Austrian National Library
Encyclopedia
The Austrian National Library , is the largest library in Austria
, with 7.4 million items in its collections. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna
; since 2005 some of the collections are located in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary
. Founded by the Habsburg
s, the library was originally located in the current Prunksaal building and called the Hofbibliothek, changing to its current name after 1920.
The collections consist of: papyri
, manuscripts, ancient and rare books, map
s, globe
s, music, portraits, graphics, photographs, autographs and posters as well as works in and on Esperanto
and other artificial languages are stored in the various collections and are available for scientific research.
, through the Austrian Empire
and Austro-Hungarian Empire, and into the 21st century, with online access via the Internet
web.
. During the Medieval period, the Austrian Duke
Albrecht III
(1349-1395) shifted the books of the Viennese vaults into a library. Albrecht also organized important works from Latin to be translated into German
. In the Hofburg, the treasure of Archduke
Albrecht III had been kept in sacristies inside the south tower of the imperial chapel. The Archduke was a connoisseur
of art: he supported the University of Vienna
, and he founded a royal work shop for illustrating manuscripts. The oldest book on record at the Austrian National Library, the 1368 golden Holy Gospels, was owned by Albrecht III: in 1368, Johannes of Troppau, priest at Landskron and canon in Brno, transcribe
d the four Gospels of the Bible in gold letters with detailed illustrations in the school of Burgundian book art. On scenes depicting the lives of the four Evangelists, four coats of arms show the House of Austria, Tirol
, Styria, and Carinthia
, the lands which Archduke Albrecht III had ruled at the time.
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
(1415-1493), had the goal of summarizing the art treasures among the Habsburg
possessions. Among other things, he brought some valuable books into the Viennese new city, among them the Prager Wenzelsbibel and the document of the golden bull.
Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I
(1459-1519), through his marriage with Maria von Burgund, came into the possession of important books from Burgundy and north France, and brought these to Vienna Neustadt. With a value at that time estimated at 100,000 gulden
s, these books represented about an eighth of Maria's dowry
. Also Maximilian's second wife, Bianca Maria Sforza, brought into the marriage as dowry, among other things, books from Italian
workshops.
The books of the Court Library, at that time, were kept partially in Wiener Neustadt, partially in Vienna, and partially in Innsbruck
. After the death of Maximilian, books came into the Innsbruck castle. Besides the valuable books from the public treasury, during the 16th century, the Bibliotheca Regia, which collected and categorized scientific works, developed in Vienna. Besides books, that library also contained globe
s and atlas
es. The library was increased, in the course of the time, by donations of the personal libraries of individual scholars.
As the first librarian of the Imperial Library, Hugo Blotius was appointed in 1575 by Maximilian II
. His most important task was drawing up the inventory of the library, which had grown to approximately 9,000 books. As a consequence, new works were added systematically, and other libraries were incorporated.
For the first time on 26 August 1624, the delivery was regulated by obligation copies to the Imperial Library, by order of Ferdinand II
. The Imperial Library also grew by purchases. Particularly, the library of Philipp Eduard Fugger led to a major expansion of the Imperial Library. From the Fugger library, the Austrian National Library has about 17,000 sheets of one of the first periodic printing elements, the Fugger newspapers.
Karl VI authorized the construction of a building for the Imperial Library in the Hofburg, after the plans of Leopold I
. The library was begun by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
, as the current Prunksaal, and accommodated the exhibits of the Imperial Library in the 19th century.
The most valuable addition, at that time, was the book collection of Prinz Eugen von Savoyen
(Prince Eugene of Savoy
), whose 15,000 volumes cover valuable books from the French and Italian area. The hall of the Imperial Library has become the Prunksaal of the Austrian National Library, in which about 200,000 books are stored.
