A 17th-century public library that has remained essentially unchanged since it opened in 1655. The single reading room is lined floor to ceiling with its original wooden bookcases, still holding the same academic books — theology, law, medicine, classical literature — that Johannes Thysius bequeathed to the city. The room is small, quiet, and extraordinarily atmospheric.
The Thysiana is one of the few surviving examples of a purpose-built early modern library, and walking in feels like stepping back 370 years. It is open to visitors during limited hours (check with the university library, which administers it). On the Rapenburg canal, near the university's main building. Free admission.