Public Library and Archive in Kneiphof Stamp of the library The Königsberg Public Library () was a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending 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 servic ...

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Background

The library developed from the personal collection of Johannes Poliander, who donated it to the town council of

Altstadt ''Altstadt'' () is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ...

in 1541. J. Lomoller donated 300 predominantly legal works in 1594. It was housed in Altstadt's pauper house after its construction in 1628. To it was added the collection of vice-mayor Heinrich Bartsch (1627–1702). His son, city secretary Heinrich Bartsch Jr., created a librarian position in 1714, made the collection public in 1718, and added his own Bible collection. The first librarians were Johann Jakob Quandt and Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer. The library moved from the pauper house to the Altstadt Latin school in 1737 and then to the Altstadt Town Hall in 1773. In 1810 it moved to the Königshaus in Neue Sorge, which also housed the royal and university libraries at the same time. Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel the Younger donated another collection in 1837.

Into the 20th Century

By the second half of the 19th century, the public library was disorganized and in financial difficulties. It moved to the old campus of the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...

Kneiphof Coat of arms of Kneiphof Postcard of Kneiphöfsche Langgasse Reconstruction of Kneiphof in Kaliningrad's museum Kneiphof (; ; ) was a quarter of central Königsberg (Kaliningrad). During the Middle Ages it was one of the three towns that co ...

in 1875 and was administered by August Wittich from 1875 to 1897. The councilor

August Wilhelm Hensche August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

donated his private collection in 1889. When the magistrate considered closing the library, Wittich focused on reorganizing the library and hiring a chief librarian, Ernst Seraphim. Seraphim energetically developed the library after Wittich's 1897 death and had the library rebuilt. Rudolf Reicke donated 2,150 volumes to the library in 1907. Two years later Seraphim and the library began publishing seven volumes of scientific publications with the title ''Mitteilungen''.

Directors and destruction

Directors of the library included pastor Michael Lilienthal (1728 to 1748),

Christian Jakob Kraus Christian Jakob Kraus (; 27 July 1753 – 25 August 1807) was a German comparative and historical linguist. Biography A native of Osterode (East Prussia), Kraus studied at the universities of Königsberg and Göttingen. In 1782 he became a p ...

(1786 to 1804), Friedrich Adolf Meckelburg (1844 to 1875), August Wittich (1875 to 1897), Ernst Seraphim (from 1900),

Christian Krollmann A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

(from 1923), and Fritz Gause (from 1938). In 1939 the library contained 106,000 volumes. The Königsberg Public Library was destroyed in August 1944 during the

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 de ...

References

* * 1541 establishments in Europe 1945 disestablishments in Germany Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II

Public Library A public library is a library, most often a lending 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 servic ...

Libraries in Germany Destroyed libraries 1541 in literature Educational organizations established in the 1540s Libraries established in the 16th century Libraries disestablished in 1945 Buildings and structures demolished in 1945 {{Library-stub