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RheinMain University and State Library (), formerly ''Nassau State Library'' and ''Hessian State Library'', is funded by the
State of Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
and located in
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
and Rüsselsheim. With collections currently comprising over one million items, it is one of Germany's medium-sized libraries. The major special collection is on the former state of Nassau, in which the library has its roots. As of 1 January 2011 it became part of
RheinMain University of Applied Sciences The RheinMain University of Applied Sciences (German language, German: ''Hochschule RheinMain''), formerly University of Applied Sciences Wiesbaden (German language, German: ''Fachhochschule Wiesbaden''), is a university located in Wiesbaden, ...
. It is a central service facility of the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences and provides literature for the population of the city and region.


History


Former University Library

The university library was established in 1971 with the founding of "Wiesbaden University of Applied Sciences". It took over the book collections of the Baugewerkschule in
Idstein Idstein () is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt (Old Town) it is part of the ''Deutsch ...
, which had been built up since 1869 and initially remained there. In the early years, there were only library rooms attached to the faculties until 1982, when the libraries of several faculties were brought together in a new building on Kurt-Schumacher-Ring. Further locations were added in 1992 in Bleichstraße (today an extension to Bertramstraße) and in 2003 in the library on the Unter den Eichen campus.


State Library

The library goes back to the administrative government library in
Usingen Usingen () is a small town in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hessen, Germany. Until 1972, this residential and school town was the seat of the former district of Usingen. Coat of arms The earliest seal whose appearance is known – there had been earlier ...
Castle initiated by Charlotte Amalie von Nassau-Usingen in 1730, which moved to the former Old Castle on the market square in Wiesbaden in 1744. In the course of German secularization from 1803, it was greatly expanded by considerable additions from monastery libraries. It has been open to the public since 1813 and, as the
Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...
's public library, was granted the right to deposit copies - this year is therefore regarded as the actual founding year of the State Library. In 1821, it moved into the Erbprinzenpalais in
Wilhelmstraße Wilhelmstraße, or Wilhelmstrasse (see ß; ; ) is a major thoroughfare in the central Mitte and Kreuzberg districts of Berlin, Germany. Until 1945, it was recognised as the centre of the government, first of the Kingdom of Prussia, and lat ...
. After Nassau became Prussian in 1866, the library was given the name Königliche Bibliothek Wiesbaden (Royal Library Wiesbaden), it moved from the center to the periphery and experienced a period of crisis with a considerable decline in new acquisitions. It was not until 1900 (when the library was transferred to municipal ownership and renamed "Nassau State Library", with Erich Liesegang (1860-1931) and
Gottfried Zedler Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the Old High German name , recorded since the 7th century, and composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for "God" and "good", and possibly further conflated with ) and ("pe ...
as key librarians), that a fundamental reorganization and exemplary re-cataloguing led to an upswing, as a result of which the library was able to move into the newly constructed building in Rheinstraße in 1913, where it is still located today. After 1918, the relative impoverishment of the city also made itself felt in the state library. In 1938, the regional association for the administrative district of Wiesbaden in the Prussian
Province of Hesse-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the ...
became the library's sponsor, which meant that the administrative business was effectively taken over by Nazi functionaries in the service of Provincial governor Wilhelm Traupel. During the Second World War, the library relocated numerous valuable holdings (including the Wiesbaden Codex and the illuminated
Scivias ''Scivias'' is an illustrated work by Hildegard von Bingen, completed in 1151 or 1152, describing 26 religious visions she experienced. It is the first of three works that she wrote describing her visions, the others being and (also known as ) ...
Codex of
Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen Benedictines, OSB (, ; ; 17 September 1179), also known as the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictines, Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mysticism, mystic, visiona ...
, both from the 12th century, as well as several medieval manuscripts from
Schönau Abbey Schönau Abbey may refer to: * Schönau Abbey (Nassau), Benedictine monastery founded in 1126 * Schönau Abbey (Odenwald), Cistercian monastery founded in 1142 *, Cistercian nunnery founded in 1189 See also * Frauenchiemsee, called Schönau in ...
to
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
(Girozentrale Sachsen) for security reasons. These works have been lost since they were confiscated by the
Soviet Military Administration in Germany The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (; ''Sovyetskaya Voyennaya Administratsiya v Germanii'', SVAG; , SMAD) was the Soviet military government, headquartered in Berlin- Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone in German ...
in December 1945. Only the Wiesbaden Codex returned to the Library in 1948. The State Library was the only academic library in Hesse to survive the air raids of the war years completely unscathed. In 1953, the new federal state of
Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
took over its sponsorship. As a result, the building was renamed the Hessian State Library in 1963.


