Königsberg State And University Library
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The Royal and University Library in Mitteltragheim, ca. 1901 The Königsberg State and University Library (german: Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Königsberg) was a combined
state library A national library is established by the government of a nation to serve as the pre-eminent repository of information for that country. Unlike public libraries, they rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuab ...
and
academic library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...
in
Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was na ...
,
East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1 ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
. One of the most prestigious libraries of the eastern German ''
Sprachraum In linguistics, a sprachraum (; , "language area", plural sprachräume) is a geographical region where a common first language (mother tongue), with dialect varieties, or group of languages is spoken. Characteristics Many sprachräume are separ ...
'', comparable only to the , in Breslau in
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spli ...
of then southeastern Germany, (now renamed Wroclaw in southwestern
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
since
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
). Königsberg University's developed since the 16th century out of several smaller libraries. It was destroyed in 1944 during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in the invasion by the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
after which the city was occupied and renamed
Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
.


History


Chamber Library

Albert, Duke of Prussia Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the secu ...
(1490–1568), founded the Chamber Library (''Kammerbibliothek'') or German Library (''Deutsche Bibliothek'') above the gate of
Königsberg Castle The Königsberg Castle (german: Königsberger Schloss, russian: Кёнигсбергский замок, Konigsbergskiy zamok) was a castle in Königsberg, Germany (since 1946 Kaliningrad, Russia), and was one of the landmarks of the East Prussian ...
ca. 1526 with about 100 smaller works.Hanowell, p. 107 Its first director was the ducal secretary Balthasar Gans.
Karl Lohmeyer Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austr ...
in ''Altpreussische Monatsschrift'', p. 595
Because Albert only had rudimentary knowledge of the
Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of ...
, the collection contained German books and
German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...
translations of foreign texts. Its authors were among the most influential of the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
of the 15th century, including
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...
, Lazarus Spengler, Martin Bucer, Johann von Staupitz, Andreas Karlstadt, ,
Johannes Oecolampadius Johannes Oecolampadius (also ''Œcolampadius'', in German also Oekolampadius, Oekolampad; 1482 – 24 November 1531) was a German Protestant reformer in the Calvinist tradition from the Electoral Palatinate. He was the leader of the Protesta ...
, and Urbanus Rhegius. Other volumes included legal, historical, geographical, and medical topics. By the end of Albert's life, the ducal Chamber Library had expanded to 500 volumes. The Chamber Library was passed to the Castle Library in 1583.


Silver Library

Depiction of Duke Albert of Prussia (1490–1568) on a silver cover The most cherished part of the Chamber Library was the Silver Library (''Silberbibliothek''). Initially only two of Albert's volumes were bound with plates of embossed silver by
silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary gre ...
s, but it expanded to twenty after the duke's second marriage in 1550 to
Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...
. Besides the splendid Lutheran Bible by Cornelius Vorwend of
Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
, there were also three works by Paul Hoffmann, six by Gerhard Lenz, and five by Hieronymus Kösler, the latter three all being from Königsberg.Gause I, p. 247 On 20 August 1611 the Silver Library passed to the directors of the Castle Library. It was temporarily evacuated to Küstrin during the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...
(1756–1763), to Memel (later renamed Klaipeda) during the
War of the Fourth Coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, ...
(1806–1807) in the world-wide
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
(1803–1815), and to
Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
(1914–1918). Since 1924 it was exhibited as part of the
Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
museum within Königsberg Castle. It was moved to the manor in Karwinden during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
(1939–1945) but was lost amidst the battle damage of the war on the Eastern Front with the invasion by the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
.


