The Royal and University Library in Mitteltragheim, ca. 1901 The Königsberg State and University Library (german: Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Königsberg) was a combined

state library A national library is established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuab ...

and

academic library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. One of the most prestigious libraries of the eastern German ''

Sprachraum In linguistics, a sprachraum (; , "language area", plural sprachräume) is a geographical region where a common first language (mother tongue), with dialect varieties, or group of languages is spoken. Characteristics Many sprachräume are separ ...

'', comparable only to the , in Breslau in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

of then southeastern Germany, (now renamed Wroclaw in southwestern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

). Königsberg University's developed since the 16th century out of several smaller libraries. It was destroyed in 1944 during

in the invasion by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

after which the city was occupied and renamed

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

History

Chamber Library

Albert, Duke of Prussia Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first r ...

(1490–1568), founded the Chamber Library (''Kammerbibliothek'') or German Library (''Deutsche Bibliothek'') above the gate of

Königsberg Castle The Königsberg Castle (german: Königsberger Schloss, russian: Кёнигсбергский замок, Konigsbergskiy zamok) was a castle in Königsberg, Germany (since 1946 Kaliningrad, Russia), and was one of the landmarks of the East Prussian ...

ca. 1526 with about 100 smaller works.Hanowell, p. 107 Its first director was the ducal secretary Balthasar Gans. Karl Lohmeyer in ''Altpreussische Monatsschrift'', p. 595 Because Albert only had rudimentary knowledge of the

Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, the collection contained German books and

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

translations of foreign texts. Its authors were among the most influential of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

of the 15th century, including

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

Lazarus Spengler Lazarus Spengler (March 13, 1479 in Nuremberg – September 7, 1534 in Nuremberg) was a prominent supporter of Martin Luther and leader of the Protestant Reformation in Nuremberg, as well as a famous hymnwriter. Life and career Spengler was t ...

Martin Bucer Martin Bucer ( early German: ''Martin Butzer''; 11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a me ...

Johann von Staupitz Johann von Staupitz, O.S.A. (c. 1460 – 28 December 1524) was a Catholic theologian, university preacher, and Vicar General of the Augustinian friars in Germany, who supervised Martin Luther during a critical period in his spiritual life. Martin ...

Andreas Karlstadt Andreas Rudolph Bodenstein von Karlstadt (148624 December 1541), better known as Andreas Karlstadt or Andreas Carlstadt or Karolostadt, or simply as Andreas Bodenstein, was a German Protestant theologian, University of Wittenberg chancellor, a c ...

, ,

Johannes Oecolampadius Johannes Oecolampadius (also ''Œcolampadius'', in German also Oekolampadius, Oekolampad; 1482 – 24 November 1531) was a German Protestant reformer in the Calvinist tradition from the Electoral Palatinate. He was the leader of the Protestant f ...

, and

Urbanus Rhegius Urbanus Henricus Rhegius or Urban Rieger (May 1489, in Langenargen – 23 May 1541, in Celle) was a Protestant Reformer who was active both in Northern and Southern Germany in order to promote ''Lutheran unity'' in the Holy Roman Empire. He ...

. Other volumes included legal, historical, geographical, and medical topics. By the end of Albert's life, the ducal Chamber Library had expanded to 500 volumes. The Chamber Library was passed to the Castle Library in 1583.

Silver Library

Depiction of Duke Albert of Prussia (1490–1568) on a silver cover The most cherished part of the Chamber Library was the Silver Library (''Silberbibliothek''). Initially only two of Albert's volumes were bound with plates of embossed silver by

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

s, but it expanded to twenty after the duke's second marriage in 1550 to

Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 122 ...

. Besides the splendid

Lutheran Bible The Luther Bible (german: Lutherbibel) is a German language Bible translation from Latin sources by Martin Luther. The New Testament was first published in September 1522, and the complete Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments with Apocry ...

by Cornelius Vorwend of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, there were also three works by Paul Hoffmann, six by Gerhard Lenz, and five by Hieronymus Kösler, the latter three all being from Königsberg.Gause I, p. 247 On 20 August 1611 the Silver Library passed to the directors of the Castle Library. It was temporarily evacuated to Küstrin during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

(1756–1763), to Memel (later renamed Klaipeda) during the

War of the Fourth Coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, s ...

(1806–1807) in the world-wide

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

(1803–1815), and to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–1918). Since 1924 it was exhibited as part of the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

museum within Königsberg Castle. It was moved to the manor in Karwinden during

(1939–1945) but was lost amidst the battle damage of the war on the Eastern Front with the invasion by the

Castle Library

Encouraged by the influx of educated persons to Königsberg, Albert established for academics the Castle Library (''Schloßbibliothek'') or New Library (''Neue Bibliothek'', ''Bibliotheca nova''), the core of the later State Library, alongside his private Chamber Library in 1529.

