Once known as the Electoral Library at Cölln, the Berlin State Library stands as a testament to Berlin’s rich history. Founded in 1661, the Berlin State Library has grown into one of Europe’s largest libraries. It holds a treasure trove of knowledge.
The library’s history mirrors that of Germany itself. It has seen creation, neglect, expansion, war damage, division, unification, and re-creation. Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, started it all. He decreed that his private books be organized and made public. Thus, the Library of the Elector opened in 1661.
In 1699, Frederick I doubled the collection. He extended opening hours and introduced Prussia’s first legal deposit law. Renamed the Royal Library in 1701, it faced challenges. Frederick William I cancelled the acquisition budget in 1722.
Frederick the Great initially favored French literature. Later, in 1770, he granted the library assets and autonomy. Construction began on a Royal Library building on Bebelplatz. Georg Christian Unger designed it between 1775 and 1785. Locals nicknamed it “Kommode” or Chest of drawers.
By 1905, the Berlin State Library became the largest German language repository. It housed 1.2 million books. In 1914, it moved to a larger building on Unter den Linden. Ernst von Ihne designed this new home.
During the Weimar Republic, it was renamed the Prussian State Library. The Emergency Association of German Sciences helped mitigate war and inflation effects. The Nazi period brought political intimidation and restrictions. On May 10, 1933, Nazis burned over 20000 books at Bebelplatz.
Allied bombs damaged the Unter den Linden building in 1941. Staff evacuated holdings to monasteries, castles, and mines. By war’s end, 700000 volumes were destroyed or lost. After 1945, collections in the Soviet zone returned to Unter den Linden.
In 1946, it reopened as the Public Scientific Library. It was later renamed the German State Library in 1955. Collections in the American zone moved to the University of Marburg. They later became the West German Library.
In 1962, the Federal Republic gave administrative control to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. The library then began relocating to West Berlin. A new building complex arose on the Kulturforum near the Berlin Wall.
After German Reunification in 1992, the two institutions reunited. The West Berlin building and the East Berlin building became “one library with two homes”. The old State Library was reborn as the Berlin State Library.
From 2000 to 2012, HG Merz refurbished the Berlin State Library. He replaced the destroyed reading room with a glass cube. Today, the Berlin State Library operates from two major sites. These are Haus Unter den Linden and Haus Potsdamer Straße.
The Berlin State Library’s collection is vast. It includes over 11 million books and 200000 rare books. The library boasts 4442 incunabula and 18300 occidental manuscripts. Its oriental manuscripts number 42170. It also holds 250000 autographs.
The Berlin State Library treasures include the Psalter of Louis the German and a Gutenberg Bible. It houses 80% of Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart autographs. The library also has Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 score. The Berlin State Library score joined UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2001.
So as you leave the Berlin State Library today remember that you have seen more than just old books, you glimpsed history itself.