During the reorganization, for the first time, loud criticism moved to the fact that the Court Library served mainly the representation rather than knowledge transfer. Doctor Gerard van Swieten
, physician to Maria Theresia, and his son Gottfried van Swieten
supplemented the collection with numerous scientific works. Thus the Court Library became important also for scientific work. A special success was an introduction from Gottfried van Swieten, the card index. Thus the inventory index of the library could be kept current.
which described its order; the imperial Court Library gained a three-way viewpoint:
The collection politics of the Imperial Library separated at the beginning the 19th century appreciably due to the requirements of the representation and its attention to scientific works. The multinational condition of the Austrian Empire brought with itself that, in the Imperial Library, not only German-language books were collected, but also books of the slavic and Hungarian linguistic area. Substantial parts of the Hungarian collection moved to Budapest
, however, after reconciliation with Hungary. During the March revolution of 1848, the Imperial Library was in extreme danger, when after the bombardment of Vienna, the Hofburg, in which the Imperial Library was located, burned.
An important addition to the Imperial Library is the papyrus collection, which goes back to the acquisitions of the Viennese of antique dealer Theodor count.
The collection politics of intermediate wartime concentrated on "the national literature of those German trunks, which came now under foreign-national rule." The director at that time of the library was Josef Donabaum. During the Nazi period (NS-zeit), under the line of the general manager, at that time, Paul Heigl, hundred of thousands of writings, were accommodated here or the library served for majority the worthless, but seized works as transit camps into German libraries.
In 1966, large parts of the collections were moved from the building at the Josefsplatz to the premises of the new castle at the Heldenplatz
, whereby there also new reading halls were furnished. In 1992 became, due to the rising space requirement, which opens low memory below Heldenplatz, where on four levels approximately 4 million works. Also wider ranges than reading halls were furnished at the same time, so that today three levels are at the disposal of visitors (two floors of the main reading hall and the magazine reading hall).
The Austrian National Library for a long time maintained loyalty to the card-catalog index. Since 1995, the library has been electronically scanable, since 1998 also on-line to the Internet
. To restitution only at the year 2001 with it begun still available "arisierten" values, where still owners or their inheriting were discoverable. It concerned thereby nearly 25,000 works.
In 2006, Dr. Johanna Rachinger managed the National Library. It is responsible to a Kuratorium, to which quarterly reports must be sent.
The Prunksaal (splendor hall) was the former building of the Imperial Library, called the "Hofbibliothek" until 1918.
It was built particularly for the Court Library, and the books in the Minoritenkloster were stored (see: Minoritenkirche). The building was begun in 1721 by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
and finished after his death in 1723 by his son Joseph Emanuel
.
The sculptures on the building come from Lorenzo Mattielli
. The Prunksaal is divided, after the original list of the books, into a "war" and a "peace" side, which is reflected also in the wall fresco
es, from Daniel Gran. The fresco in the central dome represents a kind Apotheose Karl VI, whose picture is held by Hercules
and Apollo
. Around the picture of the emperor all kinds of allegorical figures are met in a complicated theme, which are to symbolize the virtues of the Habsburgs and the wealth of their countries.
In the time of Maria Theresia, cracks appeared in the dome, so Court Architect Nikolaus Pacassi strengthened the dome with an iron ring. The memorial fresco of Gran (in which the trace of a tear can be seen) was restored by Franz Anton Maulbertsch
.
At the same time, the building wings were developed, which connect the Prunksaal with the Court Castle and the St. Augustine's Church
and form with it Joseph Square (Josefsplatz
). Also in the Prunksaal are located emperor statues, created by the sculptors Peter Strudel
and Paul Strudel
(with Karl VI in the center), and four globes of Vincenzo Coronelli
.
In addition, the library collects all works of Austrian authors appearing abroad, as well as such works which concern Austrians or the Austrian spirit and culture. Further publications from the foreign country are taken up with emphasis on the range of the Geisteswissenschaften. Tasks and services of the national library cover the development of the existence and their supply in the form of local-loan, remote-loan, and search services as well as Auskunfts, information and reproduction services.
The legally given general order for education is obeyed also by co-operation with universities, schools and adult education mechanisms.
Altogether, the National Library has more than seven million objects, of which approximately three million are printed.
, which was inscribed on UNESCO's
Memory of the World Programme
Register in 1997 in recognition of its world significance and outstanding universal value.
The map collection includes the Globe Museum
which has over 380 globes. It is the world's only public globe museum, and has been in existence since 1956. Some of its globes date back to the 16th century. The principal part of the Globe Museum's inventory consists of globes which existed before 1850. There is also technical literature in the collection, plus similar instruments, such as armillary sphere
s.