Crotus Rubeanus Johann Crotus, or in his native German Johannes Jäger, hence often called ''Venator'', "hunter", but more commonly, in grecized form, ''crotus'', "archer', was a German Humanist. From the name of his birthplace he also received the Latinized appell ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

gathered 63 mostly Latin and Greek volumes from 70 authors. It grew in size to require a librarian, the efficient

Felix König Felix König (born c.1880) was an Austrian scientist, Mountaineering, alpinist and Antarctic explorer. He was a member of Wilhelm Filchner's Second German Antarctic Expedition, 1911–13, which failed in its attempt to determine the nature of th ...

(Rex) of

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, also known as Polyphemus, who instituted systematic and alphabetical catalogs. The date of Polyphemus's start, 5 December 1534, has been regarded as the informal beginning of the library.Centralblatt, p. 346 Albert made the Castle Library public in 1540, an act celebrated by theologians and humanists and praised by

Wilhelm Gnapheus Wilhelm (sometimes ''William, Willem, Guilielmus'') Gnapheus (''de Volder, van de Voldesgraft, Fulonius''; 1493 in The Hague – 29 September 1568 in Norden, Lower Saxony) was a Dutch-born Protestant religious figure and writer. After studyin ...

in Latin poetry. At that time it contained 1,600 titles in 800 volumes. Writing in the ', considered the Königsberg Castle Library to be the first public library in Europe, older than the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

which opened publicly in 1602. Between 1541 and 1543 the Castle Library also acquired the ''Ordensbibliothek'', the library of the

previously located in

Tapiau Gvardeysk ( rus, Гварде́йск, p=ɡvɐrˈdʲejsk, a=RU-Gvardejsk.ogg), known prior to 1946 by its German name ( lt, Tepliava; pl, Tapiawa/Tapiewo), is a town and the administrative center of Gvardeysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Rus ...

. By the time of Polyphemus's death in 1549, the Castle Library counted 2,400 works in 1,200 volumes. The immediate successors of Polyphemus were

Martin Chemnitz Martin Chemnitz (9 November 1522 – 8 April 1586) was an eminent second-generation German, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian theologian, and a Protestant reformer, churchman, and confessor. In the Evangelical Lutheran tradition he is known as ...

Treuenbrietzen Treuenbrietzen is a town in the Bundesland of Brandenburg, Germany. Geography The municipality Treuenbrietzen is situated 32 km northeast of Wittenberg and includes the localities * city of Treuenbrietzen with its agglomerated suburbs ''L� ...

(worked 1550–53) and David Milesius of

Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Heinrich Zell (worked 1557–64), who added 1,000 volumes and reorganized it. It was possibly by a suggestion of Zell that Albert decreed in 1557 that a copy of all books printed in Prussia be included within the Castle Library;

legal deposit Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposit ...

continued until 1945. Successors of Zell were

Johann Steinbach Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

(worked 1564–66), of Danzig (worked 1566–85), and of Danzig. The Castle Library acquired the Chamber Library in 1583 and the Silver Library in 1611. Under the leadership of Menius ca. 1600, the ''Schlossbibliothek'' acquired 204 legal volumes and 196 theological volumes. It began to stagnate in 1618 after the inheritance of the

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the Prussia (region), region of P ...

by the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...

, however; the

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

rulers focused on developing the libraries of

instead of Königsberg. From 1621 to 1658 only 343 volumes were added to the latter. At the end of the 17th century it acquired the collection of

Bogusław Radziwiłł Bogusław Radziwiłł ( lt, Boguslavas Radvila; 3 May 1620 – 31 December 1669) was a Poles, Polish princely magnate and a member of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish-Lithuanian ''szlachta'', or nobility. He was of the Radziwił ...

Wallenrodt Library

The (''Wallenrodtsche Bibliothek'') of

Königsberg Cathedral , infobox_width = , image = Kaliningrad 05-2017 img04 Kant Island.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Front (west side) of the cathedral , map_type = , map_ ...

was established by the 17th century ducal chancellor (1570–1632), whose first collection of 3,000 volumes was destroyed by fire in 1623. Martin began a second collection which reached 2,000 volumes by his death and was then continued by his son, (1632–1696), who added another 1,000 volumes. Ernst von Wallenrodt (1651–1735) donated 2,000 more volumes in 1718.Hanowell, p. 109 Librarians included the professor Christian Heinrich Gütther (worked 1738–55), (worked 1756–63), Carl Andreas Christiani (worked 1763–80), law professor (worked 1780–85), and .Gause II, p. 242 Rudolf Reicke counted 10,334 volumes, including 200

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s and 85

incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...

