The National and University Library (french: Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire; abbreviated BNU) is a

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 ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, France. It is located on Place de la République, the former ''Kaiserplatz'', and faces the '' Palais du Rhin''.

History

After the destruction of the municipal library and the city's archives by Prussian artillery during the Siege of Strasbourg, the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

founded the BNU on 19 June 1872. The task of arranging its collections was given to historian and professor,

Rodolphe Reuss Rodolphe Ernest Reuss (aka Rudolf Reuss in German; 13 October 1841 in Strasbourg – 16 August 1924 in Versailles (city), Versailles) was a French historian from Alsace. He also published under the pseudonym Anton Schweidnitz. Biography R ...

. It became the regional library for the ''Reichsland'' Alsace-Lorraine, as, according to German tradition, every region should have at least one library. It was also an

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 ...

. The collections grew quickly, thanks principally to donations from all across Europe and the United States. But, even in spite of these generous donations, many priceless manuscripts, such as the Hortus Deliciarum had been destroyed and could never be replaced. The present-day building, which is a work of architects August Hartel and Skjold Neckelmann, was opened in 1895. After the territory of Alsace-Lorraine had been reverted to France following World War I, the question arose as to whether or not this library should be renovated and reopened. After some hesitation, the French government decided to keep the library. The library now holds about 3,000,000 volumes, which is the second largest collection in France. The collection contains, amongst other things, ca. 2,300

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 ...

, 6,700 manuscripts (plus 29,000 others from the archives – kept by the library – of the De Turckheim family, and several other thousands from the Alsatian Franciscan order) and 5,200

papyri Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a d ...

.Collections papyrologiques at the BNU website

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:NATIONAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Library buildings completed in 1895 Libraries in France University of Strasbourg Organizations based in Strasbourg Tourist attractions in Strasbourg Monuments historiques of Strasbourg 1895 establishments in France Libraries established in 1872 19th-century architecture in France