’s Fallingwater.
The ranking also includes ancient architectural feats such as the The Pyramids of Giza and Ad-Dayr in Petra as well as 21st century builds including the Foundation Louis Vuitton and Baháʼí Temple of South America in Chile.
Still, the Long Room seems to have beaten the majority of these marvels, managing to nestle itself in the top third of a list encompassing some of the world’s most acknowledged buildings.
Known for its moody, Gothic aesthetic befitting any college’s academic ethos, the library was commended by Time Out for its history of expansion and renovation.
Originally built sometime between 1712 and 1732, the Long Room has undergone significant change. The iconic barrel-vaulted ceilings and upper gallery now synonymous with the library were only added in 1860 after raising the roof to allow these new additions.
While the Time Out list only adds another reason for tourists to swarm a library already boasting an excess of 500.000 yearly visitors, those aspiring to visit will have to book their tickets soon.
The library is set to close by the end of this year as part of the Old Library Redevelopment Project. Initially planned for 2023 the closure of the Long Room was later postponed to the end of 2025.
CORRECTION: The Long Room’s closure was postponed to the end of 2027, not 2025