The map collection also includes the 17th century Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem, a 50-volume set that consists of more than 2,400 maps, prints, and drawings and it was inscribed on UNESCO's
Memory of the World Programme
Register in 2003.
collection became an important part of the Austrian National Library. The collection goes back to a private collection of Austrian Archduke Rainer, who gave the collection to the Austrian Emperor
Franz Joseph I on 18 August 1899. The Papyrus Collection contains about 180,000 objects from the period between that of 15th Century before Christ (BCE) and the 16th Century (CE
). Besides papyri the collection includes papers, records on clay tablet
s, inscribed wood and wax trays, stone tablets, leathers, textiles and bones, as well as gold, silver and bronze articles with inscriptions. The Papyrus Collection (Collection Erzherzog Rainer)
of the National Library is the largest such collection worldwide, and was inscribed on UNESCO's
Memory of the World Programme
Register in 2001.
or Richard Strauss
. Also numerous recordings such as records or CDs are kept. Among the music collection are also many handwritten notes and thoughts of composers.
and Japanese
printing.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, with 7.4 million items in its collections. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
; since 2005 some of the collections are located in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary
Palais Mollard-Clary
Palais Mollard-Clary is a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the first district Innere Stadt, at Herrengasse 9.It was built from 1686 to 1689 for Count Mollard . In 1760, it was bought by Count Franz Wenzel von Clary-Aldringen. Emperor Joseph II held his famous "round tables" here...
. Founded by the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
s, the library was originally located in the current Prunksaal building and called the Hofbibliothek, changing to its current name after 1920.
The collections consist of: papyri
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
, manuscripts, ancient and rare books, map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
s, globe
Globe
A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...
s, music, portraits, graphics, photographs, autographs and posters as well as works in and on Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
and other artificial languages are stored in the various collections and are available for scientific research.
History
The Austrian National Library has a long history spanning centuries, from the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, through the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
and Austro-Hungarian Empire, and into the 21st century, with online access via the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
web.
Middle Ages and early modern times
The Austrian National Library has its origin in the imperial library of the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. During the Medieval period, the Austrian Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
Albrecht III
Albert III, Duke of Austria
Albert III of Austria , known as Albert with the Pigtail , was a duke of Austria and a member of the House of Habsburg.-Life:...
(1349-1395) shifted the books of the Viennese vaults into a library. Albrecht also organized important works from Latin to be translated into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. In the Hofburg, the treasure of Archduke
Archduke
The title of Archduke denotes a noble rank above Duke and below King, used only by princes of the Houses of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine....
Albrecht III had been kept in sacristies inside the south tower of the imperial chapel. The Archduke was a connoisseur
Connoisseur
A connoisseur is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts, cuisines, or an expert judge in matters of taste.Modern connoisseurship must be seen along with museums, art galleries and "the cult of originality"...
of art: he supported the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
, and he founded a royal work shop for illustrating manuscripts. The oldest book on record at the Austrian National Library, the 1368 golden Holy Gospels, was owned by Albrecht III: in 1368, Johannes of Troppau, priest at Landskron and canon in Brno, transcribe
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
d the four Gospels of the Bible in gold letters with detailed illustrations in the school of Burgundian book art. On scenes depicting the lives of the four Evangelists, four coats of arms show the House of Austria, Tirol
Tyrol (state)
Tyrol is a state or Bundesland, located in the west of Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical region of Tyrol.The state is split into two parts–called North Tyrol and East Tyrol–by a -wide strip of land where the state of Salzburg borders directly on the Italian province of...
, Styria, and Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
, the lands which Archduke Albrecht III had ruled at the time.
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
(1415-1493), had the goal of summarizing the art treasures among the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
possessions. Among other things, he brought some valuable books into the Viennese new city, among them the Prager Wenzelsbibel and the document of the golden bull.
Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
(1459-1519), through his marriage with Maria von Burgund, came into the possession of important books from Burgundy and north France, and brought these to Vienna Neustadt. With a value at that time estimated at 100,000 gulden
Rhenish guilder
Rhenish guilder is the name of the golden, base currency coin of the Rhineland in the 14th and 15th centuries.- Formation :...
s, these books represented about an eighth of Maria's dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
. Also Maximilian's second wife, Bianca Maria Sforza, brought into the marriage as dowry, among other things, books from Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
workshops.
