Abbey Library

The most beautiful part of the abbey is the neoclassical Abbey Library built in 1836 by János Packh, who was involved in designing the Esztergom Basilica. It contains some 300,000 volumes - many of them priceless historical records - making it the largest private library in Hungary. But the rarest and most important document is in the abbey archives. It is the Deed of Foundation of Tihany Abbey and dates from 1055.

It is written in Latin, but also contains about 50 Hungarian place names, making it the earliest surviving example of written Hungarian. The library's interior may look like marble, but it is actually wood made to look like the more expensive stone. An ingenious system of mirrors within the skylights reflects and redirects natural light throughout the room.