Wallenrodt Library

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Wallenrodt Library
Reconstruction of the room and the shelves of the Wallrodchen Library in Kaliningrad Cathedral (June 2009)

The Wallenrodtsche Bibliothek in Königsberg was founded by Martin von Wallenrodt (1570–1632), ducal chancellor . He collected rare books and manuscripts on the most diverse branches of science. His first collection consisted of around 3,000 books, which were completely destroyed in a fire in 1623. Wallenrodt did not give up and started a new collection. After his death, the library numbered about 2,000 books.

overview

Johann Ernst von Wallenrodt (1615–1697), son of Martin von Wallenrodt, continued his father's work. He studied law and ancient languages at the Königsberg University , traveled to European countries and North America. He brought books from everywhere to expand the library. When his daughter Maria Louisa was 7 years old (see geneall.net under Maria Louisa Wallenrodt), space had to be created at home for her education, so in 1650 the library was built in the southern tower of the Kneiphof city ​​council and with the consent of the count Königsberg Cathedral housed. The book collection surpassed the library of the Königsberg University and was therefore used intensively by professors and students. Thanks to Johann Ernst, the library also became a kind of geographical museum, where his travel notes, maps, globes, various souvenirs, coins and rarities from foreign countries were also kept. Historical documents were also kept here, such as Charles V's letter of protection , with which Martin Luther could safely travel to Worms.

In the middle of the 17th century, the interior was designed by the Dutch painter Christof Gregor Sangknecht and Königsberg woodcarver Isaak Riga, 1653-1715 , in the North German Baroque style (including bookshelves, banisters with the animated figure of wisdom, 1688/89).

In 1675 the library became part of the university library. In 1721, the Wallenrodt family finally left the library to the state. In 1909 the library consisted of 10,500 books and writings. At that time it was included in the Königsberg State and University Library , 7,000 volumes were moved to a new building, the rest, mostly duplicates, remained in the south tower of the Königsberg Cathedral .

The original Wallenrodt library existed until the Second World War. The 3,500 volumes in the cathedral were destroyed in the bombing in August 1944. The holdings of the State and University Library, including the Wallenrodt collection, were scattered across Eastern Europe after the city was conquered by Soviet troops on April 9, 1945. After the war, a library was set up at the Georg-August University in Göttingen , which sees itself as a successor to the Wallenrodt library.

In 1981 291 books returned to Kaliningrad. Today they can be viewed in the University Museum, where efforts are being made to rebuild the Wallenrodt Library (also under this name). As part of the reconstruction of the cathedral, the ornate bookshelves decorated with palm fronds have been reconstructed and efforts have been made to present the entire Wallenrodt books here again. The Luther painting from the Wallenrodt library is now in the Dohna-Schlösschen Mohrungen . An estimated one thousand books are in the library of the Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg , holdings from the Wallenrodt collection were also found in libraries and archives in Moscow . For several years the University of Osnabrück has been trying to reconstruct lost library holdings, to locate books from the Königsberg libraries, to catalog them, to film them and to digitize them.

In September 2009 the German-Russian library initiative was decided. As a pilot project, she wants to have the Wallenrodt library virtually rebuilt.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In the Moscow State Historical Library. the following editions are from the Wallenrodt library: Herodoti Libri novem ... (Basileae: Per Ioannem Hervagium et Bernardum Brand, 1557); Henricus Institoris , Opusculum in errores Monarchie et de potestate Pape et Imperatoris ... (Venetijs: Expensis tamen ... Petri Liechtensteyn, 1499); Antonius de Rosellis , Tractatus de potestate imperatoris ac pape ... (Venetijs: Impensisque et arta Hermanii Lichtenstein Coloniensis, 1487); Caspar Abel , The First Book of Teutschen Antiquities, or Ancient Stories. Vol. 1. Braunschweig 1729.
  2. ↑ Press release of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the State Cultural Foundation , October 6, 2009