Raczyński Library
| Raczyński Library | |
|---|---|
 Facade of the library
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| founding | 1829 |
| Duration | over 950,000 |
| Library type | library |
| place | Poses |
| Website | http://www.bracz.edu.pl/ |
The Raczyński Library in Poznan (Polish: Biblioteka Raczyńskich w Poznaniu ) is the oldest existing and one of the largest public libraries in Poland .
history
The Poznan Raczyński Library was founded by the Polish nobleman and publicist Edward Raczyński and opened on May 5, 1829. For this purpose, Raczyński donated an initial collection of 10,000 volumes from his own library. The handover of the house to the city of Poznan took place in 1832. However, all maintenance costs incurred by the library were still paid by Raczyński from his private assets even after the transfer of ownership. The motivation for Raczyński's foundation was his conviction that the Polish language and literature - especially during the Prussian rule over that part of Poland - should be preserved and national cultural treasures protected.
Regardless of religious affiliation, nationality or social background, everyone had access to the library and its holdings. In the 19th century, the group of users consisted mainly of Polish scientists, writers, journalists, activists as well as schoolchildren and students. For them, the Raczyński Library was a meeting place and the most important educational and research institute in the region, as well as a symbol of Polish national culture. In the course of the 19th century and in the interwar period, the library inventory continued to grow. In 1902 Oswald Collmann became director. During the Second World War , the library, like all other cultural institutions in the city, was reserved exclusively for Germans and forbidden to Poles. Thanks to the efforts of Józef Raczyński, however, the library holdings were not dispersed. During the fighting for Poznan in January 1945, the library suffered great losses. The Germans destroyed the library building, which destroyed around 180,000 items in flames, which made up 90% of the holdings. When Józef Raczyński moved the most valuable books to Obrzycko in 1943, around 17,000 volumes were saved. That was the cornerstone of the Raczyński Library's existence after the war.
Until the historic library building was reconstructed in 1956, the collection was housed in a school. In the following time the library succeeded in positioning itself as one of the most important libraries in the country due to its historically, culturally and scientifically significant holdings. The user base today consists of both Poles and foreign interested parties. In 1998 the old library building was renovated and modernized. In 2011, the main library building was expanded to include a large new building in order to present the grown holdings more professionally.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 24 '30.4 " N , 16 ° 55' 43.1" E