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The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
in
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the
Hofburg The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...
in
center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
of
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. Since 2005, some of the collections have been relocated within the
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
structure of the Palais Mollard-Clary. Founded by the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
s, the library was originally called the Imperial Court Library (german: Kaiserliche Hofbibliothek); the change to the current name occurred in 1920, following the end of the Habsburg Monarchy and the proclamation of the Austrian Republic. The library complex includes four museums, as well as multiple special collections and archives.


Middle Ages

The institution has its origin in the imperial library of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. During the
Medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, the Austrian
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
Albert III (1349–1395) moved the books of the Viennese vaults into a library. Albert also arranged for important works from Latin to be translated into
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
. In the Hofburg, the treasure of
Archduke Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...
Albert III had been kept in
sacristies A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...
inside the south tower of the imperial chapel. The Archduke was a
connoisseur A connoisseur (French traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts; who is a keen appreciator o ...
of art; he supported the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
, and he founded a royal workshop for illustrating manuscripts. The oldest book on record at the library, the 1368 golden Holy Gospels, was owned by Albert III; in 1368,
Johannes of Troppau Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...
, priest at Landskron and canon in Brno,
transcribe Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including: Genetics * Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...
d the four
Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
of the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
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 (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
,
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
, and
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
, the lands which Archduke Albrecht III had ruled at the time.
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III (German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death. He was the fourth king and first emperor of the House of Habsburg. He was the penultimate emperor to be crown ...
(1415–1493), had the goal of consolidating the art treasures among the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
possessions. Among other things, he brought some valuable books into the Vienna, among them the ''
Prager Wenzelsbibel Prager (variants: Praeger, Preger) is a surname, which may refer to: Prager * David Prager (born 1977), American TV producer and blogger * Dennis Prager (born 1948), U.S. conservative radio talk show host, columnist and public speaker ** PragerU, ...
'' and the document of the golden bull. Through his marriage with
Mary of Burgundy Mary (french: Marie; nl, Maria; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled a collection of states that included the duchies of Limburg, Brabant, Luxembourg, the counties of ...
,
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself El ...
(1459–1519) came into possession of important books from Burgundy and north France, and brought these to
Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...
. With a value at that time estimated at 100,000 guldens, these books represented about an eighth of Mary's
dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...
. Also Maximilian's second wife,
Bianca Maria Sforza Bianca Maria Sforza (5 April 1472 – 31 December 1510) was Queen of Germany and Italy, and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire as the third spouse of Maximilian I. She was the eldest legitimate daughter of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza of Milan by h ...
, brought into the marriage books from
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
workshops as part of her dowry. At that time the books of the library were kept partially in Wiener Neustadt, partially in Vienna, and partially in
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
. After the death of Maximilian, the books were sent to the palace at
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
. In addition to the valuable books from the public treasury, the
Bibliotheca Regia Bibliotheca may refer to: * ''Bibliotheca'' (Pseudo-Apollodorus), a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends * ''Bibliotheca historica'', a first century BC work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus * ''Bibliotheca'' ( ...
, which collected and categorized scientific works, was developed in Vienna during the 16th century. Besides books, that library also contained
globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe ...
s and
atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
es. Over time the library expanded thanks to donations from the personal libraries of individual scholars. The first head librarian,
Hugo Blotius Hugo Blotius or Hugo de Bloote (1533, Delft – 29 January 1608, Vienna)Hugo Blotius
at the Biography Portal of ...
, was appointed in 1575 by Emperor 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. Caspar von Nydbruck, imperial counselor who was for time in charge of the library, was a crypto-Protestant who provided much assistance to the Lutheran polemicist
Matthias Flacius Matthias Flacius Illyricus (Latin; hr, Matija Vlačić Ilirik) or Francovich ( hr, Franković) (3 March 1520 – 11 March 1575) was a Lutheran reformer from Istria, present-day Croatia. He was notable as a theologian, sometimes dissenting strong ...
, who composed the major anti-Catholic history known as The ''
Magdeburg Centuries The ''Magdeburg Centuries'' is an ecclesiastical history, divided into thirteen ''centuries'', covering thirteen hundred years, ending in 1298; it was first published from 1559 to 1574. It was compiled by several Lutheran scholars in Magdeburg, kn ...
''. Flacius and his Lutheran associates took care to find and quote original sources to prove what they considered as "the grave corrupting errors" of the Catholic Church. In his position at one of the major libraries of Europe, von Nydbruck was in a position to greatly facilitate their work. On 26 August 1624, delivery of copies was regulated by order of Ferdinand II. The Imperial Library also increased by purchases. In particular, the library of Philipp Eduard Fugger led to a major expansion. The library currently has about 17,000 sheets of one of the first periodic printing elements, the Fugger newspapers, from the Fugger library.