The books of the Court Library, at that time, were kept partially in Wiener Neustadt, partially in Vienna, and partially in Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
. After the death of Maximilian, books came into the Innsbruck castle. Besides the valuable books from the public treasury, during the 16th century, the Bibliotheca Regia, which collected and categorized scientific works, developed in Vienna. Besides books, that library also contained globe
Globe
A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...
s and atlas
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a map of Earth or a region of Earth, but there are atlases of the other planets in the Solar System. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats...
es. The library was increased, in the course of the time, by donations of the personal libraries of individual scholars.
As the first librarian of the Imperial Library, Hugo Blotius was appointed in 1575 by Maximilian II
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian II was king of Bohemia and king of the Romans from 1562, king of Hungary and Croatia from 1563, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1564 until his death...
. His most important task was drawing up the inventory of the library, which had grown to approximately 9,000 books. As a consequence, new works were added systematically, and other libraries were incorporated.
For the first time on 26 August 1624, the delivery was regulated by obligation copies to the Imperial Library, by order of Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
. The Imperial Library also grew by purchases. Particularly, the library of Philipp Eduard Fugger led to a major expansion of the Imperial Library. From the Fugger library, the Austrian National Library has about 17,000 sheets of one of the first periodic printing elements, the Fugger newspapers.
Baroque
In 1722, EmperorEmperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Karl VI authorized the construction of a building for the Imperial Library in the Hofburg, after the plans of Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
. The library was begun by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
----Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, born Johann Bernhard Fischer was probably the most influential Austrian architect of the Baroque period....
, as the current Prunksaal, and accommodated the exhibits of the Imperial Library in the 19th century.
The most valuable addition, at that time, was the book collection of Prinz Eugen von Savoyen
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
(Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
), whose 15,000 volumes cover valuable books from the French and Italian area. The hall of the Imperial Library has become the Prunksaal of the Austrian National Library, in which about 200,000 books are stored.
During the reorganization, for the first time, loud criticism moved to the fact that the Court Library served mainly the representation rather than knowledge transfer. Doctor Gerard van Swieten
Gerard van Swieten
Gerard van Swieten was a Dutch-Austrian physician.Van Swieten was born in Leiden. He was a pupil of Hermann Boerhaave and became in 1745 the personal physician of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. In this position he implemented a transformation of the Austrian health service and medical...
, physician to Maria Theresia, and his son Gottfried van Swieten
Gottfried van Swieten
Gottfried, Freiherr van Swieten was a diplomat, librarian, and government official who served the Austrian Empire during the 18th century...
supplemented the collection with numerous scientific works. Thus the Court Library became important also for scientific work. A special success was an introduction from Gottfried van Swieten, the card index. Thus the inventory index of the library could be kept current.
Austrian Empire
After the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, the Court Library was again re-organized. Under custodian Paul Strattmann, the Court Library received a program for the first timewhich described its order; the imperial Court Library gained a three-way viewpoint:
- it was the library for the formed Classe of the capital, requiring instruction;
- it was the national library of the Austrian Kaiserthum (kingdom), where natives and foreigners expected to find literary rareness; and, finally,
- it was the library of the Hofburg, from which it has its designation. Thus typographic splendour is connected.
The collection politics of the Imperial Library separated at the beginning the 19th century appreciably due to the requirements of the representation and its attention to scientific works. The multinational condition of the Austrian Empire brought with itself that, in the Imperial Library, not only German-language books were collected, but also books of the slavic and Hungarian linguistic area. Substantial parts of the Hungarian collection moved to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, however, after reconciliation with Hungary. During the March revolution of 1848, the Imperial Library was in extreme danger, when after the bombardment of Vienna, the Hofburg, in which the Imperial Library was located, burned.
An important addition to the Imperial Library is the papyrus collection, which goes back to the acquisitions of the Viennese of antique dealer Theodor count.
First Republic and German Reich
After proclaiming the Republic of Austria, the Hofburg library, Hofbibliothek, was renamed in 1920 as the Austrian National Library.The collection politics of intermediate wartime concentrated on "the national literature of those German trunks, which came now under foreign-national rule." The director at that time of the library was Josef Donabaum. During the Nazi period (NS-zeit), under the line of the general manager, at that time, Paul Heigl, hundred of thousands of writings, were accommodated here or the library served for majority the worthless, but seized works as transit camps into German libraries.
