Book town
Encyclopedia
A book town is a town or village with a large number of second-hand
or antiquarian book shops. These shops, and sometimes also literary festival
s, attract bibliophile tourists to them. A number of the book towns are organised in the International Organisation of Book Towns.
Montereggio (Mulazzo (MS) Italia
Second-hand shop
A second-hand shop is a shop which sells goods that are not new.-Types of second-hand shop in the UK:There are various types of second hand shop, generally specialising in a particular type of merchandise....
or antiquarian book shops. These shops, and sometimes also literary festival
Literary festival
A literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city...
s, attract bibliophile tourists to them. A number of the book towns are organised in the International Organisation of Book Towns.
Known dates
- Jinbōchō, TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(early 1880s) - Hay-on-WyeHay-on-WyeHay-on-Wye , often described as "the town of books", is a small market town and community in Powys, Wales.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains...
, WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
(1961) - ReduReduRedu is a village in the municipality of Libin, in Luxembourg province, Belgium. The village is twinned with Hay-on-Wye in the United Kingdom and it is one of the very first book towns....
, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(1984) - BécherelBécherelBécherel is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in north-western France.-Book town:Bécherel is a small village, called the "village of the books" because there are fifteen bookstores for around 660 inhabitants...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(1988) - MontolieuMontolieuMontolieu is a commune in the Aude department in southern France.Sometimes referred to as "Village of Books", Montolieu contains dozens of bookshops and a book market on the third Sunday of every month. It also contains a substantial cactus garden, the Cactuseraie...
, France (1989) - BredevoortBredevoortBredevoort or Brevoort is a small city with Town privileges of about 1600 inhabitants, located in the municipality of Aalten, Netherlands. It is situated between the towns of Aalten and Winterswijk....
, NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(1993) - Stillwater, MinnesotaStillwater, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 15,143 people, 5,797 households, and 4,115 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,340.0 people per square mile . There were 5,926 housing units at an average density of 915.7 per square mile...
, U.S.A., http://www.booktown.com (1993) - Saint-Pierre-de-ClagesSaint-Pierre-de-ClagesSaint-Pierre-de-Clages is a village in Switzerland. It is located in the French speaking part of The Valais in the municipality of Chamoson.The village of Saint-Pierre-de-Clages was joined with the municipality of Chamoson in 1376...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
(1993) - Fontenoy-la-JoûteFontenoy-la-JoûteFontenoy-la-Joûte is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.-Demographics:-External links:*...
, France (1993) - Mundal, FjærlandFjærlandFjærland is a village in the municipality of Sogndal, along the Fjærlandsfjord, in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The Fjærlandfjord is a branch of the Sognefjord, the longest fjord in Norway...
, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(1995) - WigtownWigtownWigtown is a town and former royal burgh in the Machars of Galloway in the south west of Scotland. It lies south of Newton Stewart and east of Stranraer. It has a population of about 1,000...
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
(1997) - Zossen-WünsdorfZossenZossen is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, south of Berlin, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped together in 2003 to form the city.-Geography:...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(1997) - DammeDammeDamme is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, six kilometres northeast of Brugge . The municipality comprises the city of Damme proper and the towns of Hoeke, Lapscheure, Moerkerke, Oostkerke, Sijsele, Vivenkapelle, and Sint-Rita. On 1 January 2006, the municipality had...
, Belgium (1997) - DalmellingtonDalmellingtonDalmellington is a market town in Ayrshire, Scotland. In 2001 it had a population of 1407. The town owes its origins to the fault line separating the Southern Uplands of Scotland from the Central Lowlands...
, Scotland (1997, though the last bookseller closed in 2005 and the project has folded) - SysmäSysmäSysmä is a municipality of Finland situated in Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is.The municipality is unilingually Finnish....
, FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
(4 July 1997) - MühlbeckMühlbeckMühlbeck is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Muldestausee....
-FriedersdorfFriedersdorf, Saxony-AnhaltFriedersdorf is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the municipality Muldestausee....