. The Wallenrodt Library was incorporated into the State and University Library in 1909, with 7,000 volumes taken by the Mitteltragheim facility and 3,500 volumes remaining in Königsberg Cathedral. The latter were destroyed by the August 1944

bombing of Königsberg in World War II The bombing of Königsberg was a series of attacks made on the city of Königsberg in East Prussia during World War II. The Soviet Air Force had made several raids on the city since 1941. Extensive attacks carried out by RAF Bomber Command destro ...

University Library

The University Library (''Universitätsbibliothek'') was established in 1544 as a small academic library for the Albertina, the new

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Prussi ...

. However, it was for long overshadowed by the Chamber and Castle Libraries. It began to expand during the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

through private efforts, rather than state support.Hanowell, p. 108 Michael Lilienthal (1686–1750) was a librarian at the start of the 18th century, while during the administration of Martin Sylvester Grabe the Younger (1674–1727) it acquired 800 volumes. The theologian librarians Johannes Behm (lived 1687–1753) and

Friedrich Samuel Bock Friedrich Samuel Bock (Königsberg 20 May 1716 – Königsberg 30 September 1785) was a German philosopher and theologian.Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

served as an assistant librarian. The physicist Karl Daniel Reusch was librarian from 1779 to 1806. The University Library often received donations, such as the 3,000 volume and coin collection of the mathematician David Bläsing (1660–1719), the substantial collection of Professor Cölestin Kowalewski (lived 1700–71), part of the theologian

Georg Christoph Pisanski Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * G ...

's estate, and a donation from the

Tilsit Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Geography Sov ...

merchant Johann Daniel Gordack in 1790. The University Library of that era was detrimentally located in two rooms within Königsberg Castle between the Schlosskirche and a tower. The library was only open two days a week for three hours, and was not open at all during the winter of 1772/73 because Bock did not want to work during the cold. By the end of Bock's service in 1779, the library's collection of manuscripts and incunabula had expanded to 14,000. The University Library received the collection of the ''Etatsministerium'' in 1805, as that government ministry had been dissolved the previous year. The library also acquired the collection of the Deutsche Gesellschaft. Georg Heinrich Ludwig Nicolovius was only librarian from 1807 to 1809, but his effective administration acquired 2,832 volumes, more than Reusch had managed over a much longer time. The history collection was predominant, followed by theology and philology. German and European classics first began to appear during the stewardship of Nicolovius.

19th century

In 1810 during the era of

Prussian reforms The Prussian Reform Movement was a series of constitutional, administrative, social and economic reforms early in nineteenth-century Prussia. They are sometimes known as the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms, for Karl Freiherr vom Stein and Karl August ...

, several of the city's collections, including the Castle Library, University Library,

Public Library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

, and Keyserling Library, moved to the Königshaus, a royal palace built for King Frederick William I in 1731 in

Neue Sorge Königstraße Neue Sorge, also known as Königstraße or Königstrasse after its main boulevard, was a quarter of eastern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of the Leningradsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia. Etymology The origina ...

.Albinus, p. 324 The Castle Library thus became the Royal Library (''Königliche Bibliothek'') on 21 February 1810 and was administered by a university curatorship. The royal and university libraries were united as the Royal and University Library (''Königliche- und Universitätsbibliothek'') in 1827. The Keyserling Library moved to Rautenberg in 1821, while the Public Library moved to Kneiphof in 1875. The library counted amongst its donations the personal collection of

Johann Friedrich Herbart Johann Friedrich Herbart (; 4 May 1776 – 14 August 1841) was a German philosopher, psychologist and founder of pedagogy as an academic discipline. Herbart is now remembered amongst the post-Kantian philosophers mostly as making the greatest c ...

(1776–1841). In 1858 the bibliophile

Friedrich August Gotthold Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...

(lived 1839–80), director of the

Collegium Fridericianum The Collegium Fridericianum (also known as the Friedrichskolleg, Friedrichskollegium, and Friedrichs-Kollegium) was a prestigious gymnasium in Königsberg, Prussia. Alumni were known as ''Friderizianer''.Gause, p. 716 History Postcard ca. 1930 ...

, donated his personal collection of 36,000 volumes to the library. Gotthold's collection included ''

belles-lettres is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...

'', classical philology, pedagogy, history, geography, and music since the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

. In 1860 it received the collection of its chief librarian,

Christian August Lobeck Christian August Lobeck (; 5 June 1781 – 25 August 1860) was a German classical scholar. Lobeck was born at Naumburg, in the Electorate of Saxony. After studying at the universities of Jena and Leipzig, he became ''Privatdozent'' at the Uni ...

(1781–1860). In 1890 the Royal and University Library counted 263,636 volumes. Collections and '' Nachlässe'' acquired around the turn of the century included Friedrich Zanders (1811–94),

Gustav Hirschfeld Gustav Hirschfeld (4 November 1847, Pyritz – 10 April 1895, Wiesbaden) was a German classical archaeologist. He was the great-uncle of Walter Benjamin. Life Born into a Jewish merchant family,Jonathan M. Hess, ''Middlebrow Literature and the ...

(1847–95), Jakob Caro (1835–1904), and August Hagen (1834–1910). The ''Nachlass'' of the philosopher

Johann Georg Hamann Johann Georg Hamann (; ; 27 August 1730 – 21 June 1788) was a German Lutheran philosopher from Königsberg known as "the Wizard of the North" who was one of the leader figures of post-Kantian philosophy. His work was used by his student J. G. ...

(1730–88), the Magus of the North, was added in 1905.

20th century

The Royal and University Library moved from Neue Sorge to

Tragheim Tragheim was a quarter of northern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of Kaliningrad, Russia. History Tragheim was first documented in 1299, but probably already existed as an Old Prussian farming village in 1255 when the Teutonic Kni ...

in 1901. The new institution was built in Mitteltragheim in place of the Baroque Braxein-Tettau Palace once owned by the apothecary and councilor August Wilhelm Hensche. The adjoining road Henschestraße was named in his honor. Librarians included Fritz Milkau and Ernst Kuhnert. In 1909 it added the Wallenrodt Library, the preeminent noble and civil service collection of the province. The institution became the State and University Library (''Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek'') after the abdication of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzol ...

in 1918. Kuhnert published a history of the library in 1926. Other collections affiliated with the united library were that of

Königsberg Observatory Koenigsberg Observatory (german: Sternwarte Königsberg; Königsberger Universitätssternwarte; obs. code: 058) was an astronomical observatory and research facility which was attached to the Albertina University in Königsberg, what is now Kal ...

and the ''Handbibliothek'' for use by students. In 1939 the State and University Library contained 685,000 volumes. At the start of 1944 many of the library's most valued collections were evacuated to nearby palaces and manors. The library itself was destroyed during the August 1944

Bombing of Königsberg in World War II The bombing of Königsberg was a series of attacks made on the city of Königsberg in East Prussia during World War II. The Soviet Air Force had made several raids on the city since 1941. Extensive attacks carried out by RAF Bomber Command destro ...

. Surviving texts were subsequently acquired by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

experts and institutions. Remnants of the State and University Library can be found within, among others:''Königsberg – Kaliningrad'', p. 65 *

Prussian Privy State Archives The Secret State Archives Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (german: Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz or ''GStA PK'') is an agency of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation headquartered in Berlin, Germany. A Federal statutor ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Vilnius University Library Vilnius University Library or VU Library (also ''VUL'') is the oldest and one of the largest academic libraries of Lithuania. It was founded in 1570 by the Jesuits and as such is nine years older than Vilnius University. VU Library holds 5.4 mill ...

and

Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos nacionalinė Martyno Mažvydo biblioteka) is a national cultural institution which collects, organizes and preserves Lithuania's written cultural heritage content, develops the colle ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

; *

Nicolaus Copernicus University Library The Nicolaus Copernicus University Library was established on August 24, 1945, alongside the Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland. The Library is the coordinator of Kujawsko-Pomorska Digital Library. Ranking of the State Committee for ...

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

; Hosianum in

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (IKBFU; russian: Балтийский федеральный университет имени Иммануила Канта) formerly known as the ''Immanuel Kant Russian State University'' (russian: Ро ...

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Russian State Library The Russian State Library (russian: Российская государственная библиотека, Rossiyskaya gosudarstvennaya biblioteka) is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest librar ...

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Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

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Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

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Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences The Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences (russian: Библиотека Российской академии наук (БАН)) is a large state-owned Russian library based in Saint Petersburg on Vasilievsky Island and open to employees o ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

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Voronezh State University Voronezh State University is one of the main universities in Central Russia, located in the city of Voronezh. The university was established in 1918 by professors evacuated from the University of Tartu in Estonia. The university has 18 faculties ...

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Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...