The Wienbibliothek im Rathaus ( en, Vienna Library in City Hall), formerly known as the ''Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek'' ( en, Vienna City and State Library), is a library and archive containing important documents related to the history of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria. Founded in 1856, the library, which also contains a large collection of local memorabilia, is located in the Rathaus (City Hall) in the

Innere Stadt The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expa ...

first district of the city, and is the official library of the city and state of Vienna. The Wienbibliothek preserves 500,000 books, 2,000 newspapers and magazines, 300,000 posters, 500,000 autographs, notable bequests and legacies, and one of the most important music collections in the world. Much of the collection can be retrieved through the online user interface available in both German and English. The library is part of the ''Magistrat der Stadt Wien'' (Municipality of Vienna) and supervised by the City Councillor for Culture.

History

In 1856, the city parliament, led by Mayor Johann Kaspar Freiherr von Seiller, agreed on reinstalling a city library. In the beginning, it was accessible to officers of the city only. Therefore it consisted mainly of juridical literature and Viennensia. These guidelines are still valid today. In 1889, shortly after the transfer from the old to the new city hall, the city parliament decided to separate the city archives from the library and to create an own archive department. At the same time, the library was merged with the Historical Museum of the City of Vienna to what was called City Collections (''Städtische Sammlungen''). Subsequently, the library developed from an office library to a scientific institution, which engaged in research and documentation of the history of Vienna. Beginning in the second half of the 19th century, the City Collections encountered a massive enlargement by bequests and legacies by public, artistic and scientific personalities like

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...

Ferdinand Raimund Ferdinand Raimund (born Ferdinand Jakob Raimann; 1 June 1790 – 5 September 1836, Pottenstein, Lower Austria) was an Austrian actor and dramatist. Life and work He was born in Vienna as a son of Bohemian woodturning master craftsman Jako ...

Johann Nestroy Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the 1848 revolutions an ...

, Karl Kraus, and

Helmut Qualtinger Helmut Qualtinger (; 8 October 1928 – 29 September 1986; alt. sp.: ''Helmuth Qualtinger''; birthname: ''Helmut Gustav Friedrich Qualtinger'') was an actor, writer, reciter and cabaret performer. Biography He was born Helmut Gustav Friedrich Qu ...

. In 1905, the collections of autographs and music have been established as separate units of the department, from 1923 the poster collection and from 1930 the documentation as well were administered separately. In 1939 the ''Wiener Stadtbibliothek'' and the museum were separated into new departments. In 1977, the name ''Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek'' was chosen to reflect the constitutional position of Vienna as a city and a state of Austria. In 2001, 340 autographed music manuscripts by

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

and a nearly complete collection of first editions of his works, part of the music collection, were inscribed on UNESCO's

Memory of the World Programme Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

Register in recognition of their historical significance. In 2006 the name ''Wienbibliothek im Rathaus'' replaced the former one.

Collections

The library holds collections of literature (''Druckschriftensammlung''), autographs (''Handschriftensammlung''), music (''Musiksammlung''), posters (''Plakatsammlung''), and documentation. The library's Schubert collection, which originated from a bequest of the contractor and art sponsor Nicolaus Dumba, has grown systematically over the years and is today "the world's largest collection of Schubertiana". Important authors have donated their manuscripts to this library. It is as well noteworthy for its collection of historic newspapers published in Vienna. The library holds the art database of the

National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism The National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, german: Nationalfonds der Republik Österreich für Opfer des Nationalsozialismus, is a fund created by the Republic of Austria to seek to apply restitution for prope ...

. In detail, the following material is collected: * Books and brochures * Newspapers and magazines (appr. 2,000 titles are subscribed today) * Official publications by the City and State of Vienna, the federal ministries of Austria, the departments of the Municipality of Vienna, laws and ordinances of the Republic of Austria and the States of Vienna and Lower Austria, law of the European Union * Printed and handwritten compositions, especially by Viennese composers * Theatre programme leaflets and brochures (historic collection and present collecting) * Autographs * Bequests by authors, politicians, artists, scientists and musicians * Obituaries * posters, pamphlets, broadsheets

References

External links

Municipal and Provincial Archives of Vienna

{{Authority control Libraries in Vienna Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt