Library
Bamberg State Library
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
Bamberg State Library is a library in Bamberg, Germany.
About Bamberg State Library
Overview & Identity
The Bamberg State Library (Staatsbibliothek Bamberg) is a regional state library located in Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany. Established in 1803 following the secularization of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg, it serves as a central repository for historical manuscripts, early printed books, and special collections. The library is currently housed in the eastern wing of the Neue Residenz (New Residence) on the Cathedral Hill (Domberg). It functions as one of the regional state libraries in Bavaria, preserving the cultural heritage of the Franconian region with a specific focus on the history of the former Prince-Bishopric and the works of E.T.A. Hoffmann.
History & Founding
The library was founded in 1803 during the secularization of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg, which was transferred to the Electorate of Bavaria. Initially, it was located in the former Jesuit college within the island city of Bamberg. The institution underwent several name changes reflecting the political shifts in Bavaria: it was first the Elector's Library, then the Royal Library from 1806, the State Library from 1918, and finally received its current name, Bamberg State Library, in 1966. The first director, Heinrich Joachim Jaeck, a former Cistercian monk, organized the approximately 60,000 volumes that had accumulated from dissolved monasteries and established the library's foundational cataloging systems.
Building & Architecture
Since 1965, the library has been housed in the Neue Residenz (New Residence) on the Cathedral Hill, moving there due to a lack of space in its previous location. The building is a four-winged sandstone complex originally constructed for the Prince-Bishops of Bamberg in two phases: the first two wings in the Renaissance style starting in 1613, and two Baroque wings (the entrance wing and the Ostflügel) built between 1697 and 1703 by Johann Leonhard Dientzenhofer for Prince-Bishop Lothar Franz von Schönborn. The library occupies the eastern wing, which formerly housed the Prince-Bishop's administration. The reading room, created in 1731 by Balthasar Neumann by merging an audience hall and a summer hall, features 1704 ceiling stucco work by Johann Jakob Vogel and overlooks the Rose Garden.
Collection Highlights: The Imperial Library of Henry II
The library's most significant holding is the Kaiser-Heinrich-Bibliothek (Imperial Library of Henry II), which contains 165 codices and manuscript fragments dating from the 5th century to 1024. This collection is the world's only largely intact imperial library from the late early Middle Ages, originating from the foundation of the Diocese of Bamberg by Emperor Henry II in 1007. Two of its masterpieces, the Reichenau illuminated manuscripts, were inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 2003. The library holds the only surviving complete imperial library of this period, making it a unique resource for medieval studies.
Collection Highlights: E.T.A. Hoffmann
The Bamberg State Library possesses the world's largest collection dedicated to the Romantic writer, artist, and composer E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776–1822), who lived in Bamberg from 1808 to 1813. This collection includes numerous letters, 16 original drawings, five manuscript drafts, an autograph musical score, and unique personal items such as a publisher's contract and a diary fragment. The library also holds the only known surviving book from Hoffmann's personal library, a piano reduction of Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' with his name inscribed. These materials are fully digitized and accessible through the E.T.A. Hoffmann Portal.
Significance & Legacy
The Bamberg State Library is of immense cultural significance as the guardian of the unique Imperial Library of Henry II and the premier archive for E.T.A. Hoffmann. Its survival of World War II without loss of its core collections, including the transfer of precious manuscripts to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, underscores its resilience. The library's role in digitizing its medieval manuscripts and Hoffmann materials has made these rare treasures accessible globally. It continues to serve as a vital center for research into Franconian history, medieval manuscripts, and Romantic literature, maintaining its status as a key institution within the Bavarian state library system.
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Bamberg State Library