The Bamberg State Library (german: Staatsbibliothek Bamberg) is a combined universal, regional and

research library A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects.(Young, 1983; p. 188) A research library will generally include an in-depth selection of materials on a particular topic or set of to ...

with priority given to the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at th ...

. Today it is housed in the New Residence, the former prince-bishop's new palace. The Free State of Bavaria is responsible for the library.

Overview

The Bamberg State Library supplies the town of

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...

and the region Upper Franconia with literature for

research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

and

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...

purposes, professional work and advanced training. The historically grown holdings of more than 500,000 volumes are continuously supplemented and enlarged by acquisitions in all general fields, and in specialized areas such as the

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...

of (Upper)

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

and appreciation,

manuscripts 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 printed or reproduced in ...

and the printed

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this phys ...

. It cooperates in all areas of librarianship with the University Library of Bamberg. One of its regional tasks is to acquire documentary material on and of persons who are connected with the region. More over it gets the

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 ...

for the region of Upper Franconia; that means the Bamberg State Library receives a copy of every book published in Upper Franconia and continues to compile a complete

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

of the region. It also provides space for book collections belonging to Bamberg institutions such as the Bamberg Historical Society (german: Historischer Verein Bamberg), the Bamberg Society of Naturalists (german: Naturforschende Gesellschaft Bamberg), the Bamberg

Art Association A not-for-profit arts organization, also known as a nonprofit arts organization, usually takes the form of a not-for-profit organization, association, or foundation. Such organizations are formed for the purpose of developing and promoting the w ...

(german: Kunstverein Bamberg) the E.-T.-A.-Hoffmann-Gesellschaft and the Bamberg group of the Frankenbund. Its high esteem to be a

of international rank is based on its rich manuscripts holdings. This collection may be traced back to the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

Henry II, who founded the

bishopric of Bamberg The Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg (german: Hochstift Bamberg) was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire. It goes back to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bamberg established at the 1007 synod in Frankfurt, at the behest of King Henry II ...

on November 1, 1007. Three of these manuscripts became part of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

Memory of the World 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, ...

: * the Bamberg Apocalypse (german: Bamberger Apokalypse; Msc.Bibl.140), * the Commentary on the Song of Songs, on the

Book of Proverbs The Book of Proverbs ( he, מִשְלֵי, , "Proverbs (of Solomon)") is a book in the third section (called Ketuvim) of the Hebrew Bible and a book of the Christian Old Testament. When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on differ ...

and on the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...

(german: Kommentar zum Hohen Lied, zu den Sprüchen Salomos und zum Buch Daniel; Msc.Bibl.22), and * the Lorsch

Pharmacopoeia A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (from the obsolete typography ''pharmacopœia'', meaning "drug-making"), in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by ...

(german: Lorscher Arzneibuch; Msc.Med.1).

Holdings in figures

* 566,000 volumes in total * 80,000

graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture, ...

and

photographs A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now creat ...

* 3,600 incunabula (15th century prints) * 6,400

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 printed or reproduced ...

s in total (1,000

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

manuscripts) * 1,650 current journals

History

The nucleus of the collection may be traced back to the emperor Henry II, who founded the bishopric of Bamberg in 1007. Among his gifts to the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

were many precious manuscripts, which he and his predecessors had collected or commissioned. Manuscripts from various spiritual centres of the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

were brought to Bamberg as a result. In the ensuing period many books were written and illuminated in the town, notably in the 12th century by the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

monks of the Michaelsberg Abbey. Bamberg was the first place where printed books in the German language were illustrated with

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only t ...

s. Although only fragments of the very first period of printing in Bamberg can be found in the library, the collection of incunabula documents the wide range of book production in the 15th century. All that remained of these manuscripts and books in the monasteries of the town and bishopric up to 1802/1803 was incorporated into one library (now the Bamberg State Library) during the period of

German Mediatisation German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by means of the mass mediatisation and secularisation of a large numbe ...

and merged with the library of the old

University of Bamberg The University of Bamberg (german: Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg) in Bamberg, Germany, specializes in the humanities, cultural studies, social sciences, economics, and applied computer science. Campus The university is mainly housed in ...

, which had been founded in 1648 as a Jesuit academy and was closed at that time. Bamberg became part of the

Electorate of Bavaria The Electorate of Bavaria (german: Kurfürstentum Bayern) was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy ...

. In the course of the 19th century the library was enriched by gifts such as the art historian Joseph Heller's collection, which today comprises 80,000 prints and drawings. The

E. T. A. Hoffmann Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (born Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann; 24 January 1776 – 25 June 1822) was a German Romantic author of fantasy and Gothic horror, a jurist, composer, music critic and artist. Penrith Goff, "E.T.A. Hoffmann" in E ...

material became a special collection in our times, as did, more recently, autograph books from the 18th and 19th century.

Building

The Bamberg State Library nowadays is housed in the east wing of the New Residence of Bamberg which was built in 1697–1703 by

Johann Leonhard Dientzenhofer Leonhard Dientzenhofer (also: ''Johann Leonhard Dientzenhofer''; 20 February 1660 – 26 November 1707) was a German builder and architect from the well known Dientzenhofer family of architects. Life and Work Leonhard was born in St. Margarethen ...

on behalf of Prince-Bishop

Lothar Franz von Schönborn Lothar Franz von Schönborn-Buchheim (4 October 1655 – 30 January 1729) was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1694 to 1729 and the Bishop of Bamberg from 1693 to 1729. As Archbishop of Mainz, he was also Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Em ...

. Originally, the administration of the bishopric was placed in that wing of the building. The so-called Dominikanerräume are part of the library's showrooms which are not open to public. They are so called because of the

bookshelves A bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture with horizontal shelves, often in a cabinet, used to store books or other printed materials. Bookcases are used in private homes, public and university libraries, offices, schools, and booksto ...

from Bamberg's

Dominican monastery Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

that were brought to the library during the secularisation when the monastery was closed down. The Vierzehnheiligenpavillion on the third floor also belongs to the internal showrooms. It was the prince-bishop's library room. Since 1978, the former wine cellar serves as closed access stacks. The library presents in the entrance hall precious stained glass dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Joseph Heller, an art historian and collector, left them as legacy to the library. The reading room can be reached from the entrance hall. In former times, it served the prince-bishop as audience room and summer room. The reading room provides a view over the

rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...

which also was built on behalf of Prince-Bishop Lothar Franz von Schönborn. During the exhibitions taking place several times a year the Sternengewölbe and the former Gartensaal – or Scagliolasaal – can be visited.

References

External links

*
Website of the Bamberg State Library
*

*
Manuscripts of Emperor Henry II
with the digital collections of manuscripts traced back to Henry II *
Treasures of the Bamberg State Library
with the digital collections of rare books, manuscripts and graphics {{Authority control Libraries in Germany Buildings and structures in Bamberg Bamberg Deposit libraries Library buildings completed in the 18th century Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor 1803 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire