Municipal public library and reading hall in Charlottenburg

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The Charlottenburg Municipal Public Library and Reading Hall in Berlin-Charlottenburg was the first public lending library in Germany based on the "public libraries" ideal, which originated in the USA and Great Britain. Influenced by this maxim, the current of the book-hall movement formed in Germany in the 1890s . According to this, the general public should be given a qualified education and thus a more humane life. In the USA there were already over 2000 such libraries in 1875, while in Germany the book-hall movement was still in its infancy.

history

First location of the public library: the old school building at Gierkezeile 39
The public library and reading room were also housed in the building of the arts and crafts school ( here shortly after completion).

To create such an institution in Charlottenburg, endeavored since March 1896 a "Committee for the establishment of a public reading hall", which u. a. City councils, city councilors and librarians belonged. The library should be managed and operated by a scientifically trained librarian . The selection of books should be broad and interesting for all sections of the population. Functional rooms in a central location were important for accessibility. There should be both lending facilities and a reading room. The offer should be free for everyone and without the usual formalities. In the event that the city of Charlottenburg creates such an institution, the Comité raised donations for books amounting to 23,000 marks. The publishing and art dealer Werckmeister had set up a foundation for this purpose. After a conventional public library had already been set up in 1896, a municipal library with lending and reading room was opened on January 3, 1898 in the former school building at Kirchstrasse 3/5 (today Gierkezeile 39) with the municipal public library with lending and reading room.

Due to the great demand and the increasing number of books, the space there soon became too cramped. In 1899 it was therefore decided to build a new, purpose-built building. On September 9, 1901, the “Municipal Public Library and Reading Room” was reopened in the transverse building of the arts and crafts school in Wilmersdorfer Strasse (today Eosanderstrasse 1). The book inventory at that time was around 20,000 volumes, the annual budget was estimated by contemporaries at 11,200 marks. The library was open daily from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (including Sundays) as well as from Monday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

In his 1904 travel guide, Rückstedt wrote with pride: “Behind [the arts and crafts school] is the richly equipped reading hall and public library. It is worthwhile to take this little detour and visit the wonderful reading room. The whole huge room extends through two floors. Two galleries all around allow access to the rich treasures that are stored here in the walls on high shelves. The reading room contains as rich a reference library of all areas of knowledge as one could wish for, plus a comprehensive selection of fiction books and magazines. "

In November 1943 the building was badly hit in the bombardment of Charlottenburg and burned down completely. The preserved holdings were housed in a branch at Sybelstrasse 2-4 in the building of today's Sophie-Charlotte-Oberschule in 1944 and in 1948 in the Charlottenburg Town Hall .

architecture

View of the reading room (probably shortly after the opening)
Floor plan of the transverse building with the public library and its large reading room

The library and reading room in the transverse building of the arts and crafts school were located in a large room with surrounding galleries. It had a floor area of ​​around 280 m² and extended from the first floor with two galleries one above the other. A large glass ceiling spanned around 100 reading places at a height of 8.75 m.

The somewhat unrepresentative location in the backyard wing had the advantage that the library was shielded from traffic noise and the hustle and bustle of the traffic by the street-side building of the arts and crafts school.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Catalog for the exhibition “Charlottenburg - From Idyll to Big City, City District Charlottenburg 1877–1920”, Ed. District Office Charlottenburg, texts and research: C. Berndhardt, HJ Fohsel, H. Hülsbergen et al. Berlin 1987
  2. ^ Yearbook of the German Libraries . Edited by the Association of German Librarians. Leipzig 1902, p. 18, digitized on Google
  3. ↑ Friedrich Rückstedt: art history hike through the residence of Charlottenburg . Friedrich Rückstedt, Charlottenburg 1904, p. 69 .
  4. ^ History of the Charlottenburg People's Library. BA Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf; Retrieved November 4, 2017
  5. ^ Wilhelm Gundlach: History of the city of Charlottenburg . Springer-Verlag, 1905, p. 659, Textarchiv - Internet Archive
  6. ^ View of the reading room in 1909. Postcard collection of the Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

Coordinates: 52 ° 31 ′ 7.8 "  N , 13 ° 18 ′ 17.6"  E