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The ( German for ''Brockhaus Encyclopedia'') is a
German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...
encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...
which until 2009 was published by the F. A. Brockhaus printing house. The first edition originated in the '' Conversations-Lexikon'' published by Renatus Gotthelf Löbel and Franke in
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
1796–1808. Renamed ''Der Große Brockhaus'' in 1928 and from 1966, the 21st thirty-volume edition contains about 300,000 entries on about 24,000 pages, with about 40,000 maps, graphics and tables. It is the largest German-language printed encyclopedia in the 21st century. In February 2008, F. A. Brockhaus announced the changeover to an
online encyclopedia An online encyclopedia, also called an Internet encyclopedia, is a digital encyclopedia accessible through the Internet. Some examples include pre-World Wide Web services that offered the '' Academic American Encyclopedia'' beginning in 1980, Enc ...
and the discontinuation of the printed editions. The rights to the ''Brockhaus'' trademark were purchased by Arvato services, a subsidiary of the
Bertelsmann The Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Bertelsmann (), is a German privately held company, private multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, ...
media group. After more than 200 years, the distribution of the Brockhaus encyclopedia ceased completely in 2014.


History

Paralleling other 18th century encyclopedias, the scope of the original ' was expanded beyond that of earlier publications, in an effort to become comprehensive. Published by the
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
scholars Renatus Gotthelf Löbel (1767–1799) and Christian Wilhelm Franke (1765–1831) from 1796 onward, it included
geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
, and in part
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...
, as well as the more typical
mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
,
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
, etc. Upon Löbel's death in 1799, Franke sold the rights to publication to Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus (1772–1823). The deal was made at the Leipzig Book Fair on 25 October 1808 for the price of 1,800 thalers. In 1984, ' merged with the ' (BIM). After the merger, it was decided that former ' serial reference works such as would henceforth be marketed under the name of .


Full print editions

Thirteen editions were issued during the 19th century. The articles, often very brief, were considered excellent and trustworthy, especially on German subjects, gave references to the best books, and included biographies of living men. At first the name of the encyclopedia remained ''Konversationslexikon'' or ''Allgemeine deutsche Real-Encyklopädie für die gebildeten Stände'' ("General German encyclopedia for the educated"); only with the 13th edition did the name Brockhaus appear in the title, and the last edition is titled . Christian Wilhelm Franke was to finish vol. vi of the Leipzig publication by December 1808, and the already projected supplement, in 2 volumes, by 1811. Brockhaus himself edited the 2nd edition (1812–1819, 10 vols.), and, when vol. IV was published, the 3rd (1814–1819). Ludwig Ham assisted in editing the 4th and 5th editions until he left Leipzig in April 1820, when Professor F.C. Hasse took his place. Brockhaus died in 1823, and his two eldest sons, Friedrich and Heinrich, edited the 6th edition with Hasse's assistance in September 1823. Hasse edited the 7th edition. Karl August Espe edited the 8th and 9th editions. August Kurtzel, aided by Oskar Pilz, edited the 10th edition, assisted by , and Heinrich Rudolf Brockhaus , the younger son, assisted in the 11th edition. Kurtzel died on April 24, 1871, and Pilz was sole editor until March 1872, when Gustav Stockmann joined, who was alone from April until joined by Karl Wippermann in October. The 14th edition was published in 1894, featuring 18,842 pages in 16 regular volumes and one supplement volume. Preparations for the 15th edition were disrupted by
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, and recommenced in 1925. Because its 20 volumes (15,800 pages) were published from 1928–1934 which covered the period of the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
, this edition is sometimes referred to as the ''Weimar Brockhaus.'' A supplement volume was published in 1935. The 16th edition, published 1952–1957, consisted of 12 regular volumes, two supplement volumes, and one
atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...
volume. The latest (2005–2006) full print version of the is the 21st edition, with approx. 24,500 pages in 30 volumes. Prices start at EUR 2,820.


Abbreviated print editions

In addition to the full encyclopedia, several abbreviated editions have been published with increasingly condensed content: * The 1854 ''Kleineres Brockhaus'sches Conversations-Lexikon für den Hausgebrauch'' ("Minor Brockhaus Encyclopedia for Home Use") had 4 volumes; * The ''Brockhaus' Kleines Konversations-Lexikon'' ("Brockhaus Small Encyclopedia"), multiple editions, was published in two volumes; * ''Der Volks-Brockhaus'' ("The People's Brockhaus"), the first single-volume version, was first published in 1931. By 1941, it was in its 9th edition, with 794 pages. The 15th edition, expanded to 1040 pages, was published in 1975.