Baroque

In 1722,
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor , house = Habsburg , spouse = , issue = , issue-link = #Children , issue-pipe = , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date ...
authorised the construction of a permanent home for the library in the Hofburg palace, after the plans of Leopold I. The wing was begun by
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (20 July 1656 – 5 April 1723) was an Austrian architect, sculptor, engraver, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire. His infl ...
and started accommodating the library in the 18th century. The most valuable addition at that time was the extensive collection of
Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...
, whose 15,000 volumes included valuable books from France and Italy. The State Hall of the library housed about 200,000 books at this point. During the reorganization there was for the first time criticism regarding the fact that the library served mainly as representation rather than the search for knowledge. Doctor
Gerard van Swieten Gerard van Swieten (7 May 1700 – 18 June 1772) was a Dutch physician who from 1745 was the personal physician of the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and transformed the Austrian health service and medical university education. He was the fa ...
, physician to
Maria Theresia Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...
, and his son
Gottfried van Swieten Gottfried Freiherr van Swieten (29 October 1733 – 29 March 1803) was a Dutch-born Austrian diplomat, librarian, and government official who served the Holy Roman Empire during the 18th century. He was an enthusiastic amateur musician and is be ...
supplemented the collection with numerous scientific works. Gottfried van Swieten also successfully introduced the card index. This facilitated the continuous updating of the inventory.


Austrian Empire

After the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
was dissolved by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
and the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
proclaimed in its place, the library was again reorganized. Under custodian
Paul Strattmann Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, the library received a program for the first time which described its order; the library gained a three-way viewpoint: * it was the library for the formed Classe of the capital who required instruction, * it was the national library of the Austrian ''Kaiserthum'' (empire), where visitors expected to find literary rarities, and, * it was the library of the Hofburg, from which it takes its name. 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, 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 (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, however, after reconciliation with Hungary. During the March revolution of 1848, the Imperial Library was in extreme danger, when after the bombardment of Vienna caused the burning of the
Hofburg The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...
, in which the Imperial Library was located. An important addition to the Imperial Library is the papyrus collection, which goes back to the acquisitions of the Viennese of antique dealer Theodor Graf.


First Republic and German Reich

After the proclamation of the Republic of Austria, the Imperial Library 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 Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura, and is the only company in Japan spe ...
. Under the line of the general manager, Paul Heigl, during the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
period ('' NS-zeit''), hundreds of thousands of writings were accommodated here or the library served for majority the worthless, but seized works as transit camps into German libraries. "The historical heritage of the Austrian National Library is not free of injustice and guilt. That is true in a particular manner of the period of National Socialism. Led by a fanatical National Socialist, Paul Heigl, the National Library was an active participant on a grand scale in the systematic robbing in the first place of Jewish citizens, but also of other victims of the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
regime. Despite considerable restitutions in the post-war years major portions of the looted collections remained in the Library. So the earliest possible restitution of those holdings to their legitimate possessors is for the Austrian National Library not only a duty under law, but also a moral question. With the Federal Law on Restitution of Art Objects in 1998, the basis, long since necessary, was created. In December 2003, after careful examination of all relevant holdings, the Austrian National Library completed its report on provenance according to the Law on Restitution of Art Objects of 1998, and handed it over to the Commission for Provenance. The essential findings are lists of illegal acquisitions during the Nazi period which are still in the possession of the Austrian National Library. Since then the Austrian National Library has taken pains to find the legitimate owners or inheritors, so as to give back the objects as quickly as possible. Since December of 2003 a total of 32,937 objects have been restored to their lawful owners."


Post-World War II

Renamed again into the Austrian National Library after 1945, small parts were returned again, but the majority remained 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 Josefsplatz to the premises of the Neue Burg wing at
Heldenplatz Heldenplatz (german: Heroes' Square) is a public space in front of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt borough, the President of Austria resides in the adjoining Hofburg wing, while the Federal Chancellery is on adj ...
, where new reading halls were set up. Due to the rising space requirement in 1992, the library opened up to approximately 4 million works. Wider ranges for reading halls were furnished at the same time, so that three levels are currently at the disposal of visitors (two floors of the main reading hall and the magazine reading hall). For an extensive amount of time, the library used a card-catalog index. Since 1995, an electronic system has been in place, which went online in 1998. As of 2001, books confiscated from Jewish Austrians during World War II have been slowly returned to the heirs. It is estimated that nearly 25,000 works fall into this category.


Legal status today

On 1 January 2002 the library gained the full legal capacity to dismiss staff. This brought the full control to the mechanism in budget and personnel questions. The library has a certain part of its budget funded by the state; additional funds must be raised by sponsorships, reproduction services, and the loaning from the premises. Organizationally, the library uses a central management and has three chief departments (personnel and accounting, inventory structure and treatment, as well as use and information), plus the individual collections. The head of the library reports to a board of trustees on a quarterly basis.