, Germany (1997) - Kampung Buku Langkawi, Malaysia (3 December 1997)
- Archer City, TexasArcher City, TexasArcher City is a city in Archer County, Texas, United States. The city lies at the junction of State Highway 79 and State Highway 25. It is the county seat of Archer County. It is located 25 miles south of Wichita Falls, Texas and is part of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, U.S.A. (1999) - Southern HighlandsSouthern Highlands, New South WalesThe Southern Highlands, also locally referred to as the Highlands, is a geographical region and district in New South Wales, Australia and is 110 km south-west of Sydney. The entire region is under the local government area of the Wingecarribee Shire...
, Australia (2000) - TvedestrandTvedestrandis a town and municipality in Aust-Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sørlandet. The administrative center is the village of Tvedestrand....
, Norway (2003) - SedberghSedberghSedbergh is a small town in Cumbria, England. It lies about east of Kendal and about north of Kirkby Lonsdale. The town sits just within the Yorkshire Dales National Park...
, England (2003) - BlaenavonBlaenavonBlaenavon is a town and World Heritage Site in south eastern Wales, lying at the source of the Afon Lwyd north of Pontypool, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. The town lies high on a hillside and has a population of 6,349 people...
, Wales (28 June 2003, though the project had folded by March 2006) - Brownville, NebraskaBrownville, NebraskaBrownville is a village in Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 146 at the 2000 census.- History :Established in 1854 and incorporated in 1856, Brownville was the largest town in the Nebraska Territory, with a population of 1,309 by 1880. Bordering slave-holding Missouri, the...
, U.S.A., (2004)http://www.brownville-ne.com(www.brownville-ne.com) - Hobart, NY - Book Village of the Catskills (http://www.hobartbookvillage.com) (2005)
- AtherstoneAtherstoneAtherstone is a town in Warwickshire, England. The town is located near the northernmost tip of Warwickshire, close to the border with Staffordshire and Leicestershire and is the administrative headquarters of the borough of North Warwickshire.-History:...
, WarwickshireWarwickshireWarwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
(2005) - Torup, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(2006) - Kampung Buku MelakaKampung Buku MelakaMalacca Book Village was officially launched by the Rt. Hon. Datuk Seri Hj. Mohd Ali bin Mohd Rustam, Chief Minister of Malacca, on 17 April 2007. Currently, it is the only book village in operation in Malaysia. It is the fifth book village in Asia and the 33rd in the world to be established...
, Malaysia http://www.bookvillage.com.my (17 April 2007) - Clunes, VictoriaClunes, VictoriaClunes is a town in Victoria, Australia, located 36 kilometres north of Ballarat, in the Shire of Hepburn. At the 2006 census it had a population of 1,026.- History :...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(2007) - St. Martins, New BrunswickSt. Martins, New BrunswickSt. Martins is a Canadian village in Saint John County, New Brunswick.The picturesque community is 40 km east of Saint John and is situated on the Bay of Fundy. St. Martins was incorporated in 1967....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(2007)http://www.stmartinsbooktown - UrueñaUrueñaUrueña is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 213 inhabitants....
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(2007) http://www.diputaciondevalladolid.es/villadellibro/presentacion.shtml - BellpratBellpratBellprat is a municipality in the comarca of the Anoia in Catalonia, Spain. It has a population of 89 and an area of 30.98 km². The mayor is Carles Pol i Gual . The postal code is 43421.-Election for the city hall:-External links:* * *...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(2008) http://www.amicsdebellprat.cat - EsquelbecqEsquelbecq- History :In 1436, Wautier de Ghistelles was seigneur d'Ekelsbeke et de Ledringhem and governor of La Madeleine hospital in Bierne.- References :*...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(2010) http://www.esquelbook.com (www.esquelbook.com)
Montereggio (Mulazzo (MS) Italia
Dates not listed
- Sidney, British ColumbiaSidney, British ColumbiaSidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,300. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport,...
- Bosu-dong, Jung-gu, Busan, South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
- Gold Cities BookTown, Grass Valley, CaliforniaGrass Valley, California-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Grass Valley had a population of 12,860. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Grass Valley was 11,493 White, 46 African American, 208 Native American, 188 Asian, 9 Pacific Islander, 419 from other...