The Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković, today officially opened the Congress Center of the National and University Library, the central venue for events organized by the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
By reconstruction of the Congress Centre, the National and University Library is completed after almost a quarter of century after its opening in May 1995, according to the concept of its author, architect Velimir Neidhardt.
With the relocation of the dormitory from the premises of the National and University Library in April this year, a 7200 square meters of functional convention center was created.
The whole space is decorated according to the latest standards and equipment for such facilities. It is also equipped with a 5G network, still in non-commercial use.
In the final phase of the project, more than 150 construction workers incorporated 4000 square meters of stone in the building itself, along with 3000 square meters of carpet, 2000 square meters of wood linings, 3000 square meters of metal ceilings and 200 kilometres of various cables.
The heart of the Centre is a 500 square meters plenary room, two smaller halls for 60-80 participants, 4 bilateral meeting rooms, two meeting rooms, Press centre, working space for journalists, listening rooms for the delegates, the dining room, 12 TV booths and an infirmary.
During the Croatian Presidency, around 50 events will take place in the Croatian National and University Library. On January 9th, the new composition of the European Commission will meet here together with the government and formally indicate the beginning of Croatian presidency.
The National and University Library itself will be open and functional most of the time. Exceptions will be a few meetings at the highest level (such as European Commission) when the Library will have to be fully closed to the public.
Text: EU2020HR