Holdings and collections

The library currently has just over 1,000,000 volumes in its holdings, of which 150.000 date from before 1900. The most important special collection is the Nassovica collection with around 70,000 volumes relating to the former
Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...
and/or the
House of Nassau The House of Nassau is the name of a European aristocratic dynasty. The name originated with a lordship associated with Nassau Castle, which is located in what is now Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With t ...
and its successor states. It also owns 325 manuscripts, 444 incunabula, 6079 autographs and 286 other rare works, such as those from
Eberbach Abbey Eberbach Abbey (German: Kloster Eberbach) is a former Cistercian monastery in Eltville in the Rheingau, Germany. On account of its Romanesque architecture, Romanesque and Gothic (architecture), early Gothic buildings it is considered one of the m ...
,
Schönau Abbey Schönau Abbey may refer to: * Schönau Abbey (Nassau), Benedictine monastery founded in 1126 * Schönau Abbey (Odenwald), Cistercian monastery founded in 1142 *, Cistercian nunnery founded in 1189 See also * Frauenchiemsee, called Schönau in ...
or the government libraries of former Nassau territories (e.g. Sayn-Hachenburg). The library of
Herborn Academy The Herborn Academy () was a Calvinist institution of higher learning in Herborn from 1584 to 1817. The Academy was a centre of encyclopaedic Ramism and the birthplace of both covenant theology and pansophism. Its faculty of theology continues ...
, a stronghold of German
Reformed Christianity Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian ...
, deserves special mention, as most of it came to Wiesbaden when the Hohe Schule was dissolved in 1817.


Special tasks

Special tasks The library collects, regional literature, in particular on the former Nassau region (special collection "Nassovica") on the of the regional
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 ...
law for
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
, Hochtaunus,
Lahn-Dill-Kreis Lahn-Dill is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Siegen-Wittgenstein, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Gießen, Wetteraukreis, Hochtaunuskreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Westerwaldkreis. History The southern district ...
,
Limburg-Weilburg Limburg-Weilburg is a Kreis (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Lahn-Dill, Hochtaunuskreis, Rheingau-Taunus, Rhein-Lahn, Westerwaldkreis. History *1867 the ''Oberlahnkreis'', capital Weilburg was created *1886 t ...
,
Main-Kinzig-Kreis Main-Kinzig-Kreis is a Kreis (district) in the east of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Wetteraukreis, Vogelsbergkreis, Fulda, Bad Kissingen, Main-Spessart, Aschaffenburg, Offenbach and the district-free cities of Offenbach and Frankf ...
, Main-Taunus, and
Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Rheingau-Taunus is a Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis is part of the Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt region; its main administrative seat is Bad Schwalbach. Outposted sections of the local ad ...
. The collected items can be researched in Hessian Bibliography. Since 2004, the Hessische Fachstelle für Öffentliche Bibliotheken, which offers advice and services for municipal/public libraries, has also been assigned to the library.


See also

*
List of libraries in Germany This is a list of libraries in the Federal Republic of Germany. There is a much more extensive list available on the German Wikipedia. There are about 6,313 public libraries in Germany. National Libraries * German National Library (''Deutsche ...
* State libraries of Germany *
Staatsbibliothek This is a list of the State Library, state libraries ( for each of the States of Germany, Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany. These libraries hold the Legal deposit, right for legal deposit for the publications in their respective state. ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Libraries in Germany Buildings and structures in Wiesbaden Culture in Wiesbaden Education in Wiesbaden 1813 establishments in the Confederation of the Rhine Tourist attractions in Wiesbaden Deposit libraries