Castle Library

Encouraged by the influx of educated persons to Königsberg, Albert established for academics the Castle Library (''Schloßbibliothek'') or New Library (''Neue Bibliothek'', ''Bibliotheca nova''), the core of the later State Library, alongside his private Chamber Library in 1529. Crotus Rubeanus of
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
gathered 63 mostly Latin and Greek volumes from 70 authors. It grew in size to require a librarian, the efficient Felix König (Rex) of
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest i ...
, also known as Polyphemus, who instituted systematic and alphabetical catalogs. The date of Polyphemus's start, 5 December 1534, has been regarded as the informal beginning of the library.Centralblatt, p. 346 Albert made the Castle Library public in 1540, an act celebrated by theologians and humanists and praised by Wilhelm Gnapheus in Latin poetry. At that time it contained 1,600 titles in 800 volumes. Writing in the ', considered the Königsberg Castle Library to be the first public library in Europe, older than the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...
which opened publicly in 1602. Between 1541 and 1543 the Castle Library also acquired the ''Ordensbibliothek'', the library of the
Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
previously located in Tapiau. By the time of Polyphemus's death in 1549, the Castle Library counted 2,400 works in 1,200 volumes. The immediate successors of Polyphemus were
Martin Chemnitz Martin Chemnitz (9 November 1522 – 8 April 1586) was an eminent second-generation German, Evangelical Lutheran, Christian theologian, and a Protestant reformer, churchman, and confessor. In the Evangelical Lutheran tradition he is known ...
of
Treuenbrietzen Treuenbrietzen is a town in the Bundesland of Brandenburg, Germany. Geography The municipality Treuenbrietzen is situated 32 km northeast of Wittenberg and includes the localities * city of Treuenbrietzen with its agglomerated suburbs ''L� ...
(worked 1550–53) and David Milesius of
Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (german: Lausitzer Neiße; pl, Nysa Łużycka; cs, Lužická Nisa; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.Heinrich Zell (worked 1557–64), who added 1,000 volumes and reorganized it. It was possibly by a suggestion of Zell that Albert decreed in 1557 that a copy of all books printed in Prussia be included within the Castle Library;
legal deposit Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposit ...
continued until 1945. Successors of Zell were Johann Steinbach (worked 1564–66), of Danzig (worked 1566–85), and of Danzig. The Castle Library acquired the Chamber Library in 1583 and the Silver Library in 1611. Under the leadership of Menius ca. 1600, the ''Schlossbibliothek'' acquired 204 legal volumes and 196 theological volumes. It began to stagnate in 1618 after the inheritance of the
Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...
by the
Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out ...
, however; the
Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
rulers focused on developing the libraries of
Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
instead of Königsberg. From 1621 to 1658 only 343 volumes were added to the latter. At the end of the 17th century it acquired the collection of
Bogusław Radziwiłł Bogusław Radziwiłł ( lt, Boguslavas Radvila; 3 May 1620 – 31 December 1669) was a Polish princely magnate and a member of the Polish-Lithuanian ''szlachta'', or nobility. He was of the Radziwiłł magnate family. By birth he was an I ...
.


Wallenrodt Library

The (''Wallenrodtsche Bibliothek'') of
Königsberg Cathedral , infobox_width = , image = Kaliningrad 05-2017 img04 Kant Island.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Front (west side) of the cathedral , map_type = , map_ ...
was established by the 17th century ducal chancellor (1570–1632), whose first collection of 3,000 volumes was destroyed by fire in 1623. Martin began a second collection which reached 2,000 volumes by his death and was then continued by his son, (1632–1696), who added another 1,000 volumes. Ernst von Wallenrodt (1651–1735) donated 2,000 more volumes in 1718.Hanowell, p. 109 Librarians included the professor Christian Heinrich Gütther (worked 1738–55), (worked 1756–63), Carl Andreas Christiani (worked 1763–80), law professor (worked 1780–85), and .Gause II, p. 242
Rudolf Reicke Rudolf Reicke (5 February 182516 October 1905) was a German historian and scholar of Immanuel Kant. From 1847 to 1852 he studied at the University of Königsberg, where his influences included Karl Rosenkranz and Friedrich Wilhelm Schubert ...
counted 10,334 volumes, including 200
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced ...
s and 85
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 ...
. The Wallenrodt Library was incorporated into the State and University Library in 1909, with 7,000 volumes taken by the Mitteltragheim facility and 3,500 volumes remaining in Königsberg Cathedral. The latter were destroyed by the August 1944
bombing of Königsberg in World War II The bombing of Königsberg was a series of attacks made on the city of Königsberg in East Prussia during World War II. The Soviet Air Force had made several raids on the city since 1941. Extensive attacks carried out by RAF Bomber Command destro ...
.