Second Republic
After 1945, renamed again into the Austrian National Library, small parts were returned again, the majority remained however in the collections. The attention of the collection activity was directed again in small steps toward central and Eastern Europe.In 1966, large parts of the collections were moved from the building at the Josefsplatz to the premises of the new castle at the Heldenplatz
Heldenplatz
The Heldenplatz is a historical plaza in Vienna. Many important actions took place here, most notably Adolf Hitler's announcement of the Anschluss of Austria to the German Reich in 1938.-The Plaza:...
, whereby there also new reading halls were furnished. In 1992 became, due to the rising space requirement, which opens low memory below Heldenplatz, where on four levels approximately 4 million works. Also wider ranges than reading halls were furnished at the same time, so that today three levels are at the disposal of visitors (two floors of the main reading hall and the magazine reading hall).
The Austrian National Library for a long time maintained loyalty to the card-catalog index. Since 1995, the library has been electronically scanable, since 1998 also on-line to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. To restitution only at the year 2001 with it begun still available "arisierten" values, where still owners or their inheriting were discoverable. It concerned thereby nearly 25,000 works.
ÖNB as legally liable, scientific institute
On January 1, 2002, the Austrian National Library gained the full legal capacity to dismiss. This brought the full control to the mechanism in budget and personnel questions. The National Library keeps placed thereby from the federation a certain annual budget to the order; additional funds must be raised by sponsorships, reproduction services, and the loaning from the premises. Organizationally, the National Library uses a central management and is in three head departments (personnel and accounting, inventory structure and treatment, as well as use and information), plus the individual collections arranged.In 2006, Dr. Johanna Rachinger managed the National Library. It is responsible to a Kuratorium, to which quarterly reports must be sent.
Prunksaal (Hofbibliothek)
It was built particularly for the Court Library, and the books in the Minoritenkloster were stored (see: Minoritenkirche). The building was begun in 1721 by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach
----Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, born Johann Bernhard Fischer was probably the most influential Austrian architect of the Baroque period....
and finished after his death in 1723 by his son Joseph Emanuel
Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach
Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, also Fischer von Erlach the younger was an Austrianarchitect of the baroque, Rococo and baroque classicism.-Life and career:...
.
The sculptures on the building come from Lorenzo Mattielli
Lorenzo Mattielli
Lorenzo Mattielli was an Italian sculptor from the Late Baroque period. His name has also variously been written as Matielli, Mattiely, Matthielli, and Mathielli...
. The Prunksaal is divided, after the original list of the books, into a "war" and a "peace" side, which is reflected also in the wall fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es, from Daniel Gran. The fresco in the central dome represents a kind Apotheose Karl VI, whose picture is held by Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
and Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
. Around the picture of the emperor all kinds of allegorical figures are met in a complicated theme, which are to symbolize the virtues of the Habsburgs and the wealth of their countries.
In the time of Maria Theresia, cracks appeared in the dome, so Court Architect Nikolaus Pacassi strengthened the dome with an iron ring. The memorial fresco of Gran (in which the trace of a tear can be seen) was restored by Franz Anton Maulbertsch
Franz Anton Maulbertsch
Franz Anton Maulbertsch was an Austrian painter and engraver, one of the most renowned exponents of roccoco painting in the German region....
.
At the same time, the building wings were developed, which connect the Prunksaal with the Court Castle and the St. Augustine's Church
St. Augustine's Church
St. Augustine's Church may refer to:In Australia:*St. Augustine's Anglican Church of Unley, Unley, South AustraliaIn Algeria:*Basilique Saint Augustin, Annaba, AlgeriaIn Germany:*St. Augustine's of Canterbury, Wiesbaden, Germany...
and form with it Joseph Square (Josefsplatz
Josefsplatz
The Josefsplatz is a city-centre public square in the city of Vienna, Austria. The Josefsplatz is centred on a full-sized statue and monument of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor mounted on a horse ....
