The collection of codices slavici (Cod.slav.) is shelved chronologically according to shelf mark and comprises more than 100 Slavic manuscripts from the 14th to the 20th century. The proportion of liturgical manuscripts is high, among them as treasures the oldest illuminated  Serbian Psalter from the late 14th century (Cod.slav. 4) and a Bulgarian book of gospels from the year 1492 (Cod.slav. 1).

Among the languages represented in this category of manuscripts are Russian-Church Slavonic (i a. Cod.slav. 21-28, 31, 33, 36), Serbian-Church Slavonic, Russian (i. a. Cod.slav. 13), Bulgarian, Polish (i. a. Cod.slav. 2, 10, 34) and Czech (i. a. Cod.slav. 3, 10-12, 15, 17, 30, 35).

One of the most outstanding Slavic texts in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek forms part of a manuscript which is otherwise written in Latin. The texts known by the name of   Freising Manuscripts (Clm 6426), which were intended for evangelisation, do not only represent the by far earliest evidence of the Slovenian language, but actually of any Slavic language written in Latin script. For the Slovenian people these texts are so to speak a treasure of national heritage in a foreign country.

The major part of the old collections was previously held by the Munich and Mannheim court libraries as well as the monastery library Polling; the items bearing the shelf marks from Cod.slav. 17 onward were acquired since 1928.

 Catalogues (German)