Prunksaal

The Prunksaal ( en, State Hall) is the central structure of the old imperial library and part of the Hofburg palace. The wing is located in-between Josephsplatz to the north and the Burggarten to the south. The books in the monastery of the
Conventual Franciscans The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...
(Minoritenkloster) were stored here. The wing was begun in 1721 by
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (20 July 1656 – 5 April 1723) was an Austrian architect, sculptor, engraver, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire. His infl ...
and finished after his death in 1723 by his son Joseph Emanuel. The sculptures on the wing are by
Lorenzo Mattielli Lorenzo Mattielli (1678/1688 ? – 27 or 28 April 1748) was an Italian sculptor from the Late Baroque period. His name has also variously been written as ''Matielli'', ''Mattiely'', ''Matthielli'', and ''Mathielli''. He supplied statuary for pal ...
. The hall is divided, after the original list of the books, into two opposite "war" and "peace" sides, which is reflected also in the wall
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es, from
Daniel Gran Daniel Gran (22 May 1694 in Vienna – 16 April 1757 in Sankt Pölten), was an Austrian painter. His pictures ornament several public buildings in his native city. He was of some consideration in his time and after a century of Italian domi ...
. The fresco in the central dome represents a kind
Apotheosis Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...
of Emperor Charles VI, whose image is held by
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
and
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
. Around the image of the emperor, several types of allegorical figures meet in a complicated theme, which symbolize the virtues of the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
s and the wealth of their domains. Located in the hall are marble statues of emperors with the statue of emperor Charles VI in its centre, created by the sculptors
Peter Strudel Peter Strudel or Peter Strudl (ca. 1660 – 4 October 1714) was an Austrian sculptor and painter. His work forms the transition of Austria to the high baroque style. Strudel was born in Cles, Trentino. Between 1676 (when he was 16 years old) an ...
and
Paul Strudel Paul Strudel or Paul Strudl (c. 1648 – 20 November 1708) was an Austrian sculptor, architect, engineer, and painter, ennobled as Baron von Strudel and Vochburg. "Landesmuseum Niederösterreich - Geschichte/Personen - Paul Strudel" (history ...
. The four large
globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe ...
s are by
Vincenzo Coronelli Vincenzo Maria Coronelli (August 16, 1650 – December 9, 1718) was an Italian Franciscan friar, cosmographer, cartographer, publisher, and encyclopedist known in particular for his atlases and globes. He spent most of his life in Venice. Biogr ...
. During the reign of empress
Maria Theresia Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position '' suo jure'' (in her own right) ...
, cracks started appearing in the dome, in which Court architect
Nikolaus Pacassi Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its ...
soon 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 (7 June 1724 – 8 August 1796) was an Austrian painter and engraver, one of the most renowned exponents of Rococo painting in the German and Hungarian regions. Maulbertsch was born in Langenargen and studied in the Aca ...
. Also during her reign, the wing was extended on both ends, connecting the central Prunksaal with the Hofburg and St. Augustine's Church, forming
Josefsplatz Josefsplatz ( en, Joseph's Square) is a public square located at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. Named after Emperor Joseph II, Josefsplatz is considered one of the finest courtyards in Vienna.Schulte-Peevers 2007, p. 359. Description Josef ...
(Joseph Square).


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 library has more than seven million objects, of which approximately three million are printed.


Manuscripts and rare books

Dating from the 4th century CE to the present, this collection includes antique, medieval and modern manuscripts from almost every literate culture. Notable items in the collection include the
Vienna Dioscurides The Vienna Dioscurides or Vienna Dioscorides is an early 6th-century Byzantine Greek illuminated manuscript of an even earlier 1st century AD work, '' De materia medica'' (Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς : Perì hylēs iatrikēs in the ori ...
, which was inscribed on UNESCO's
Memory of the World Programme Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
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 The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
was taken over, designated as the Habsburg "Family Estate Library" (Familien-Fideikommiss-Bibliothek). The map collection includes the Globe Museum, containing over 380 globes, some dating back to the 16th century. It is the world's only public globe museum, and has been in existence since 1956. 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 An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of ...
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. Considered the most beautiful and most remarkable atlas ever composed, it includes four volumes of manuscript maps and topographical drawings originally made for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). It was inscribed on UNESCO's
Memory of the World Programme Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
Register in 2003.