). Also in the Prunksaal are located emperor statues, created by the sculptors Peter Strudel
Peter Strudel
Peter Strudel or Peter Strudl was an Austrian sculptor and painter. His work forms the transition of Austria to the high baroque style.Strudel was born in Cles, Trentino....
and Paul Strudel
Paul Strudel
Paul Strudel or Paul Strudl was an Austrian sculptor, architect, engineer, and painter, ennobled as Baron von Strudel and Vochburg....
(with Karl VI in the center), and four globes of Vincenzo Coronelli
Vincenzo Coronelli
Vincenzo Coronelli was a Franciscan monk, a Venetian cosmographer, cartographer, publisher, and encyclopedist known in particular for his atlases and globes, and who spent most of his life in Venice.-Biography:...
.
The collections
One of the major tasks of the Austrian National Library is the collection and archiving of all publications appearing in Austria (including electronic media). Depending on the law for the medium, four copies, and by other printing elements, two obligation copies each, must be delivered to the National Library by periodic printing elements appearing in Austria.In addition, the library collects all works of Austrian authors appearing abroad, as well as such works which concern Austrians or the Austrian spirit and culture. Further publications from the foreign country are taken up with emphasis on the range of the Geisteswissenschaften. Tasks and services of the national library cover the development of the existence and their supply in the form of local-loan, remote-loan, and search services as well as Auskunfts, information and reproduction services.
The legally given general order for education is obeyed also by co-operation with universities, schools and adult education mechanisms.
Altogether, the National Library has more than seven million objects, of which approximately three million are printed.
Manuscripts and Rare Books
Dating from the 4th century to the present day, this collection includes antique, medieval and modern manuscripts from almost every literate culture. Notable items in the collection include the Vienna DioscuridesVienna Dioscurides
The Vienna Dioscurides or Vienna Dioscorides is an early 6th century illuminated manuscript of De Materia Medica by Dioscorides in Greek. It is an important and rare example of a late antique scientific text...
, which was inscribed on UNESCO's
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Memory of the World Programme
Memory of the World Programme
UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction...
Register in 1997 in recognition of its world significance and outstanding universal value.
Map Collection and Globe Museum
The map collection includes maps back to the 16th century and it has existed since 1905. After the First World War, the collection of the Habsburgs was taken over, designated as the Habsburg "Family Estate Library" (Familien-Fideikommiss-Bibliothek).The map collection includes the Globe Museum
Globe Museum
The Globe Museum , in the Palais Mollard, Vienna, Austria, is part of the Austrian National Library. It was opened in 1956, and is the only public museum in the world devoted to globes, being three-dimensional models of Earth or other celestial bodies, or spherical representations of the celestial...
which has over 380 globes. It is the world's only public globe museum, and has been in existence since 1956. Some of its globes date back to the 16th century. The principal part of the Globe Museum's inventory consists of globes which existed before 1850. There is also technical literature in the collection, plus similar instruments, such as armillary sphere
Armillary sphere
An armillary sphere is a model of objects in the sky , consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centred on Earth, that represent lines of celestial longitude and latitude and other astronomically important features such as the ecliptic...
s.
The map collection also includes the 17th century Atlas Blaeu-Van der Hem, a 50-volume set that consists of more than 2,400 maps, prints, and drawings and it was inscribed on UNESCO's
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Memory of the World Programme
Memory of the World Programme
UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction...
Register in 2003.
Papyrus Collection and Papyrus Museum
During the 19th century, the papyrusPapyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
collection became an important part of the Austrian National Library. The collection goes back to a private collection of Austrian Archduke Rainer, who gave the collection to the Austrian Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Franz Joseph I on 18 August 1899. The Papyrus Collection contains about 180,000 objects from the period between that of 15th Century before Christ (BCE) and the 16th Century (CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
). Besides papyri the collection includes papers, records on clay tablet
Clay tablet
In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age....
s, inscribed wood and wax trays, stone tablets, leathers, textiles and bones, as well as gold, silver and bronze articles with inscriptions. The Papyrus Collection (Collection Erzherzog Rainer)
of the National Library is the largest such collection worldwide, and was inscribed on UNESCO's
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Memory of the World Programme
Memory of the World Programme
UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme is an international initiative launched to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, the ravages of time and climatic conditions, and willful and deliberate destruction...
Register in 2001.