Transition to digital editions

A digital
multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...
encyclopedia based on the is available under the name ''Brockhaus Multimedial Premium'', which is similar to Microsoft Encarta. On February 13, 2008, Brockhaus announced that due to the disappointing sales figures, it would make the content of the encyclopedia available online, supported by Internet advertising revenues and that there might be no more print editions. Noam Cohen
"Start Writing the Eulogies for Print Encyclopedias"
''New York Times'', March 16, 2008.
This announcement briefly boosted print sales again and the plans to switch to an on-line only edition were canceled.Marc Neller
Brockhaus beerdigt seine Enzyklopädie
andelsblatt online, 22 July 2009 (Archived by WebCite at).
However, in 2009 Bibliographisches Institut & F.A. Brockhaus AG (Bifab) sold the Brockhaus brand to
Bertelsmann The Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Bertelsmann (), is a German privately held company, private multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, ...
, renamed themselves to Bibliographisches Institut AG, and sacked 50 employees of its Leipzig-based editorial staff. This move was widely interpreted as the end of , caused by the competition of Internet-based reference works such as
Wikipedia Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...
.


Impact

''"No work of reference has been more useful and successful, or more frequently copied, imitated and translated, than that known as the ''Conversations-Lexikon'' of Brockhaus,"'' wrote the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition. The work was intended not for scientific use, but to promote general intellectual improvement by giving the results of research and discovery in a simple and popular form without extended details. This format, a contrast to the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
'', was widely imitated by later 19th century encyclopedias in several countries. The seventh edition of the ''Conversations-Lexikon'' formed the basis of the '' Encyclopedia Americana'' (1829–1833), the first significant American encyclopedia. Other encyclopedias modelled on ''Brockhaus'' included the Dutch '' Winkler Prins Geïllustreerde Encyclopaedie'' (1870–1882) and the Russian '' Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'' (1890–1906). In 2009, ''Brockhaus'' had a brand recognition of 93% in Germany.


Edition history


1st–13th

* 1st (1796–1808), six volumes, two supplemental volumes in 1810–1811 * 2nd (1809–1811), eight volumes, growing to ten (including supplements) during 1812–1819 * 3rd (1814–1819), ten volumes, supplements for early volumes supplied in 1818 as the overall work neared completion * 4th (1817–1819), ten volumes, two supplements in 1819–1820 * 5th (1819–1820), ten volumes * 6th (1824), ten volumes * 7th (1827), twelve volumes: *
v.1v.2v.3v.4v.9v.10v.12
* 8th (1833–1837), twelve volumes * 9th (1843–1848), fifteen volumes * 10th (1851–1855) *
v.5v.6v.11v.13v.14v.15 pt.2
* 11th (1864–1868), two supplements in 1872-1873 * 12th (1875–1879) * 13th (1882–1887) ''Brockhaus Conversations-Lexikon''


14th–21st

* 14th (1893–1897) ''Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon'' ** . *
v.1
(A–Ast) **
v.2
(A–Bi) *
v.3
(B–C) **
v.4
(Ces–Deut) *
v.5
(Dev–En) *** v.6 (Eo(?)–...) *** v.7 *** v.8 (Gi–He) **
v.9
(Hf–J) **
v.10
(K–Leb) *
v.11
(Lebe–Mor) **
v.12
(M–P) *** v.13 (Perugia–Rudersport) **
v.14
(Rüdesheim–Succus) **
v.15
(So–Tu) *** v.16 **
v.17
(supplement)
via HathiTrust
* 15th (1928–1935) ''Der Große Brockhaus'', twenty-two volumes including atlas and index, supplement in 1939 * 16th (1952–1957) ''Der Große Brockhaus'', first post-
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
publication, 12 volumes, 1 supplement in 3 compartments ("Ergänzungsband 13"), 1 supplement A–Z ("Ergänzungsband 14"), 1 Atlas * 17th (1966–1974) * 18th (1977–1981) ''Der Große Brockhaus'' * 19th (1986–1994) * (1989) Special edition of the 19th edition, with book design by Friedensreich Hundertwasser (24 Volumes limited to 1840 numbered and signed sets (1800 arab and 40 roman numerals)) * 20th (1996–1999) ''Brockhaus Die Enzyklopädie'' * 21st (2005–2006) (starting fall 2005), also available on DVD and thumbdrive * (2007) Special edition of the 21st edition, with book design by
Armin Mueller-Stahl Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 17 December 1930) is a retired German actor who also appeared in numerous English-language films since the 1980s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''Shine (1996 film), Sh ...
(starting fall 2007)


See also

*'' Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'' * Der kleine Brockhaus, a shorter edition of Brockhaus Encyclopedia. * List of encyclopedias by branch of knowledge * List of encyclopedias by date * * List of online encyclopedias


References

* *Webpage of the Hundertwasser Non-Profit Foundation, Austria, http://www.hundertwasser.at/english/oeuvre/ankunst/apa_buecher.php, accessed 22 July 2020


External links

*
Brockhaus' Kleines Konversations-Lexikon (1911 edition)

Vollständiges Verzeichniss der von der Firma F.A. Brockhaus in Leipzig seit ihrer Gründung durch Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus im Jahre 1805 bis zu dessen hundertjährigen Geburtstage im Jahre 1872 verlegten Werke, in chronologischer Folge mit biographischen und literarhistorischen Notizen (1872)
(Catalogue of books published by F.A. Brockhaus until 1872, including publishing details of the ''Konversationslexikon'' until the 11th edition) – scan at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brockhaus Enzyklopadie German encyclopedias Encyclopedias in German 19th-century encyclopedias 20th-century encyclopedias 21st-century encyclopedias