Papyrus collection and Papyrus Museum

During the 19th century, the
papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
collection became an important part of the library. The collection goes back to a private collection of Austrian Archduke Rainer, who gave the collection to Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...
on 18 August 1899. The Papyrus collection contains about 180,000 objects from the period between that of the 15th Century
BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
and the 16th Century CE. Besides papyri the collection includes papers, records on
clay tablet In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets (Akkadian ) were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. Cuneiform characters were imprinted on a wet clay tablet with a stylu ...
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 Archduke Rainer) is the largest such collection worldwide, and was inscribed on UNESCO's
Memory of the World Programme Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
Register in 2001. The Papyrus Museum, located in the library in the Neue Burg wing of the Hofburg Palace, has around 200 objects from the collection on display.


Music

Since 1826, the music collection contains numerous scores and first-printings of works of well-known composers, such as
Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...
or
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
. Numerous recordings such as records or CDs are kept as well. Among the music collection are also many handwritten notes of composers.


Incunabula, old and precious prints

Containing old and valuable printings, the collection of
Incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
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 library. The collection covers approximately 8,000 incunabula (the fourth largest in existence worldwide), block printings from 1501 to 1850 (e.g. the Fugger newspapers), and bibliophile as well as rare and valuable printings without temporal restriction. The SIAWD collection has also been supplemented with
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
and
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
printings.


Planned languages and Esperanto Museum

The Department of Planned Languages and Esperanto Museum incorporates a collection of materials related to planned languages.


Women's and gender studies

The Department of the Library which collects, digitizes and works to promote publications on women and gender studies is known as ''Ariadne''. Founded in 1992, the department digitized its materials in 2000 and works to improve the visibility of women's contributions to society and in the history of Austria.


Austrian Web Archive

The library has archived websites since 2009. Its themed collections are women's and gender studies, media, and politics; event collections include sites reflecting on 100 years since the
First Austrian Republic The First Austrian Republic (german: Erste Österreichische Republik), officially the Republic of Austria, was created after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 September 1919—the settlement after the end of World War I w ...
, elections and the
pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...
. Collection lists may be researched on the dedicated website and access to archived copies is possible on the premises of the library in Heldenplatz, and also the Administrative Library of the Austrian Federal Chancellery, Vorarlberger Landesbibliothek,
University Library of Graz The University of Graz Library (german: Universitätsbibliothek Graz), in Graz, Austria is the largest scientific and public library in Styria and the third largest in Austria. It holds the right of legal deposit. It is part of the University o ...
, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Tirol, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Salzburg and
Wienbibliothek im Rathaus The Wienbibliothek im Rathaus ( en, Vienna Library in City Hall), formerly known as the ''Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek'' ( en, Vienna City and State Library), is a library and archive containing important documents related to the history of V ...
.


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 In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
(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 Museum The Esperanto Museum and Collection of Planned Languages (german: Esperantomuseum und Sammlung für Plansprachen, eo, Esperantomuzeo kaj kolekto por planlingvoj), commonly known as the Esperanto Museum, is a museum for Esperanto and other const ...


See also

* Codex Vindobonensis B 11093 * Codex Vindobonensis Philos. 75 * Codex Vindobonensis Philos. 157 *
Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus I Codex 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. Cont ...
*
Codex Vindobonensis Lat. 502 The Codex Vindobonensis Lat. 502 (Vienna, Austrian National Library, Lat. 502), designated by v (in Beuron system), is a 7th-century Latin Gospel Book. The manuscript contains only 1 parchment folio (23.5 cm by 16.5 cm). It is known al ...
*
Fayyum Fragment The Fayyum Fragment (Papyrus Vindobonensis Greek 2325 . Vienna G. 2325 is a papyrus fragment containing text that could be from part of the New Testament, and consists of only about 100 Greek letters. The fragment was originally discovered in Al-Fa ...
(P. Vienna G. 2325)


Notes


References

* Ackerl, Isabella ed. ''Die Österreichische Nationalbibliothek'' ( en, Austrian National Library), Vienna, 1995. * Höfler, Ida Olga: ''Portrait-Sammlung und Bildarchiv der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek ehem. Familien-Fideikommiß-Bibliothek'' ( en, Portrait-collection and image-archive of the Austrian National Library...), Vienna, 1994. * Hunger, Herbert: ''Die Papyrussammlung der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek'' ( en, The Papyrus-collection of the Austrian National Library), Ausstellungskatalog, Vienna, 1962. * Jobst-Rieder, Marianne: ''Filmplakate der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek (1910–1955)'' ( en, Films of the Austrian National Library 1910-1955), Vienna, 1998.


External links


Austrian National Library
– 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.
Provenance research and restitution
– Role of the National Library during the ''NS-Zeit'' period.
Österreichische Nationalbibliothek bei Google Cultural Institute
{{Authority control Libraries in Vienna
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
Buildings and structures in Vienna Buildings and structures in Innere Stadt Museums in Vienna Hofburg Web archiving initiatives Libraries established in the 14th century