Music
In the music collection, since 1826, are numerous scores and first-printings of works of well-known composers, such as Anton BrucknerAnton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
or Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
. Also numerous recordings such as records or CDs are kept. Among the music collection are also many handwritten notes and thoughts of composers.
Incunabula, old and precious prints
The collection of incunabula, old and valuable printings (SIAWD) is one of the five largest collections of historical block printing of the world. As an independent collection, it has existed since 1995 and ranks thereby among the youngest of the National Library. The collection covers approximately 8,000 incunabula (fourth largest in existence worldwide), block printing from 1501 to including 1850 (e.g. the Fugger newspapers), and bibliophile as well as rare and valuable printings without temporal restriction. The SIAWD collection has been supplemented with ChineseChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
printing.
Austrian National Library collections
- Department of Broadsheets, Posters and Ex Libris: 330,000 objects (broadsheets, posters and Ex Libris)
- Department of Manuscripts, Autographs and Closed Collections: From the 4th century to the present day: late antique, medieval and modern manuscripts from almost every literate culture.
- Department of Music: Austria's music archives, and great collection of autographs, it is also one of the largest libraries in the world.
- Austrian Literary Archives
- Picture Archive
- Department of Incunabula, Old and Precious Books:
- incunabula (books printed before 1500),
- printed works from the period 1501-1850 and
- printed bibliophile rarissima of no specific period.
- Archives of the Austrian Folk Song Institute
- Austrian National Library Museums
- State Hall
- Globe Museum: 380 globes and scientific instruments including terrestrial and celestial globes made before 1850
- Papyrus Museum:
- Papyri 137,864
- Archaeological documents (without papyri) 50,769
- Museum objects 5
- Books and serials 14,049
- Microforms 555
- Audiovisual materials 2,292
- Picture documents 16,944
- Department of Planned Languages and Esperanto MuseumDepartment of Planned Languages and Esperanto MuseumThe Esperanto Museum in Vienna, Austria was founded in 1927 by Hofrat Hugo Steiner and was incorporated into the Austrian National Library as an independent collection in 1928. Today it is at the same time museum, library, documentation centre and archive...
See also
- Codex Vindobonensis B 11093Codex Vindobonensis B 11093The Codex Vindobonensis B 11093 is an anonymous fechtbuch of 46 pages of drawn illustrations only, with no text, dating to the mid 15th century, probably created in southern Germany...
- Codex Vindobonensis Philos. 75Codex Vindobonensis Philos. 75Codex Vindobonensis Philos. 75 is a manuscript of the treatise On the Soul of Aristotle. It is designated by symbol Sd. Dated by a Colophon to the year 1446. It is written in Greek minuscule letters...
- Codex Vindobonensis Philos. 157Codex Vindobonensis Philos. 157Codex Vindobonensis Philos. 157 is a manuscripts of the treatise On the Soul of Aristotle. It is designated by symbol Rd. Paleographically it had been assigned to the 15th century. It is written in Greek minuscule letters...
- Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus ICodex Vindobonensis Mexicanus ICodex Vindobonensis Mexicanus I, also known as Codex Vindobonensis C, or Codex Mexicanus I is an accordion-folded pre-Columbian piece of Mixtec writing. It is a ritual-calendrical and genealogical document dated to the 14th century.- Contents :...
- Codex Vindobonensis Lat. 502Codex Vindobonensis Lat. 502The Codex Vindobonensis Lat. 502 , designated by v , is a 7th century Latin Gospel Book. The manuscript contains only 1 parchment folio . It is known also as Fragmentum Vindobonense. The text is a version of the old Latin. It is entitled "Pactus legis Ripuarie"...
- Fayyum FragmentFayyum FragmentThe Fayyum Fragment is a papyrus fragment containing text that could be from part of the New Testament, and consists of only about 100 Greek letters...
(P. Vienna G. 2325)
External links
- Österreichische Nationalbibliothek – Homepage in English
- Österreichischer Bibliothekenverbund – catalogues of the library collaboration.
- aleph.onb.ac.at/ – Online-Katalog of the ÖNB library.
- bibliographie.onb.ac.at/biblio – Online bibliography of the ÖNB library.
- anno.onb.ac.at – Digital publications.
- Geraubte Bücher – Role of the National Library during the NS-Zeit period.