University Library

The University Library (''Universitätsbibliothek'') was established in 1544 as a small academic library for the Albertina, the new
University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...
. However, it was for long overshadowed by the Chamber and Castle Libraries. It began to expand during the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
through private efforts, rather than state support.Hanowell, p. 108
Michael Lilienthal Michael Lilienthal (8 September 1686 – 23 January 1750) was a German theologian. He was born in Liebstadt, Prussia, on 8 September 1686. He studied theology at Königsberg and Jena, and became professor in the University of Rostock. He afterwar ...
(1686–1750) was a librarian at the start of the 18th century, while during the administration of Martin Sylvester Grabe the Younger (1674–1727) it acquired 800 volumes. The theologian librarians Johannes Behm (lived 1687–1753) and Friedrich Samuel Bock (1716–85) added 1,744 and 2,469 volumes, respectively. From 1765 to 1772
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aes ...
served as an assistant librarian. The physicist Karl Daniel Reusch was librarian from 1779 to 1806. The University Library often received donations, such as the 3,000 volume and coin collection of the mathematician David Bläsing (1660–1719), the substantial collection of Professor Cölestin Kowalewski (lived 1700–71), part of the theologian
Georg Christoph Pisanski Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * ...
's estate, and a donation from the
Tilsit Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Geography ...
merchant Johann Daniel Gordack in 1790. The University Library of that era was detrimentally located in two rooms within Königsberg Castle between the Schlosskirche and a tower. The library was only open two days a week for three hours, and was not open at all during the winter of 1772/73 because Bock did not want to work during the cold. By the end of Bock's service in 1779, the library's collection of manuscripts and incunabula had expanded to 14,000. The University Library received the collection of the ''Etatsministerium'' in 1805, as that government ministry had been dissolved the previous year. The library also acquired the collection of the Deutsche Gesellschaft.
Georg Heinrich Ludwig Nicolovius Georg Heinrich Ludwig Nicolovius (13 January 1767 - 2 November 1839) was a senior Prussian whose responsibilities primarily encompassed church and school affairs. Life Family provenance and early years Ludwig Nicolovius was born in the capital ...
was only librarian from 1807 to 1809, but his effective administration acquired 2,832 volumes, more than Reusch had managed over a much longer time. The history collection was predominant, followed by theology and philology. German and European classics first began to appear during the stewardship of Nicolovius.


19th century

In 1810 during the era of
Prussian reforms The Prussian Reform Movement was a series of constitutional, administrative, social and economic reforms early in nineteenth-century Prussia. They are sometimes known as the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms, for Karl Freiherr vom Stein and Karl Augus ...
, several of the city's collections, including the Castle Library, University Library,
Public Library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...
, and Keyserling Library, moved to the Königshaus, a royal palace built for King Frederick William I in 1731 in
Neue Sorge Königstraße Neue Sorge, also known as Königstraße or Königstrasse after its main boulevard, was a quarter of eastern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of the Leningradsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia. Etymology The origin ...
.Albinus, p. 324 The Castle Library thus became the Royal Library (''Königliche Bibliothek'') on 21 February 1810 and was administered by a university curatorship. The royal and university libraries were united as the Royal and University Library (''Königliche- und Universitätsbibliothek'') in 1827. The Keyserling Library moved to Rautenberg in 1821, while the Public Library moved to Kneiphof in 1875. The library counted amongst its donations the personal collection of
Johann Friedrich Herbart Johann Friedrich Herbart (; 4 May 1776 – 14 August 1841) was a German philosopher, psychologist and founder of pedagogy as an academic discipline. Herbart is now remembered amongst the post-Kantian philosophers mostly as making the greatest ...
(1776–1841). In 1858 the bibliophile Friedrich August Gotthold (lived 1839–80), director of the
Collegium Fridericianum The Collegium Fridericianum (also known as the Friedrichskolleg, Friedrichskollegium, and Friedrichs-Kollegium) was a prestigious gymnasium in Königsberg, Prussia. Alumni were known as ''Friderizianer''.Gause, p. 716 History Postcard ca. 1930 ...
, donated his personal collection of 36,000 volumes to the library. Gotthold's collection included '' belles-lettres'', classical philology, pedagogy, history, geography, and music since the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...
. In 1860 it received the collection of its chief librarian, Christian August Lobeck (1781–1860). In 1890 the Royal and University Library counted 263,636 volumes. Collections and ''
Nachlässe The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially complete ...
'' acquired around the turn of the century included Friedrich Zanders (1811–94),
Gustav Hirschfeld Gustav Hirschfeld (4 November 1847, Pyritz – 10 April 1895, Wiesbaden) was a German classical archaeologist. He was the great-uncle of Walter Benjamin. Life Born into a Jewish merchant family,Jonathan M. Hess, ''Middlebrow Literature and t ...
(1847–95), Jakob Caro (1835–1904), and August Hagen (1834–1910). The ''Nachlass'' of the philosopher
Johann Georg Hamann Johann Georg Hamann (; ; 27 August 1730 – 21 June 1788) was a German Lutheran philosopher from Königsberg known as "the Wizard of the North" who was one of the leader figures of post-Kantian philosophy. His work was used by his student J. G. ...
(1730–88), the Magus of the North, was added in 1905.


20th century

The Royal and University Library moved from Neue Sorge to Tragheim in 1901. The new institution was built in Mitteltragheim in place of the Baroque Braxein-Tettau Palace once owned by the apothecary and councilor August Wilhelm Hensche. The adjoining road Henschestraße was named in his honor. Librarians included Fritz Milkau and Ernst Kuhnert. In 1909 it added the Wallenrodt Library, the preeminent noble and civil service collection of the province. The institution became the State and University Library (''Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek'') after the abdication of the
House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
in 1918. Kuhnert published a history of the library in 1926. Other collections affiliated with the united library were that of Königsberg Observatory and the ''Handbibliothek'' for use by students. In 1939 the State and University Library contained 685,000 volumes. At the start of 1944 many of the library's most valued collections were evacuated to nearby palaces and manors. The library itself was destroyed during the August 1944
Bombing of Königsberg in World War II The bombing of Königsberg was a series of attacks made on the city of Königsberg in East Prussia during World War II. The Soviet Air Force had made several raids on the city since 1941. Extensive attacks carried out by RAF Bomber Command destro ...
. Surviving texts were subsequently acquired by
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
experts and institutions. Remnants of the State and University Library can be found within, among others:''Königsberg – Kaliningrad'', p. 65 *
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
:
Prussian Privy State Archives The Secret State Archives Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (german: Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz or ''GStA PK'') is an agency of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation headquartered in Berlin, Germany. A Federal stat ...
in
Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
* Lithuania: Vilnius University Library and
Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos nacionalinė Martyno Mažvydo biblioteka) is a national cultural institution which collects, organizes and preserves Lithuania's written cultural heritage content, develops the coll ...
in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...
; *
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
: Nicolaus Copernicus University Library in
Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
; Hosianum in
Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county right ...
*
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
: Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in
Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
;
Russian State Library The Russian State Library (russian: Российская государственная библиотека, Rossiyskaya gosudarstvennaya biblioteka) is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest librar ...
, State Public Historical Library, Library For Foreign Literature, and INION in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
;
Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Census, ...
;
Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences The Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences (russian: Библиотека Российской академии наук (БАН)) is a large state-owned Russian library based in Saint Petersburg on Vasilievsky Island and open to employees o ...
in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
; Voronezh State University Library in
Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...
.


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * Reicke, Rudolf (ed). ''Altpreussische Monatsschrift'' (1903). Dreiundvierzigster Band. Der PreussischenProvinzial-Blätter CVI. Band. Verlag von Thomas und Oppermann. Königsberg in Pr. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Konigsberg State and University Library 1534 establishments in Europe 1944 disestablishments in Germany Academic libraries in Germany Defunct libraries Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II State and University Library
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 vi ...
Buildings and structures demolished in 1944 Libraries established in 1534 Libraries disestablished in 1944